How are social distinctions identified? How are gender roles portrayed?

Malcolm Gladwell's purpose in writing Blink was to expound on a trait of human intelligence that he believes can improve decision-making, namely rapid cognition. Thus he does not focus on social distinctions or gender roles primarily; he wants to elucidate a skill that all human beings share. However, within the course of his discussion, he does elude to social distinctions and gender roles.

As a mixed-race person himself, Gladwell comments on racial issues several times in...

Malcolm Gladwell's purpose in writing Blink was to expound on a trait of human intelligence that he believes can improve decision-making, namely rapid cognition. Thus he does not focus on social distinctions or gender roles primarily; he wants to elucidate a skill that all human beings share. However, within the course of his discussion, he does elude to social distinctions and gender roles.

As a mixed-race person himself, Gladwell comments on racial issues several times in the book. In chapter 3 he discusses the Implicit Association Test (IAT) at length, pointing out that many people in American society carry racial prejudices against blacks, whether they know it or not. He was distressed to find that the IAT revealed that he himself had "pro-white associations." In chapter 6, he relates a story of four white policemen who were involved in a police shooting of a black unarmed man in the Bronx in 1999. Gladwell does not simply blame the shooting on racism but seeks to understand it as an example of a "mind-reading failure." Also in chapter 3, Gladwell relates the story of a successful used car salesman who states, "You cannot prejudge people in this business." The man succeeded because he was unwilling to use the customer's perceived social class as a marker for how he would treat them. From these examples and others, readers sense that Gladwell wants to downplay the importance of social class and race.

Gladwell also asserts the effectiveness of women in professional roles. In chapter 5 he describes going to lunch with two women who owned a professional food-tasting company. In the conclusion, he relates the story of a woman trombone player who had to go to court to receive her rightful position as lead trombone in a symphony orchestra. From these and other examples, it is clear that Gladwell supports women's ability to pursue careers in business and music based on their abilities, not on their gender.