Listening With Your Eyes

The below analysis was based on the last chapter of Blink, Conclusion: Listening with your Eyes: The Lessons of Blink (pages 245-54).

     Blink’s last chapter is a culmination of all the lessons Malcolm Gladwell presented to the reader in the preceding chapters. He uses the story of Abbie Conant, and other female musicians who earned spots in some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, to show how the powers of the human brain’s rapid cognition can be utilized to their max.  Until recently, at orchestra auditions, most women musicians were judged (“thin sliced”, in psychological terms) negatively based on their gender, not their ability.  However, when extraneous information, like gender and appearance, was edited from these auditions and thus first impressions, men and women were judged equally.  Through this anecdotal example, Gladwell proves to the reader that when the amount of information present in first impressions is reduced, different outcomes can occur.  In addition to anecdotes, Gladwell also used the antimetabole to enhance his writing.  He explained, “Celibidache… [had] definite ideas about how music ought to be played—and who ought to play music,” (246).  Gladwell’s arrangement technique of anecdotes, evidence, and reason, coupled with the presence of the antimetabole, helped him to show the audience his grasp on various issues.  Gladwell stressed the applicability of Blink’s lessons to his audience, which appeared to be a young generation of Americans who could apply what they learned from Blink to their daily lives.  Though at times Gladwell’s conclusions seemed to be a stretch, I believe that overall he effectively accomplished his purpose of conveying the value of first impressions to the reader.