Look Again: The Power of Noticing What was Always There, Tali Sharot and Cass Sunstein (3.5)
The first part of this book discussed how we habituate things in our life generally so that we have less distractions and can focus on important things. They talk about methods to dishabituate so that you can awaken when needed. I found the second half of the group more interesting as it discussed specific cases of where this coping mechanism plays a particular role. The authors discuss the Holocaust and how habituating relatively small behaviors of the Nazis led to the most horrible atrocities. They also explained that Schizophrenics cannot habituate so they are bombarded with sensory input all the time. Given some recent concerns about the step by step degradation of certain rights, this book offers an interesting perspective and encourages us all to be dishabituation entrepreneurs who call out inured behavior.
