Around the Institute

The Real Work: Adam Gopnik on the Mystery of Mastery

July 14, 2023  • Aspen Community Programs

Featuring Adam Gopnik, staff writer for the New Yorker and bestselling author, in conversation with Vivian Schiller, executive director of Aspen Digital at the Aspen Institute. Gopnik discusses the findings of his latest book, The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery, in which he investigates a fundamental human question: how do we learn – and master – a new skill? In The Real Work, Gopnik explores how mastery can happen in our own lives, and ultimately, why we relentlessly seek to better ourselves in the first place.