I just finished watching David Brooks‘ wonderful lecture from this year’s series of TED Talks in Long Beach, California.  David is of course the renowned columnist from The New York Times and his books include: “Bobos in Paradise,” “On Paradise Drive,” and his new narrative of neuroscience which was the inspiration for this TED Talk, “The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement.”

I’ve been watching David for years every Sunday on ABC’s political Sunday round-up This Week (the 15-minute round table discussion with George Will and Cokie Roberts has been an essential part of my weekend diet for nearly 15 years now).  Through the years I’ve come to know that the man is not just a brilliant mind, but he’s clearly a very loving person as well; and this TED lecture is no exception to these two observations.  In his talk he gives a wonderfully insightful breakdown of how human consciousness is evolving.  Here’s an abstract from the TED website:

Tapping into the findings of his latest book, NYTimes columnist David Brooks unpacks new insights into human nature from the cognitive sciences — insights with massive implications for economics and politics as well as our own self-knowledge. In a talk full of humor, he shows how you can’t hope to understand humans as separate individuals making choices based on their conscious awareness.

It’s easily the most informative 19 minutes you’ll enjoy all day, so do yourself a favor and watch it below.  To read a review of Brooks’ latest book “The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement” visit The Globe And Mail.