Blink

by

Malcolm Gladwell

The Locked Door Symbol Icon

Gladwell compares the actions of the adaptive unconscious to a locked door. The human mind is a complicated place, and most of its behaviors are difficult, if not impossible, to understand—in fact, the act of trying to interpret intuition often interferes with intuition itself. In this sense, the locked door symbolizes the mysterious, complicated nature of the mind, and the fact that attempting to understand it actually changes it.

Get the entire Blink LitChart as a printable PDF.
Blink PDF

The Locked Door Symbol Timeline in Blink

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Locked Door appears in Blink. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: The Locked Door
Rationality vs. Intuition Theme Icon
...being able to explain them. Put another way, snap judgments take place behind a “ locked door .” When people try to explain their snap judgments, the explanations are never very convincing.... (full context)
Rapid Cognition, “Thin-slicing,” and the Adaptive Unconscious Theme Icon
Rationality vs. Intuition Theme Icon
...behavior. Perhaps, Gladwell suggests, it would be better to keep certain human behavior behind a locked door . (full context)
Chapter 4: Paul Van Riper’s Big Victory
Rapid Cognition, “Thin-slicing,” and the Adaptive Unconscious Theme Icon
Rapid Cognition and Prejudice Theme Icon
Rationality vs. Intuition Theme Icon
...danger was, the firefighter was able to make a rapid judgment from behind the “ locked door ” of his mind, and save his friends’ lives. During the 2000 war game, the... (full context)
Chapter 5: Kenna’s Dilemma
Rapid Cognition, “Thin-slicing,” and the Adaptive Unconscious Theme Icon
Rationality vs. Intuition Theme Icon
...food tasting—in other words, they have a sophisticated understanding of “what goes on behind the locked door of their unconscious.” (full context)