S05 E13: Focus: Overcoming Our System Blindness

In this episode of Bookish Mind, Season 05, Episode 13, we delve into Chapter 13, "System Blindness," from Daniel Goleman's book Focus. We uncover why our brains struggle to directly perceive the intricate systems that govern our world, leading to a pervasive "system blindness" that affects everything from industrial waste to global challenges. Discover how ancient practices like Polynesian wayfinding, exemplified by Mau Piailug, showcased a profound "systems awareness"—a skill crucial for survival that has largely been forgotten in the modern age. We explore the consequences of this cognitive gap, including the "illusion of explanatory depth" and our difficulty in responding to slow-moving, invisible threats, and consider what it takes to develop the "prosthesis for the mind" needed to truly see the big picture.