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Saturday, October 08, 2005 · posted at 8:08 PM

Well, actually I already decided to sleep with you when I got off the train.
~ Celine, Before Sunrise

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book, Blink, discusses the idea that important, and non-important, decisions are made instantaneously all the time, within the blink of an eye. Now I've not read the book, but I can think of plenty of personal anecdotes that serve to validate this theory.

For example, the other day I was at a coffeeshop perusing the menu even though I know I'm just going to end up getting a small nonfat chai latte, when I was accosted by a stranger who wanted to compliment me on my shirt (a plain pink polo) and use that to "shoehorn" his way into a conversation.

These are the instantaneous slivers of information taken in:

(1) Poor come-on line.
(2) Lack of intelligence - what part of my frown says, "Sure, I'd love to talk to you!"
(3) Receding hair line plus bad plugs.
(4) The ability to look the guy eye-to-eye (same horizontal plane).
(5) Tucked-in shirt.
(6) Fanny pack around the waist. I kid you not! And not like a "I'm Jay Turtle so I can get away with making it look cool" way...

blink.

It was like a walking poster of auto-fails. By the time he asked what my nationality (yes, that's right... nationality) was, any semblance of the guessing game was long ago over.

This may sound extremely short-sighted - but then again, isn't that the keystone of split second judgments? In this example, I took in the details of the situation and used them to calculate the probability of a meaningful encounter versus a waste of breath. Clearly a case of the latter - even with the fresh optimism from recently watching Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, two great movies by Richard Linklater about connecting (and then re-connecting) with a total stranger.

Those people who say, "I'm not judgmental"? Liars, the whole lot of them. Even that simple statement is making the judgment that to be judgmental is undesirable. Judgments are completely necessary in life. If the human brain had to interpret each new stimulus unbiased and without using prior categorizations, generalizations and judgments, you'd be standing at the street corner for hours trying to figure out when it's safe to cross.

So the question arises - how does one make sound judgments? That's for another day, because it won't always be as easy as spotting a purse slung around one's waist...

__________

If this entry seems even more incoherent than usual, it's because I started writing it a couple months ago and resurrected the idea amidst my blogging drought.



	Saturday, October 08, 2005 · posted at 8:08 PM Well, actually I already decided to sleep with you when I got off the train. ~ Celine, Before Sunrise Malcolm Gladwell, in his book, Blink, discusses the idea that important, and non-important, decisions are made instantaneously all the time, within the blink of an eye. Now I've not read the book, but I can think of plenty of personal anecdotes that serve to validate this theory. For example, the other day I was at a coffeeshop perusing the menu even though I know I'm just going to end up getting a small nonfat chai latte, when I was accosted by a stranger who wanted to compliment me on my shirt (a plain pink polo) and use that to "shoehorn" his way into a conversation. These are the instantaneous slivers of information taken in: (1) Poor come-on line. (2) Lack of intelligence - what part of my frown says, "Sure, I'd love to talk to you!" (3) Receding hair line plus bad plugs. (4) The ability to look the guy eye-to-eye (same horizontal plane). (5) Tucked-in shirt. (6) Fanny pack around the waist. I kid you not! And not like a "I'm Jay Turtle so I can get away with making it look cool" way... blink. It was like a walking poster of auto-fails. By the time he asked what my nationality (yes, that's right... nationality) was, any semblance of the guessing game was long ago over. This may sound extremely short-sighted - but then again, isn't that the keystone of split second judgments? In this example, I took in the details of the situation and used them to calculate the probability of a meaningful encounter versus a waste of breath. Clearly a case of the latter - even with the fresh optimism from recently watching Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, two great movies by Richard Linklater about connecting (and then re-connecting) with a total stranger. Those people who say, "I'm not judgmental"? Liars, the whole lot of them. Even that simple statement is making the judgment that to be judgmental is undesirable. Judgments are completely necessary in life. If the human brain had to interpret each new stimulus unbiased and without using prior categorizations, generalizations and judgments, you'd be standing at the street corner for hours trying to figure out when it's safe to cross. So the question arises - how does one make sound judgments? That's for another day, because it won't always be as easy as spotting a purse slung around one's waist... __________ If this entry seems even more incoherent than usual, it's because I started writing it a couple months ago and resurrected the idea amidst my blogging drought.	Recent Posts The Ecological Model: A Case Study Many theories o... Sometimes I feel like I'm trapped in a game of Fro... I've discovered the source of the foul smells of N... shhhhh... i've got a secret.I knew when I saw two ... The Book of Joe, Jonathan Tropper.After college, C... Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle"Beware of the man who... Leaving on a jet plane. Celine: Its just... its de... Now I know my A-B-C's... Too bad it's your 1-2-3'... But now, not so muchPauly Shore has a new show on ... emmanuel lewisSalesgirl (at a clothing store at th... Morning news babie goose ryan bluemouse daves son dawntaught desiree diorama emily escadawg galveric high entropy invisible cube jepgato kyellow lilly mhuang mogbert nudream starfish + coffee verbivore Archives March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 January 2007 March 2007 April 2007 November 2008

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