On inspiration and intention:
“When you write a book, you need to have more than an interesting story. You need to have a desire to tell the story.”
“I had a lot of trouble with the idea of unconscious prejudice, wrapping my mind around the fact that a significant aspect of the way that we treat other people is outside of our awareness.”
“The book is supposed to make us a little bit more humble about the veracity of our preferences, a little more humble about the basis of the decisions we make.”
“The intention is to reestablish the presence of mystery in our life. It should reaffirm our belief in how wondrously complicated and fascinating our life is.”
“I enjoy close examination of very mundane questions. I like looking at things that we take for granted. I’m not interested in the exotic.”
On reputation:
“To say I’m a popularizer of other people’s academic ideas is to me the highest praise you can offer. That’s exactly what I am, and I’m proud to be it. And by the way, it’s not easy. It’s actually quite difficult. Not difficult in the same way that doing original research is, but it’s a craft. You have to be quite creative to find ways to make them come alive. If that’s what my talent is, I’m the happiest man in the world.”
On writing:
“The world doesn’t lack for good stories. The world lacks for good storytellers.”
Read the interview here.
Image courtesy of Little, Brown and Company via
