Books: Blink

Blink has the one quality that I look for in a great book. It gives you a way to describe something about the world that you always known or suspected, but could never articulate or structure precisely.

Blink is about the "power of thinking without thinking." Like Malcom Gladwell's first book, The Tipping Point, it's more a synthesis of other works than an original in itself. However, the combination is amazing. Simply put, he places great faith in the power of rapid cognition - the first two seconds of thought. However, it's not just raw intuition, but the power of rapid cognition in the hands of an expert who has spent many hours studying a subject.

What does this have to do with Poker?

Many complex areas like war, the stock market, emergency rooms, police responses, and (my addition) poker, are too fast moving and complex to be subject to rigorous analysis in the moment. One example he gives is the war games leading up to the invasion of Iraq. The Marine colonel playing the part of Saddam decimated Allied forces in a matter of hours using the crudest of resources while the Allied forces with all of the latest technologies and gadgets were completely hamstrung by their decision matrices and structured leadership. Another example he gives is a prominent stock broker who, even after 100s of hours of analysis, makes his decisions based on a twitch in his back.

But, don't take my word on this book (easily in the top 5 of books I recommend), take Evy's word in a recent CardPlayer article.

LM: What do you do when you’re away from the tables?

EN: ... I also read. I used to read lots of novels, but lately I’ve been reading mostly nonfiction (Evy recommends Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell — a nonpoker book, but since it’s about making decisions under pressure, it will improve your game). ...