Look

May 15, 2023
In this illuminating study, Madsbjerg (Sensemaking), a professor of applied humanities at the New School, explores human perception and how readers can harness the “rigorous observational process” of “hyper-reflection” to better understand the world. Drawing on phenomenology (the study of how humans experience the world), Madsbjerg writes that perception relies on context rather than raw sensory data—humans recognize the whole before its individual components. Impressions are also heavily colored by social and emotional context, according to Madsbjerg. For example, a romantic suitor and a gardener might view a rose in different ways, and abstract concepts such as “freedom” are likewise reliant on cultural context. To truly perceive, it’s essential to observe without judgment, noticing the unfamiliar in the familiar and vice versa, as well as attending to what’s absent. The author weaves in discussion of writers, artists, and philosophers who put the skill of perception into action, such as Financial Times reporter Gillian Tett, one of the few who foretold the 2008 financial crisis long before the collapse of Lehman Brothers; political theorist Ernesto Laclau; and biographer Robert Caro, whose up-close research allowed him to “see through the eyes” of his subjects. While Madsbjerg leans more into cultural influences on perception—drawing heavily on qualitative research and anecdotal evidence—than practical strategies, readers will be inspired by his clear enthusiasm for viewing the world with an open mind. This casts a fresh light on the everyday.

June 1, 2023
The author of Sensemaking explores what it really means to pay attention. The premise of this book is that contemporary people have lost the capacity for mindful observation of the world around them. As an entrepreneur, corporate consultant, and instructor at the New School, Madsbjerg teaches people how to take note of phenomena that we often fail to recognize as important--if we even see them at all. Using Wittgenstein as his guide, the author argues that it's only through paying attention to what happens in the background that we fully understand what's happening in the foreground. "Most people don't even take the time to acknowledge that the background is there," he writes, promising to provide "brief thought pieces accompanied by prompts, provocations, and inspirations designed to guide you in your practice." While Madsbjerg does offer numerous illustrations of what he calls "hyper-reflection" drawn from the realms of science, art, and business, readers who really want to learn how to put hyper-reflection into practice may come away feeling a bit unsatisfied. This book began as a college course (developed with his colleague Simon Critchley) called Human Observation, and it shows. Much of the content makes more sense as a weekly reading assignment for students than as a self-help book. All of the figures considered here--from Paul C�zanne to Margaret Mead--are fascinating, but Madsbjerg discusses each of them at considerable length and in great detail for no clear purpose. Philosophy majors might need to know that the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty calls the human body a "perceptual apparatus," but this factoid won't help many other readers. One gets the sense that Madsbjerg keeps trying to sell readers on his idea long past the point they've either bought in or dropped out. Lots of anecdotes, many of them really cool, but not enough practical guidance.

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