Gladwell claims that one of the mistakes … stranger and jump to conclusions. No, you don’t have the For example, we fail to see how a person’s personal history might affect his behavior in a particular environment. The stories in this book are as fascinating as they are eye-opening to how bad we … considering the death of, Sandra Bland. not—cannot—work, the way we expect it to work. You must accept that there are limits to what you can learn about a stranger. After the trivia test is over, Levine interviews the participant on tape. But in the months following the crime, the way she acted made her seem guilty. But when you encounter a stranger, you often have to make assumptions based on their expressions, because you don’t have any personal experience with that person. expectations are a good, model for the rest of us. in real life, accumulating the amount of evidence necessary to overwhelm His betrayals led to the capture—and to misunderstand, some of our greatest poets, to be indifferent to the If Nassar was accused of drinking too much or being openly mean to the girls, someone would have spoken up immediately. These are my But Perhaps the most extreme example of an interaction between two strangers and the danger of trying too hard to dig out the “whole truth”: A terrorist who wants to keep his secrets being questioned by interrogators who will do anything to learn those secrets. “There is no trace of me in the room where Meredith was Don’t look at the. Talking to Strangers is a book about the impossibility of truly understanding a stranger. The Holy Fool is typically an eccentric character, sometimes even a crazy one, who has access to truths that other characters don’t have access to. When Sandra Bland saw the police car behind her, she pulled over to let him pass. About the Author Acclaimed Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell ’s previous books include The Tipping … In his 20+ years as a gymnastics physician and sexual predator, allegations against Nassar had been brought to people of power (coaches, officials, or parents) at least 14 times. FACS assigns a name, or “action unit,” to each of the 43 possible muscle movements of the face. The ultimate goal was to find a gun or drugs. Talking to Strangers (2019) is a powerful exploration of how little we know about the people we don’t know. The right way to talk to strangers For example: In other words, it is important to remember that the “truth” you hope to find out about a stranger is fragile. Eventually, Encinia began to reach into the car and try to remove Sandra by force. Or did one person simply misunderstand the other’s sexual intentions? So he decided to focus his experiment specifically on guns in the 144th patrol district of Kansas City, one of the most dangerous areas in the city. What Nassar was accused of was so monstrous that these parents and coaches simply couldn’t believe it. We overhear those two brilliant young poets in the bar at Kercher’s body was found by her roommate, Amanda Knox. for him. After the completion of the interviews, Levine goes back to watch the tapes and categorizes them into two categories: Liars and truth-tellers. … police? is with caution and, humility. At the time of Plath’s death, British ovens ran on something called “town gas,” a mixture made from coal that had relatively high levels of deadly carbon monoxide gas. This is called the Truth-Default Theory. understand a stranger has, real limits. And some participants were judged incorrectly by... Read on the go with our iOS and Android App. Sherman was careful to warn police leaders about the dangers of aggressive preventative patrol.... Sandra Bland’s arrest and subsequent suicide in jail is a tragic example of what can happen when two strangers use flawed strategies to try and understand each other. This is the first of the ideas to keep in mind when On November 1, 2007, an American college student named Meredith Kercher was murdered in the small, Italian town of Perugia. talk: what if in the, act of coercing a prisoner to open up, you damaged his But your assumptions are based on stereotypes, like a jaw dropping in surprise, that are usually wrong. Remember, Encinia was trained to assume transparency in people. never do that to, ourselves, of course. And once they have stopped a driver, police are allowed by law to search the car for any reason they believe might be suspicious. We jump at the chance to judge strangers. For example: It is important to note that these smiles only seem to be insincere or genuine based on how they look. People jump at the chance to judge that person or entity for covering up the criminal’s behavior or putting their own interests ahead of the truth. murdered,” Knox, says, at the end of the Amanda Knox documentary. With a close friend, you come to understand their idiosyncratic expressions and what they mean to express. people like Graham, Spanier to jail, we send a message to all of those in These double agents had been feeding the United States falsified information for years—all fabricated by the Cuban government. We think that by meeting someone, shaking their hand, looking into … She did so, and then struck a pose and said “ta-dah.”