Rather than this being a gift endowed to only a few select ‘superthinkers’, Gladwell explains that ‘blink’ thinking is something we all do. More terrifyingly, he tells us about a man who can tell within seconds whether a couple will stay married or divorce up to fifteen years in advance. Games where your playing behaviour changes before you realise it has, or why it has. He tells us about a million dollar statue that specialists were able to identify as a fake, but without being able to explain why. But the reason why ‘Blink’ makes for such fascinating reading is the litany of weird and wonderful case studies that Gladwell has tracked down to support his hypothesis. The subconscious brain knows something you don’t. It isn’t a problem but rather should be trusted in many cases, even if we can’t rationalise our decision. This subconscious thinking actually governs much more of our lives than we think. Malcolm Gladwell has a message with ‘Blink’. The fact that they contain the same biscuit really doesn’t matter to us, as it turns out. A dark royal blue with golden serif laid reverently on top is for grown-ups invested in quality. Gaudy colours with bubble text are often cheap and directed at kids. Most of the time, we are buying packaging covered in colours, images and fonts that we associate with a certain impression. When you stand in a supermarket aisle, research has proven time and time again that your shopping choices aren’t that rational. In my line of work – advertising – we are far more concerned with the latter. The second is ‘fast’ thinking, which happens mostly in the unconscious brain and is much faster. One is the slow, conscious thought that we’re aware of as we sift through our options and select a course of action. This is territory also covered by books like ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ the idea that there are two types of thinking conducted by our brains.

If you can take your eyes for a moment off my epic brunch, let me tell you about ‘Blink’, Malcolm Gladwell’s non-fiction exposé on split-second thinking.

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