This past weekend I tore through Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. As a psychology major, I found this book fascinating, but it is definitely not limited to just psych nerds like myself! This book was an in-depth discussion of the way we act around strangers, and in turn around people we know and trust.
Gladwell analyzed the human tendency to default to the truth, or in other words see the best in people until we have a reason to believe otherwise. He dedicated chapters to infamous interactions with strangers and unpacked their outcomes.
I started reading this book on Friday, July 10th. Eerily, the first chapter of the book was about the arrest and suicide of Sandra Bland, which occurred on July 10th, 2015. It was so interesting to break down Bland’s interaction with the police officer that pulled her over through the lens of Gladwell’s theory, especially during the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement.
Gladwell also addressed cases such as Jerry Sadunsky, Bernie Madoff, Brock Turner, Larry Nassar, Sylvia Plath, and other infamous “stranger interactions” in the book. The implications of defaulting to the truth in our justice system are scary, but I’m so glad I learned more about it.
This book was compelling in many ways, but for me the largest takeaway was the recognition of what it means to default to the truth. It was shocking for me to see how much flies under the radar in terms of our interactions with strangers, peers, and even family.
With all of that said, I did not close this book feeling down or cynical. It was simply an eye-opening experience. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the page.
If you have the chance, absolutely give this one a read!
xx, Lauren
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