Tali Sharot and Cass R. Sunstein at The Cambridge Public Library

Harvard Book Store welcomes TALI SHAROT—award-winning author and professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London and MIT—and CASS R. SUNSTEIN—the nation's most-cited legal scholar and co-author of the national bestseller Nudge—for a discussion of their new book Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There. They will be joined in conversation by DANIEL GILBERT—Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness.

Ticketing

Tickets to this event are now sold out. People are welcome to start a stand-by line at the library, and if any seats are still open five minutes before the event begins, we will turn them over to the people in the stand-by line on a first-come, first-served basis. Of course we can’t guarantee that those in the stand-by line will get in, but we are often able to let in some of those patiently waiting. 

RSVP for free to this event or choose the "Book-Included" ticket to reserve a copy of Look Again and pick it up at the event. Tali Sharot and Cass R. Sunstein will sign copies of their new book after the presentation.

About Look Again

Have you ever noticed that what is thrilling on Monday tends to become boring on Friday? Even exciting relationships, stimulating jobs, and breathtaking works of art lose their sparkle after a while. People stop noticing what is most wonderful in their own lives. They also stop noticing what is terrible. They get used to dirty air. They stay in abusive relationships. People grow to accept authoritarianism and take foolish risks. They become unconcerned by their own misconduct, blind to inequality, and are more liable to believe misinformation than ever before.

But 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?

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 work, based on decades of research in the psychological and biological sciences, 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 more clearly identify the bad and more deeply appreciate the good.

Praise for Look Again

“One trait of history’s most creative thinkers—from Leonardo da Vinci to Albert Einstein—is that they are able to look anew and marvel at everyday things that most people have quit noticing: the alluring blueness of the sky, the passage of time, the way a light beam creates a spot of luster on a leaf. Look Again can help us all look in a fresh way at things around us. It’s a smart and fun read, and a valuable way to revitalize your life.” —Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of Steve Jobs

"Timely and important. A clear and provocative book about the power of expectation and the endless mystery of the human mind." —Tara Westover, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Educated

"A sensational guide to a more psychologically rich life." —Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit

Masking Policy

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.