Michael Tomasello's book "The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition" argues that humans' unique cognitive abilities stem from our capacity for shared intentionality - the ability to participate in collaborative activities with shared goals and intentions. This enables cultural learning and the creation of artifacts, practices, and institutions that... See more
So what you see when you watch someone surfing is they take control momentarily, to situate themselves on a wave, and then they surrender. They’re carried along by it, and then they take control again, and then they surrender. I think that’s a very good analogy of what we do throughout our lives, actually. We’re constantly moving between... See more