The Mystery of Mastery
Mastery isn’t just something that we do in isolation ... It only has meaning if it’s done within a social context.
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For years, Adam Gopnik’s writing has delighted with charming and nostalgic observations of our behavior within the world around us. In this lecture, he’ll use findings from a series of New Yorker essays to ask us, what is it exactly that we do when we learn to do something? When we learn to drive, draw, play the piano, or do magic, what is it that we get good at when we get good, and what's the difference between superficial skill and confident mastery?
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Society
The Festival presents a cornucopia of more than 200 sessions over seven days. Since there's no way to pack it all in, we've gathered these don't miss presentations to help you...
History has made the term "socialism" vague and unproductive, according to linguistics professor John McWhorter. Should it be retired?
The divide between targeted values-based approaches and broad-based efforts remains a fascinating reflection of the tensions inherent in Trump-era women’s organizing.
While all emotions are valid, their usefulness might ultimately come down to how well a person is able to interpret the signals that their feelings provide.
Alex Honnold's successful free solo of El Capitan is a remarkable triumph of humankind in collaboration with nature. But let's be careful about what lessons we take away from...
Valerie Jarrett shares advice on stepping out of your comfort zone, her favorite memories from inside the White House, and how we can empower women and working families.
Small moments of joy are often the first to go when we're stressed or in a crisis. But they're actually a tool to restore our emotional well-being, says designer Ingrid Fetell...
Rick Doblin wants to be a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. Learn about his work using MDMA, or ecstasy, to help people suffering from PTSD.
Happiness, says designer Ingrid Fetell Lee, is a broad evaluation of how we feel about our lives over time.
