The World's Best Book Summaries
No one can predict the future. But why? Why are some situations and events more predictable than others? We’ll cover the nature of predictability according to Nassim Nicholas Taleb and look at why it is that no one can predict the future.
What is the black swan fallacy? How is it most famous today? The black swan fallacy is the tendency of people to ignore evidence that contradicts their beliefs and assumptions. This fallacy can also refer to the tendency to believe that things they’ve never witnessed don’t exist. We’ll cover the roots of the black swan fallacy and look at modern-day, black-swan-fallacy examples.
What is stage 3 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What is the significance of supernatural aid? Supernatural aid is the stage of a hero’s journey during which the hero meets an otherworldly helper. This supernatural aid is a personification of the hero’s destiny. Supernatural aid is stage 3 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what forms this supernatural aid may take and look at an example of a hero encountering supernatural aid.
What is stage 5 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What does “the belly of the whale” have to do with the hero’s journey? The belly of the whale is the stage of a hero’s journey during which the hero symbolically dies and then must be reborn. The belly of the whale is stage 5 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what forms the belly-of-the-whale stage may take and look at two examples of a hero encountering the belly of the whale.
What is the hero’s journey? How is it relevant today? The hero’s journey is a template of the plots of ancient and current myths and legends. It was popularized by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what the hero’s journey entails and why it’s still relevant today.
What is the “call to adventure” in the hero’s journey? What step in the hero’s journey is it? In Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the call to adventure is the first stage of the 17 stages of the hero’s journey. It is during this stage that the hero discovers a hidden world of possibility. We’ll cover the elements of the “call to adventure” stage of the hero’s journey and look at three examples.
How many hero’s journey steps are there? What are they? Where did they come from? In Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces, there are 17 hero’s journey steps. The Hero With a Thousand Faces is a journey through the world’s mythological traditions, from the ancient Egyptians, to the Romans, the Hindu and Buddhist legends of the east, and the folk-tales and foundation myths of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and Oceania. We’ll cover the 17 hero’s journey steps and what happens in each stage of Campbell’s hero’s journey cycle.
What can the science of happiness tell us about how to be happier? What can it tell us about our happiness compared to the happiness of our ancestors? Are we getting happier over time? Or unhappier? We’ll cover recent research on the science of happiness and look at how researchers determine how our happiness compares to that of our ancestors.
What is the relationship between mindfulness and happiness? Can being more mindful make us happier? Can it reduce suffering? Mindfulness and happiness are a well-researched pair, and many people believe that being more mindful can contribute to your happiness. According to this theory, mindfulness can help you keep from grasping at pleasure and avoiding pain, which are the roots of suffering. We’ll cover how mindfulness and happiness are related and explore some other theories of happiness.
What are the basic theories of happiness? Which one is correct? Theories of happiness come from the areas of psychology, biology, philosophy, and religion. Each one has a slightly different take on how to find true happiness. We’ll cover the four theories of happiness and discuss how they compare.