Look Again

The Power of Noticing What Was Always There

By: Tali Sharot, Cass R. Sunstein

Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers, Byron Wagner

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

This “smart and fun read, and a valuable way to revitalize your life” (Walter Isaacson) deftly explains how disrupting our well-worn routines, both good and bad, can rejuvenate and reset our brains for the better.

Have you ever noticed that what is exciting on Monday tends to become boring on Friday? Even passionate relationships, stimulating jobs, and breathtaking works of art lose their sparkle after a while. As easy as it is to stop noticing what is most wonderful in our lives, it’s also possible to stop noticing what is terrible. People get used to dirty air. They become unconcerned by their own misconduct, blind to inequality, and are more liable to believe misinformation than ever before.

Now, neuroscience professor Tali Sharot and Harvard law professor (and presidential advisor) Cass R. Sunstein investigate why we stop noticing both the great and not-so-great things around us and how to “dishabituate” at the office, in the bedroom, at the store, on social media, and in the voting booth.

This groundbreaking and “sensational guide to a more psychological rich life” (Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author), based on decades of research, illuminates how we can reignite the sparks of joy, innovate, and recognize where improvements urgently need to be made. The key to this disruption—to seeing, feeling, and noticing again—is change. By temporarily changing your environment, changing the rules, changing the people you interact with—or even just stepping back and imagining change—you regain sensitivity, allowing you to identify more clearly the bad and more deeply appreciate the good.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Tali Sharot and Cass R. Sunstein (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Great book- short and to the point

I loved that I even learned new words (usage) with sparkle. I will be using that way now all the time, thank you. I hope you’re able to have a “sparkly” day!

Fascinating and entertaining.

The most celebrated law Professor of our time, and his brilliant co-author have written a fascinating and entertaining volume on the process of psychological habituation. Especially timely, given our nations possible descent into authoritarianism, and how people have become impervious to the threat through a process of psychological habituation.

Great beginning, didn’t quite stick the landing

Great book until I got to the last few chapters. While I understood the associations and why someone would want to go to society wide problems, it felt that the definition of habituation was so large by the end it felt the term/phenomenon lost its meaning.
I would have loved if they stuck to individuals and their experiences (I think people who gain disabilities later in life would have been an amazing case study), the society wide problems felt too complicated to boil down to a thesis of habituation.
But didn’t regret the buy, the beginning chapters were invaluable!

Very insightful

This book was very insightful for me, I learned a lot about human nature and behaviors

Fascinating

Interesting book, but highly intuitive. Not sure there is anything truly new imparted. Best for people not already aware of the concept of habituation.

bring back the sparkle

I've never thought much about habituation... but these authors have awakened me to its omnipresence and its effects, both helpful and harmful. I plan to use the information to add more sparkle to my life and to find ways to reduce suffering for me and others.

Out of the gate, I wondered if the separate narrators related to the overall topic

I think I was right. Awesome content, awesome narrators, awesome authors great read. As is most every book that Shankar recommends 👍🏻

although I did try to read it a second time and found it boring 😆

New knowledge?

Engaging concept. Learned little that I didn’t already know. Difficult to remain engaged with ongoing reiteration.

One of the best books I've ever listened to

Absolutely fascinating. Each chapter is full of extremely interesting facts about human perception and behavior.

Unfortunately political

What started as a very interesting collection of studies showing the value of staying aware of the creep of habit, this book took the inevitable woke turn toward the one-sided and debunked view that society is not equal for women. Looking forward to the day that science can get back to work and leave the pseudo academic whining to college freshmen.