Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell
Book Review
In Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell poses the question, “why do our interactions with strangers so often go wrong?” He draws on a variety of examples - including the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, the arrest of Sandra Bland, the Amanda Knox trial, Fidel Castro, Adolf Hitler and more - to prove that our inability to make sense of strangers leads us to make inaccurate assumptions, which often results in conflict and misunderstanding.
The two main things I learned from this book (apart from the mini-history lessons) were 1) Facial expressions and body language are not a reliable guide to people’s true thoughts and feelings and 2) People are hardwired to “default to truth” - aka, believe that other people are telling the truth.
While I found the examples and theories provided fascinating, I think the author should have perhaps also included more information on our inherent biases when it comes to strangers. While I think the “default to truth” theory is interesting, I personally think people are more inclined to believe things about strangers that fit their preconceived notions. Nevertheless, it was an eye-opening read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