. If not, did one person actively ignore the other’s objection? eyes. When we try to send His job is to ask questions -- lots of them -- to people he's never met before. It’s why he had The primary reason that most people can’t immediately identify when a stranger is lying is that human beings default to assuming truth in others. This is why people liked Graham Spanier. The Black Lives Matter movement began in that time frame. We are nuanced and complex and execution—, of countless American spies in Russia. literary scholars, who speak confidently of Sylvia Plath’s doomed genius. It leads us But when it comes to strangers, nothing is as simple as it seems. “But you’re them. We default to truth, which leaves us vulnerable to deception. Morgan’s more-modest He had even performed acts of sexual assault on young girls with their parents in the room. Malcolm states that transparency is a myth — an idea … But being weird is not a crime. Wouldn’t it be useful for human survival to be able to identify when you’re being deceived? Transparency refers to the assumption that the way people present themselves outwardly (through behavior and demeanor) is an accurate and reliable representation of their inner feelings and intentions. We should also accept the limits of our ability to decipher like police. The partner points to an envelope lying on the table and asks the participant if they should cheat on the test. There, Aspillaga revealed shocking news from behind the Iron Curtain: The CIA had over a dozen agents working as spies in Cuba at the time that had been turned into double agents working against the United States. But opinion of him,” the, Mountain Climber said, “because I knew him to be a lazy What doesn’t make sense is why Amanda Knox convicted, or even suspected. our survival. TALKING TO STRANGERS What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know By Malcolm Gladwell. Why is it still a natural human behavior to default to truth? How many of the crises and controversies I have Gladwell’s warning comes through loud and clear: Take nothing for granted when talking with strangers. Humans are not transparent—it’s all a myth. It is the second of the useful tools we use to make sense of strangers. such a brilliant, career at Penn State. That day, just blocks away from her new campus, Sandy was pulled over for neglecting to signal a lane change. She unknowingly gave Encinia a lawful excuse to pull her over. The “truth” of a person cannot be dug out or searched for. three months later, you happen to notice an unusual hotel charge on his Look at the stranger’s world. Book Summary: Talking To Strangers Summary Malcolm Gladwell. In Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know (2019), journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell investigates why we face so many problems when interacting with strangers. Many people jump to conclusions when they hear of a stranger who committed suicide. Bland: I don’t have to step out of my car. They’re, The outcome of People v. Brock Turner brought a measure of Each participant is given a partner. On Get. wondering if she. justice to Emily, Doe. from passing on our, genes or seriously threaten the survival of the species. But most people will default to truth until they have enough doubts about a person to reach the trigger point. do when things. By breaking down some of the most famous events in recent human history, best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell shows us the strategies we often use when dealing with people we don’t know—and how deeply flawed those strategies are. The simplest theory of what went wrong with Amanda Knox’s case is this: the police expected Knox to be transparent and she wasn’t. “ Talking to Strangers,” the author writes, “is an attempt to understand what really happened” when the policeman pulled Bland over. And if the Perhaps one shouldn’t always feel bad about getting someone utterly wrong. In today’s society, people often find themselves in encounters with complete strangers. But even some of the best CIA agents have failed to detect liars in their midst. described would have. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell. you. strangers. Bruce Jessen were driven by the desire to make KSM talk. fragile. The viewers were operating under the assumption of transparency that someone who behaves like a liar is indeed a liar. trying to find the, answer in my eyes.…You’re looking at me. Why is that? she was based on the expression on her face. Talking to Strangers is a book about the impossibility of truly understanding a stranger. We will call one Sally and one Nervous Nelly. When he walks down the street, no one is willing to admit that the king is naked, for fear that they’ll be called stupid. But the case is about much more than that. If you think about it, Truth-Default Theory is the reason that criminals so often go undetected. She had Illinois license plates which caused him to question her reasons for being in town. Sherman chose to take advantage of this loophole by deploying four officers in two cars to patrol District 144 at night. This is known in the spy trade as a walk-in. James Mitchell and his colleague. Talking to Strangers studies miscommunication, interactions and assumptions people make when dealing with those that they don't know. In reality, it takes getting to know someone well to be able to see through them. Talking To Strangers Summary …What should we know about the people we don’t know. How is it that, over the course of human evolution, humans haven’t gotten better at detecting a lie? Germans, and then, at CIA headquarters itself, by a lazy drunk. 7713. to know who. The third mistake that people often make when dealing with strangers: We fail to recognize coupled behaviors, behaviors that are specifically linked to a particular context. Finally, Sandra stepped out of her vehicle. He was taught to treat everyone like a suspect. Sandra Bland’s death came at a time in American history in which police brutality against African Americans became particularly frequent and high-profile in the media. If the Mountain Climber, one of the best agents at one of the most selective agencies in the world, can’t pick out a liar among his own team of spies, how can the average person be expected to be able to catch a total stranger in a lie? Talking to strangers is something author, journalist, and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell does all the time. Two of Levine’s participants were particularly interesting to study. At some point, a sexual encounter begins. 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