Think!: Why Crucial Decisions Can't Be Made in the Blink of an Eye

by Michael R. LeGault

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If bestselling books are advising us to not think, LeGault argues, it comes as no surprise that reasoning has become a lost art in the daily life of Americans. He provides an analysis of the causes and solutions for: the erosion of growth and market share at many established American companies; permissive parenting and low standards that have caused an academic crisis among our children; America's growing political polarization, which is a result of our reluctance to think outside our show more comfort zone; faulty planning and failure to act on information that has led to preventable disasters, such as the Hurricane Katrina meltdown; and a culture of image and instant gratification, fed by reality shows and computer games, that has rendered curiosity of the mind and spirit all but obsolete. LeGault asks more of us than any other societal overview: now is the time to think!--From publisher description. show less

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9 reviews
So when I read about which promotes critical thinking and find its analysis shallow, its prose sloppy and its argument too reliant on conjecture and anecdotal evidence, it could mean that the author is brilliant in drawing out my critical faculties. Sadly, no. This was just one long whiny rant about the demise of good thinking.

LeGualt's chief selling point is a critique of Malcom Gladwell's Blink. I haven't read Blink yet, but as LeGault gave biased and superficial readings of absolutely every author whom I have read, I doubt he did Gladwell justice.

Are there salient points in the book? Yes, there are declining scores in literacy and math and people often lack good critical analysis. But should we argue for a return to rationalism? No. show more Unfortunatley this exactly what LeGualt is trying to do. He is very critical of postmodernity, radical feminism, environmentalism for their lack of thoughtful grappling with the facts. In some cases fair point, but seriously LeGault doesn't seem to want to do much better. So go read Blink, at least I heard that is interesting and this guy doesn't like it all that much. show less
This book is marketed as a refute to "Blink: How to Think Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell. As such, it makes frequent mention of "Blinklike moments" or "Blinklike logic". But, this is only clever marketing: Mr. Gladwell doesn't say we SHOULD think without thinking, only that we do. Fact of life. Learn when to trust your gut and when not to.

Mr. LeGault argues that the American population is actively discouraged from critical thinking by television, permissive parenting, ideology and the focus on self-esteeem. I'm not convinced.

What I do know is that, without the references to "Blink", I wouldn't have bought this book. So, I guess the marketers deserve a star or two. If you think you might like to read this book, do it soon. It is show more very much about current events and will not stand the test of time. show less
½
I really enjoyed this book. It was, in a lot of ways, a counter-argument to the widely popular book, Blink. Michael R. LeGault brought out the heavy artillary to get the point across that Americans basically need to grow up and start critically thinking again. He touched on subjects such as our parenting styles today, our thinking process when it comes to politics, our seemingly favorite saying we love to use, the "I'm too busy," and how most "stress" is a myth, and the negative effects of information overload. He also talked about the damaging affects of our massive amounts of TV watching, video game playing that our young kids are wasting not only their time with, but their brains as well. Michael R. LeGault talked about so many other show more topics and he also gives his opinons on how to save American culture and society, one mind at a time.

A great read...a must read in my opinion.
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I quit this when he had Galileo pointing his telescope at the sun. I think Galileo did get a good look at the sun, saw sunspots, and pointed out that there was no vocabulary for even discussing these things, since the sun was supposed to be perfect. But I really doubt he was dumb enough to stare through his telescope at the sun.

Too carelessly written to be worth continuing with.
In general terms I agree on critical thinking, but then the author goes on to deny the climate crisis...
This book decries the dumbing down of America and the lack of use of logic and reason and the scientific method to solve problems. An antidote to Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink.
Weak premise; a little bit of interesting observation in the middle, but becomes opinionated by the end

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Genres
Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Science & Nature
DDC/MDS
153.420973Philosophy & psychologyPsychologyConscious mental processes and intelligenceThought, thinking, reasoning, intuition, value, judgmentCritical Thinking
LCC
E169.1 .L498History of the United StatesUnited StatesGeneral
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Members
279
Popularity
115,151
Reviews
7
Rating
(3.15)
Languages
English, Portuguese
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
7
UPCs
1
ASINs
2