Thursday, September 30, 2010

More Gladwell

Blink:  The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, an admirable follow-up to Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point (see August 24 entry), is an engaging analysis of human cognition.  In Blink, Gladwell presents the idea of "thin-slicers"--that is, individuals who make instantaneous judgments and decisions about other people and situations.  He provides numerous examples to demonstrate how this sort of decision making is often more intuitive and more accurate than that which which has been researched and analyzed.  For example, he presents the story of a fake Kouros (an ancient Greek sculpture) which deceived one team of art experts who'd spent months studying it; or a psychologist who can determine with 95% accuracy whether a married couple will divorce simply by watching an hour-long video of them engaging in conversation.  The engrossing examples go on and on--some of them demonstrating the positive power of thin-slicing, while others demonstrate its potential flaws.  As usual, Gladwell flawlessly connects all of these examples to build a clear argument that's socially and culturally relevant. 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A "Must-Do" Exercise DVD

When I first started this blog, I never considered that I'd make recommendations for workout videos.  But here I go:  if you like a fast-paced, motivating exercise, then you must check-out Jillian Michael's newest DVD:  Shred-It With Weights.  The DVD includes two 30 minute leveled workouts which fly by, despite their difficulty.  As with her other DVDs, Jillian creates routines in circuits that involve weights, cardio and abs.  What's different here is her incorporation of a kettlebell in place of regular hand weights (though you can easily substitute hand weights in place of the kettlebell).  There's a lot of swinging and squatting that also lend to the unique feel of this DVD (and, consequently, the unique pain my thighs felt the morning after my first use of the video!).  If you like to be challenged, this workout's for you.