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I Knew I Would Love this Book

Rating – 5 stars

March 1, 2005

In 1983, an art dealer approached the Getty Museum.  He said he had in his possession a near perfect marble statue of a kouros dating from the Sixth century BC.

Since there are only 200 in existence and most are badly damaged, it was a find.  He wanted $10 million for it.

The museum moved cautiously.  It took the statute on loan and began a thorough investigation.  Many experts spent long hours studying it.  They said it appeared consistent with other known Kouroi.   Geologists examined the statue’s surface and concluded it was thousands of years old.

After 14 months of study, the Getty was satisfied and agreed to purchase it.

Yet there were dissenters.  A member of the museum’s board found himself drawn to the statues fingernails.  In a way he could not explain, they did not seem right.  An expert in Greek statues first impression was that something was amiss.  A former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York thought it looked fresh.  And fresh was not the right look.

It turns out these first impressions formed in the first seconds of seeing the statue were correct.  The statue was a fake.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “The only real valuable thing is intuition.”

Malcolm Gladwell would probably agree.  Blink is a book about impressions formed in the first two seconds.  It is a book about how we think without thinking.  Some are great; others not so great. 

It is well-researched and written in a style that draws the reader into the story.  It draws on neuroscience and psychology to change the way you understand every decision you make.  Finish the book and you will never think about thinking in the same way.

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