I went on a silent meditation retreat for five days. Most people said to me, you did what? Yeah, I want to silent meditation retreat in Oxford. And the answer is, of course, they have no idea. How do you convey that? Well, there's an obvious way. That's why number one. The best I could do after it was over was to say, when it was over, I felt like I'd seen Les Mis for the first time. If you've seen Les Mis and you liked it, it doesn't really work because you probably say to yourself, you're not going to talk at being silent for five days,. But that's what it felt like
Psychologist and writer Adam Mastroianni says our minds are like the keep of a castle protecting our deepest held values and beliefs from even the most skilled attacks. The only problem with this design for self-preservation is that it also can keep out wisdom that might be both useful and true. Mastroianni's summary of the problem is "you can't reach the brain through the ears." Listen as Mastroianni talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the implication of this view of mind for teaching, learning, and our daily interactions with the people around us.