Thin Slice Judgements And Critical Thinking

Everyday we analyze situations and then we make decisions based on those analyses. Often times we do not every realize we are making decisions because they are so unimportant. When you went to the coffee shop this morning before work, did you even look at the menu before you ordered your usual cup of coffee? Some decisions, however, are much more important. For instance let’s say you’re a stockbroker, you have just come in to the office and Samsung stocks are one hundred dollars less than they were yesterday. You have only heard some gossip on the way to work and read some tweets. You have to make a decision…what do you do? Some people will buy, some people will sell, and some people will opt for more information. Quick decisions can have profound impacts in our day-to-day lives, yet they are so often necessary. Gladwell refers to these kinds of decisions as thin-slicing. “Thin-slicing” refers to the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience (Gladwell, 2005, Kindle Locations 247-248). …show more content…
Critical thinking, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.” Facione explains the importance of critical thinking by stating, “As a species we have very few advantages, other than our oversized brain and the critical thinking it can generate. We would be unwise not to use what little we have” (2012). We can view critical thinking as the analysis of a situation that leads us to our choice. Below I have laid out the progression of a thin-slice decision. It is important to understand that that Gladwell’s Blink is based on research, though it is presented