![]() ![]() Michael: You also shared with us this idea of chopping a problem into bits. How many piano tuners are there in New York City? And if you’re looking for solution-oriented ways to make the world a better place, I do think that this is a much better strategy. What do we really disagree on? What evidence is there that would change her mind or my mind? Where can we go from here? Framing the culture debates as a puzzle is much more productive. So I try to remember this little mantra: “Don’t get furious-get curious.” So if I’m talking to someone from the other side of the political spectrum, I will try to frame it as a puzzle instead of a war of words. As you might have noticed, we are in a very tribal situation, a very polarized society. “If I’m talking to someone from the other side of the political spectrum, I will try to frame it as a puzzle instead of a war of words.”Ī.J: One is trying to reframe conversations as puzzles, or debates as puzzles. Michael: What are some personal situations that you’ve encountered that you’ve tried to reframe as puzzles instead of problems in your life? It’s like, “Let’s roll up our sleeves and solve these puzzles.” And I think if we frame big problems, like the environmental crisis, as puzzles - you know, “Let’s solve the puzzle of how to stop climate change” - that is much more inspiring to people than calling it a crisis. I find it very empowering, because the word “problem” feels thorny and off-putting and intractable. I have puzzles.” He frames life is as a series of puzzles. There’s a quote I love from Quincy Jones, the music producer, who says: “I don’t have problems. But I think it’s very helpful to frame them as puzzles. I think we’ve got huge problems, and luckily we have this instinct to want to solve them. Michael Kovnat: I think you quote someone as saying evolution wants us to solve things.Ī.J.: Yes, of course, because that’s how we got food. Jacobs: We are wired to want to solve problems. And follow host Rufus Griscom on LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes looks into the show.Ī.J. Listen to A.J.’s appearance on the Next Big Idea podcast below, or read a few key highlights. is back with a new immersive memoir, The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life. To write The Year of Living Biblically, he followed every commandment in the Old Testament, including the edicts stone adulterers and avoid shaving the corners of your beard. I’ve tried to understand the world by immersing myself in extraordinary circumstances.”įor The Know-It-All, he read the Encyclopedia Britannica from cover to cover. “I’ve engaged in a series of experiments on my mind and body,” he says, “some of which have been fruitful, some humiliating failures. Jacobs has attempted to live his life as a human guinea pig. a complex and subtly imagined adventure.For the last 25 years, writer A.J. “An intense, shimmering dream of a story.” – Grand Rapids Press “A smart, entertaining adventure.” – Christian Science Monitor should be intrigued by the mix of historical detail, lush settings, and equally lush language.” – San Jose Mercury News “Daniel Mason’s ambitious, lyrical The Piano Tuner. Its author is rich in talent and promise.” – Philadelphia Inquirer ![]() artfully weaves psychology, politics, medicine and music theory into a polyphonic composition. a gifted writer.” – San Francisco Chronicle “ The Piano Tuner is a haunting, passionate story of empire and individualism. astonishing.” – The New York Times Book Review powerful prose style and his ability to embrace history, politics, nature and medicine. “Mason’s writing achieves that kind of reverie in which every vision, tone, flavor and sensation is magnified.” – LA Times “Reminded me of books I read by flashlight, under the covers, when I was young.” – USA Today The Piano Tuner is a brilliant debut.” – Miami Herald A profound adventure story.” – The New Yorker “Intoxicating, full of sights to see, histories to learn, stories to entertain.” - USA Today ![]() Mason’s writing achieves that kind of reverie in which every vision, tone, flavor and sensation is magnified.” - Los Angeles Times a gifted, original and courageous writer.” - The Washington Post Book World “An ambitious, adventuresome, highly unusual first novel that offers pleasures too rarely encountered in contemporary American literary fiction. Riveting.” -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times It immerses the reader in a distant world with startling immediacy and ardor. ![]()
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