Sep
12th
Fri
12th
Congratulations to Malcolm Gladwell for contributing another phrase to the popular lexicon, but the thesis of his best-selling book Blink was not that snap decisions are superior to decisions based on careful deliberation. It was that people who have a deep understanding of what they do—for instance, really good surgeons, military commanders, air-traffic controllers, and so forth—often make their best decisions quickly and instinctively.
But if you don’t know what you’re dealing with, snap decisions can be fatal. And it’s very clear, on foreign policy and national security (in addition to much else), Sarah Palin doesn’t know what she’s dealing with. Worse, she doesn’t know how much she doesn’t know. She thinks that being “committed to the mission” exempts her from the need to think and that, therefore, firmness alone will yield righteous policy. In the wrong hands, this is a very dangerous trait.
But if you don’t know what you’re dealing with, snap decisions can be fatal. And it’s very clear, on foreign policy and national security (in addition to much else), Sarah Palin doesn’t know what she’s dealing with. Worse, she doesn’t know how much she doesn’t know. She thinks that being “committed to the mission” exempts her from the need to think and that, therefore, firmness alone will yield righteous policy. In the wrong hands, this is a very dangerous trait.
