Episode · EconTalk · 2021-10-25
Books mentioned on Paul Bloom on Happiness, Suffering, and the Sweet Spot
Author and psychologist Paul Bloom of the University of Toronto talks about his book, The Sweet Spot, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Bloom argues that suffering is underrated--suffering is part of happiness and meaning.
Paul Bloom recommended Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Flow
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a psychological masterpiece that explores the state of optimal experience, immersion, and deep engagement where challenges perfectly match an individual's skill level, resulting in profound fulfillment and distorted perceptions of time.
Recommended“one of the one of the catalysts of the book though i didn't know it at the time was i read this book uh flo by uh chick sent me a long time ago and it had his radical thesis which is that people are better off when they're engaged in sort of serious intense work than when they're on”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Plugged The Sweet Spot
“and he's back to talk about suffering in his new book the sweet spot the pleasures of suffering in the search for meaning”
Plugged The Sweet Spot
“so you know my book is titled the sweet spot and i have vowed not to try to insert the phrase to sweet spot into every conversation i fall into because it's very tempting”
Plugged The Sweet Spot
“so this book is is you know however this might pain my publicist to hear this not a self-help book it's just an exploration but but i i got some i got something out of writing it my guest today has been paul bloom his book is the sweet spot”