Talking to Strangers

[a:Malcolm Gladwell 19407610 Malcolm Gladwell Gladwell https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is one of the world's most successful non-fiction authors. Gladwell was the creator of smash hits such as [b:The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference 2612 The Tipping Point How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Malcolm Gladwell https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1473396980l/2612.SY75.jpg 2124255] and [b:Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking 40102 Blink The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Malcolm Gladwell https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440763417l/40102.SX50.jpg 1180927]. In this, his sixth book he examines interactions with strangers. Specifically, he explores a problem which he says lies at the heart of many societal ills. This is: why are we so bad at understanding people we don't know? Why is it so hard to judge a stranger's motives?Gladwell takes a series of well-known, and more obscure, case studies. He covers examples that includes the:- deceptions of Bernie Madoff,- fact that Neville Chamberlain met Hitler and judged him to be a man of his word,- trial of Amanda Knox- suicide of Sylvia Plath,- Jerry Sandusky pedophilia case at Penn State, and- death of Sandra Bland.These he uses to challenge the assumptions we are programmed to make when encountering strangers. And the sometimes dangerous consequences of misreading people we don't know.Gladwell argues that three common problems tend to derail our interactions with strangers:- we default to truth In other words, we assume that people are honest;- others are transparent when in fact they're not; and- we fail to take into account the differing contexts in which people operate.It's classic Gladwell: he spins a basic idea out through a series of well told stores. Then his mixes this with the work of carefully chosen academics.But I couldn't help feeling a little underwhelmed. So people aren't always transparent to each other? Amazing. Gladwell's job, it seems, is to be puzzled by banalities. Then he replaces them, after lots of pseudo-intellectual digressions, with blindingly obvious insights.But I have to acknowledge that Gladwell is a good writer. His stories are well selected and while we may not always agree with him, his books are diverting and thought provoking (up to a point).