Blink By Malcolm Gladwell

By Malcolm Gladwell

"Blink" as per the Webster's dictionary means ": A reflex that closes and opens the eyes rapidly" It is in what happens in this fleeting glance and a fraction of a second is what this book is all about.

For a moment close your eyes and imagine if you are in an interview, you go in and shake the hands of the interviewers and take your seat with the panel introducing themselves. Have you ever felt the vibe of a positive feeling that this meeting is really going to go well. Or conversely you might have felt Oooopps something is wrong. I have had this happen to me time and again, when I give an interview I am pretty sure in the first few seconds / minutes if I will be called for the next round / further discussions or when I have screwed up I know there is no point following up for feedback. Maybe its some little nuances of their facial expressions / the general tone of questions or something in the general pulse of the conversation.

This book is about all those times when you sub consciously assessed the situation in a very short time , call it gut feel, intuition, thin slicing, or any other fancy names. Blink is filled with anecdotes which are sometimes contradictory but nevertheless making a very good read about the varied applications of the subconscious process that goes on in the back of your mind.

Malcolm Gladwell the author has a really active and an informative website, he is a writer for the Newyorker and his website features all his old articles which has a fair bit of overlap with blink. To get an idea of what to expect in blink read this. Its an experiment conducted on the interview example that I explained earlier. The conclusion being that, the interviewers judge whether to accept or reject the applicant in the first 5 seconds and the rest of the half an hour is just a facade to justify the decision made in their subconscious mind.

Firstly I really appreciate the author for having opened up his blog for discussion on his various writings. He goes to great length to discuss his ideas and counter other opinions on his blog, in fact the comments section of his blog is perhaps one of the most intellectually stimulating conversations I have come across in a long time. Here is a very interesting debate about racism and an example used by Gladwell in his book. Please note that here is an author who takes time out to respond to the comments and discuss an issue till its end. and for me personally, he has taken the time out to respond to my mail as well so again he is as good and responsive as an author can get.

He has received fair bit of criticism and this is one of the most critical reviews Blink has received, though having read the book I don't quite agree with what Judge Posner (the reviewer) has to say, but this review might give you a different perspective of the book. Overall this is a very good read , and I have bought a copy of my own. Copy of the original post here.

Fight Club - Complete Mayhem.

The First Rule of Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club.

The Second Rule of Fight Club is "You DO NOT talk about Fight Club".


Well, I am gonna break both of them and talk about it, because this book is like my Punch Bag. Yes, the bag you hit repeatedly to remove your frustrations. It’s the book I would read when I am most frustrated, when I want to boil the scum of this earth and shatter every window I see. Yes, this cult classic is my Catharsis. You must be knowing what I am talking about, because this book was adapted into one of the most brilliant and complex films of our generation - a cult of its own - Fight Club starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.


Chuck Palahniuk - the creator must have been in one of his most devastating moods when he started his first book. Or probably his hatred for this Hypocritical Life we lead must have been at its Zenith. Whatever it may be, his passion for destruction, his frustrations, his knowledge of the forbidden and the trivial, come out in words as sheer vengeful literature. Yes, I would go so far as to say its modern or futuristic literature, modern philosophy.


Fight Club is narrated through a Nameless character - he could be you, me or any person living this monotonous, routine life trying to go one up on his competition, trying to mimic the fashion, lifestyle, career of someone else, trying hard to be something he is not. This character works, buys every damn luxury item in trend and creates the ideal life - one he believes to be ideal, but he can't sleep. In insomnia - everything is a copy of a copy of a copy, everything is distant, you can't touch anything and nothing can touch you! He goes to various support groups faking to be terminally ill and in their misery he finds solace, happiness, blithe and indeed, sleep. Until, one day, another faker - Marla Singer comes into his life. She's the indigent, suicidal types. Then he meets Tyler Durden - who's everything he isn't, everything he wishes to be. Together they start Fight Club, their medium to channelise their pain, their frustrations and their fast track to nirvana. Every night they die and are born again, as new, invigorated men. Fight Club has 7 simple rules and its popularity grows; so does its reach - throughout America.


The story takes a twist when Tyler starts Project Mayhem. When the Club Fight sessions take an ugly turn, when the arena become the city, targeting the rich, the fortunate, the government, the system. Our nameless hero realizes that things have gone out of hand, but it is futile to resist, because this uprising consists of people who serve food, who do laundry, who protect people while they sleep; they are in the system to break it. He tries upsetting their plans, which he believes would have disastrous aftermaths, but the evil twist towards the end completely takes him off-guard. You yourself are thunderstruck with what happens because it transcends beyond your comprehension or belief. Finally, our Nameless Hero finds a way to suppress Tyler, once and for all, and save Marla - who he loves. But Mayhem continues, as Tyler successfully creates separate pockets of his army, completely capable of acting independently.


This Book is a cult, because it’s a revolt against the things we take for granted. The book says "You are not the clothes you were, you are not the books you read, you are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are part of the same composite pile! " That’s philosophy for you. Give up all the worldly pleasure, give up your vices and only when you hit bottom will you truly be free. Only when you have given up everything, that you fear nothing. Only when you are close to death do you have a Near Life experience. I think so passionately about this that I could go on and on and on. The book is full of amazing little fundas. Added to this, Chuck Palanhiuk has written this book in a chaotic manner. Lines appear between sentences from no where. The premise itself is chaotic and its accentuated by the style of writing. And within the chaos you find tranquility.


Many would find it complete and utter crap and many more would fall in love with it. After you read the book, you want to hit someone --> for completely different reasons. But that’s the point, either you love it or you hate it, but you can't ignore this piece of modern art. Get a hold of it and let your imagination go wild. I am sure one read will make your mind work in the fight club mode. Its the fight club effect. I myself stay in the Fight club mode for hours, sometimes days. Most of my best pieces of work come after a quick read of an inspirational excerpt from this book or after watching a scene from the movie. Enjoy complete mayhem. Enjoy.

"The first step to eternal life is you have to die" - ChUcK PaLaNiUk