THIS IS WATER! by David Foster Wallace

Summary

In this insightful commencement speech, the speaker uses the metaphor of fish oblivious to the water they swim in to illustrate how the most obvious realities of life are often the hardest to perceive. The narrative delves into the mundane frustrations of adult life, urging graduates to recognize the power of conscious thought in shaping their experiences. The speech emphasizes the importance of awareness and the freedom that comes from choosing how to perceive the world, challenging the default setting of self-centeredness and advocating for a more compassionate and reflective approach to life.

Takeaways

• 🧐 The story of the fish serves as a metaphor for the difficulty in recognizing and discussing the most obvious and important realities in life.
• 🌊 The phrase 'this is water' is a reminder to be aware of the everyday, mundane aspects of life that we often overlook.
• 🎓 The commencement speech addresses the graduating seniors, emphasizing that they are about to enter a phase of life filled with routine and the mundane.
• 🛒 The script uses the example of an average adult's day, including the frustration of traffic, crowded supermarkets, and long checkout lines, to illustrate the daily challenges of adult life.
• 🤯 It points out that the default human setting is to view such situations as being about oneself, which can lead to feelings of anger and misery.
• 💭 The speaker suggests that there are alternative ways to think about these situations, which require conscious effort and willpower to adopt.
• 🌈 It is possible to view even frustrating and tedious experiences as meaningful and sacred by choosing to pay attention differently.
• 🤔 The script encourages the audience to consider the broader context and the lives of others when faced with everyday annoyances.
• 💡 The power of education is not just about acquiring knowledge but about learning how to think and pay attention in a way that brings freedom and awareness.
• 🔑 The true freedom comes from the ability to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't, which is a product of being well-educated and understanding how to think.
• 🏁 The speech concludes by emphasizing the importance of awareness and the value of a real education that is focused on life before death, rather than grand philosophical questions.

Q & A

What is the central metaphor used in the script to illustrate the point about the difficulty of recognizing the obvious?

The central metaphor is the story of the two young fish and the older fish, where the older fish asks about the water, highlighting that the most obvious and important realities are often the hardest to see and talk about.

What does the script suggest is the 'default setting' of an adult's life?

The script suggests that the 'default setting' of an adult's life is a state of automatic, self-centered thinking that perceives frustrating situations as being all about oneself.

Why does the script mention the example of an average adult day with work, traffic, and grocery shopping?

The script uses this example to illustrate the mundane and frustrating aspects of adult life that are often overlooked and to emphasize the importance of conscious decision-making in how we perceive and react to these situations.

What is the 'automatic unconscious belief' referred to in the script?

The 'automatic unconscious belief' is the natural tendency to believe that one is the center of the world and that one's immediate needs and feelings should determine the world's priorities.

How does the script describe the potential impact of not making a conscious decision about how to think and what to pay attention to?

The script suggests that without making a conscious decision, one is likely to become angry and miserable, perceiving every frustrating situation as being about oneself and feeling that everyone else is just in the way.

What alternative ways of thinking are suggested in the script to deal with frustrating situations?

The script suggests considering the possibility that others may have their own struggles and hardships, and that their actions may not be intended to cause annoyance but are a result of their own circumstances.

What is the 'real value' of a real education according to the script?

According to the script, the real value of a real education is not about accumulating knowledge but about developing simple awareness and the ability to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't.

What does the script mean when it says 'this is water'?

The phrase 'this is water' is a reminder to be aware of the ordinary and essential aspects of life that are often taken for granted or overlooked, serving as a metaphor for the need to recognize and appreciate the reality of our everyday experiences.

How does the script define 'freedom' in the context of the speech?

The script defines 'freedom' as the ability to make conscious decisions about how to perceive and interpret the world, rather than being trapped in an automatic, self-centered default setting.

What is the main message the script wants to convey to the graduating seniors?

The main message is that the graduating seniors should learn to be well-adjusted by becoming aware of their default settings and learning how to consciously choose their perspective on life's mundane and frustrating experiences.

How does the script differentiate between 'moral advice' and the perspective it is advocating?

The script clarifies that it is not giving moral advice or suggesting a 'right' way to think, but rather it is highlighting the importance of being aware of one's thought processes and the freedom to choose how to perceive reality.