Look Again – A Conversation with Cass Sunstein on Noticing the Water We Swim In

What if we could find a way to see everything anew? What if you could regain sensitivity, not only to the great things in your life, but also to the terrible things you stopped noticing and so don’t try to change? Join Cass Sunstein for a conversation hosted by Bronwyn Williams exploring how disrupting our well-worn routines, both good and bad, can rejuvenate our days and reset our brains to allow us to live happier and more fulfilling lives.

“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, ‘What the hell is water?'” ~ David Foster Wallace

We stop noticing what is most wonderful in our own lives. We also stop noticing what is terrible. We get used to dirty air and take our partners for granted. So, how can we start seeing the “water” we swim in again? And why does noticing – and questioning – our taken-for-granted background reality matter for our personal and societal wellbeing?

These are the central questions posed in Cass Sunstein and Tali Sharot’s new book, Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There.

In this SuperSalon, you are invited to join Cass Sunstein himself in exploring some of the the answers Cass and Tali uncovered through their research into neuroscience and human nature. As David Foster Wallace said, “Important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about” – and that is exactly why we are going to do exactly that: Talk about “the water.”

Recommended Reading:

Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There (Tali Sharot and Cass R. Sunstein)

“Dishabituation: How to trick your brain to find more joy in life” (Alison Flood, New Scientist)

“This is Water” (David Foster Wallace, YouTube)

This event will be recorded.