"Blink" Book Review

I just finished Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Blink,"
Tag-lined "Learning to think without thinking."
I have to say, this was a necessary read.
Often i can get bogged down with the details.
With every aspect of analysis.
Tirelessly debating the pros and cons.

Example:
A few weeks back, I went to Target with the intentions
And the cash to buy a TV.
With Sonja by my side,
And a movie picked out for the new screen,
I managed to talk myself out of buying the TV
And into buying a pizza.

Gladwell's book is not so much about not thinking.
But more or less about training your gut instinct.
He provides an example in the first pages of the book:

A museum was presented with a rare statue.
Pre-Roman Empire, unknown artist, beautifully made type of rock.
The museum was skeptical.
There were less than 20 of these statues remaining.
And none in this condition.
But the museum was curious. And they needed a show-piece.
So, because of the rarity of the statue, the museum had every aspect inspected,
Every dimension analyzed,
Every detail looked over.
It was compared to other works.
Its history was learned
Its insides were tested.
The geologists, historians, and scientists agreed.
Everything checked out.
The museum bought the piece.

They then took the piece to the art experts to show off their purchase.
All the experts hated it.
They said, "Something is not right."
"I hope you didn't buy it."
Turns out, the statue was a replica.

Because the museum ignored their suspicion,
Because the museum wanted this statue to be true.
Because the museum needed a show-piece so badly,
It wasted millions of dollars on a fake.

Blink is that moment in time where subconsciously we make up our mind.
That instant where snap judgments are made, where emotions exist, where thinking is natural.
The moment when we know that "something is not right."
Or the moment when we know "That something is special."

That moment is quick.
It happens in a "Blink."
And all our past experiences,
All our current conditions,
All our knowledge and emotion go into that moment.
And it all combines to create a notion of instinct.

But we can choose to ignore our instincts.
We can want something so badly
That our feeling for the situation,
Our ethos about the experience,
Fades into the night like lightning in a distant storm.

We can train our instincts.
We can study art endlessly.
We can know history.
We can even know the rock.
But when our instinct screams, "no"
And our heart screams louder, "yes,"
Can our instinct persevere?

Gladwell hints at this throughout the book,
But stays focused on the idea of the snap decision,
Blink of an eye moment.
However, I'm much more curious as to how
And when we decide to relax in that moment.
To trust our gut. To follow our suspicion. To go with instinct.
Because wisdom not only lies in instinct, but also in timing.