Malcolm Gladwell to Read From New Book Feb. 24
The best-selling author and journalist will also sign copies of his new book, "BLINK: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," after the reading and discussion
Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell will discuss his new book, "BLINK: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at Duke University.
The lecture will be in Fleishman Commons of the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, at the corner of Science and Towerview drives. It is free and open to the public. Visitor parking is available for a fee on Science Drive and in the Bryan Center parking deck.
Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference," was a reporter for The Washington Post from 1987 to 1996, first as a science writer and then as New York City bureau chief. He has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1996.
In 2000, Gladwell expanded one of his New Yorker articles into "The Tipping Point," which Gladwell described as an "intellectual adventure story" about such social epidemics as the sudden drop in New York crime rates in the mid-1990s, the rise of teenage smoking and how a small group of East Village hipsters helped Hush Puppies make a cult-like comeback. "The Tipping Point" spent 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
In "BLINK," Gladwell examines "rapid cognition," split-second impressions and decisions that "are more complicated than has been assumed," he says. Using the lenses of neuroscience and psychology, Gladwell explores such themes as World War II code-breaking, ancient Greek sculpture and speed-dating. His goal, he says, is for people to become more aware of the fact that "snap judgments and first impressions offer a much better means of making sense of the world," particularly in high-stress situations, than previously thought. "BLINK" is currently number one on the New York Times non-fiction hardcover bestseller list.
After discussing and reading from "BLINK," Gladwell will sign copies of his book, which the Regulator Bookshop will offer for sale during the event.
The lecture is co-sponsored by the Sanford Institute's Hart Leadership Program and the Regulator.