TheTheory of Thin Slices: How a Little Bit of Knowledge Goes a Long Way

The goal of this paper is to emphasize as well as decipher the multifarious activities Gladwell used to bring his points across in the concept of “The Theory of Thin-Slices: How a Little Bit of Knowledge Goes a Long Way." (Gladwell, 2007, pg.18) Thin- slicing, the ability to gather information in a split second, naturally, as in mind over matter or by conducting experiments, coming to a conclusion. Gladwell presents two types of illustrations of how thin slicing works: natural circumstances and controlled studies.

Naturally in our everyday life our unconscious takes over and albeit to what occurs the point often overlooked is the fact that nothing subconsciously changes the way the unconscious aspect of the mind works. The unconscious happens instantly without knowledge or understanding, it doesn’t allow time to formulate any ideologies, and in fact in a small span of time it generates a thin slice that’s enough to garner lots of information. Indirectly everything else is adjourned and the power to do what the mind perceives as being important in that moment occur unconsciously. In layman terms it’s basically mind reading. An interested example Gladwell used to present the natural circumstances concept was “The Power of the Glance” (Gladwell, 2007, pg.43), in which he explain how thin-slicing occurs without being aware of it. He goes on to discuss how when you meet someone for the first time thin slicing occurs naturally and is something that happens “because we have to” (Gladwell, 2007, pg. 44). As a result, Gladwell, brings to mind the reality that we do not have a choice in deciding if we want to thin slice or not, because our unconscious takes over, enabling us to do things without knowingly being aware of it . It is our unco...

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...ed that when he observed some of Gottman’s subjects there was so much information available in that short span of time that he missed most of the emotional aspects and distinct patterns that were the hallmark of the subjects interactions and the key component in being able to garner the same outcome as Gottman and his staff. According to Gladwell, “the clips were utterly overwhelming” (Gladwell, 2007, pg. 31), it became information overload.

All things considered, Gladwell was able to shed light on the fact that being able to dissect complex interactions in a short timeframe can happen naturally as well as in a controlled setting because the mind is a powerful tool. It begs to differ, if in fact anyone is able to control the mind, yet again maybe one can control the subconscious but not the conscious due to the fact that the conscious part has a mind of its own.