Blink

If you are unfamiliar with Malcolm Gladwell and his works, I urge you to run out immediately and pick up a copy of Blink. He tackles questions we have all thought about, albeit fleetingly and weaves together case studies and impressive research to dig below the surface.

Blink; the power of thinking without thinking, explores rapid cognition, the snap judgments that occur in our subconscious and how they affect our daily life and interactions with others. it is a thought provoking work that will change the way you see the world.

Here is an excerpt everyone can relate to:
'A person's bedroom gives three kinds of clues to his or her personality. There are, first of all, identity claims, which are deliberate expressions about how we would like to be seen by the world: a framed copy of a magna cum laude degree from Harvard, for example. Then there is behavioral residue, which is defined as the inadvertent clues we leave behind: dirty laundry on the floor, for instance, or an alphabetized CD collection. Finally, there are thoughts and feelings regulators, which are changes we make to our most personal spaces to affect the way we feel when we inhabit them: a scented candle in the corner, for example, or a pile of artfully placed decorative pillows on the bed. If you see alphabetized CD's, a Harvard diploma on the wall, incense on the side table and laundry neatly stacked in a hamper, you know certain aspects about that individual's personality instantly, in a way that you may not be able to grasp if all you ever do is spend time with him or her directly.'

Hopefully this passage inspires you to go and pick up the book!