Janice Kaplan

Most people, when asked to picture a genius, picture a man. Why is that? Not because there haven't been brilliant women, but because their talents have not been encouraged (or have been actively squashed) or recognized or nurtured in the way that men's have. If genius is "where extraordinary ability meets celebrity," women have historically been lacking the celebrity part of the equation. Yet here, Kaplan finds many genius women, both contemporary and historical.

See also: A Room of One's Own show more by Virginia Woolf, Shrill by Lindy West, How to Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran ("Nearly everything so far [in history] has been the creation of men....Pretending that women have had a pop at all this before but just ultimately didn't do as well as the men...gives strength to the belief that women simply aren't as good as men, full stop....Women are over, without having even begun. When the truth is that we haven't begun AT ALL. Of course we haven't. We'll know it when we have.")

Quotes

Nobody dreams of mentioning gender when great work is done by a man....It's...difficult for most of us to realize that we live in a world where men's judgments and perspectives are the very air we breathe. (5)

"Genius...[is] where extraordinary ability meets celebrity....Women have historically had only half the equation - the ability but not the celebrity. Their talent went unnoticed." -Charles Jones (18-19)

[Confirmation bias] Research shows that when you already have an opinion about something, you look for the facts and information that will support it. (22)

Looking back over the centuries, it's rather shocking to realize just how little has been done to nurture talented women in any field and give them the chances that they deserve. (35)

"I feel confident about what I'm able to do, and I think I should be here doing it." -Jo Dunkley at Princeton (52)

Guerrilla Girls: without the vision of women artists, "you're seeing less than half the picture." When you ignore the work and voice of women, you're not giving a fair view of the culture at all. You're just telling the story of who is in power. (69)

We rarely use just our own eyes to evaluate a piece of art. We reply on what critics have said and the celebrity of the artist. (75)

"You don't know what you can be until you see it." -Mayim Bialik (90)

We all like to think that we are in control of our choices, so it's unsettling to realize just how much of what we do is influenced by cultural expectations. (90-91)

Our belief systems are powerful enough to change our physical functions [the placebo effect]. They are also powerful enough to change what we can achieve. (93)

FAB: Field-specific ability beliefs (96)

Could it be that once a field has more women, it's less valued and not considered as an area that requires true genius? (96)

"You can make up a story to explain anything - but it doesn't mean it's right." -Lise Eliot (108)

"When you divide people ['hello, boys and girls'], you announce that you have different expectations for them - and that's just wrong." -Lise Eliot (111)

Genius women...don't necessarily fight the stereotypes so much as ignore them. (119)

Forget writing women OUT of history; a lot of men didn't want to write them IN. (142)

"What I think we need to make clear to women is that you're already getting special treatment...It's called special negative treatment and the men are getting special positive treatment. You have to correct for that - otherwise you're dipping lower in the talent pool to get these less-qualified white men." -Meg Urry (143)

But the downside of forecasts or predictions or gender expectations is that we assert a subtle and unconscious force to make them turn out true. (157)

Power means "the ability to be effective, to make a difference in the world, and the right to be taken seriously." -Mary Beard (207)

Orthogonal dimensions (not related, e.g. smart and pretty), "Making a girl give up a way of being in the world that is itself rewarded is one more way we oppress women." -Sarah-Jane Leslie, Princeton (222)

Our identity and sense of confidence get tied into how we look....Women fall into a pattern of..."self-objectification," which means we are always looking at ourselves as we think outsiders would. (225)

The excessive emphasis on appearance makes it harder to focus on anything else that they achieve. (228)

Being too much of a stickler for conventional recognition tamps out any intellectual risk taking. (233)

"The biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action have been white men....The narrative has been that women and minorities take the spots that white men deserve...but the truth is the opposite." -Carol Anderson (245)

Success is "the rewards we earn from the communities we belong to" -Albert-Laszlo Barabasi (265)

If we want to recognize the genius of women, first we have to recognize that women actually exist. Traditions that undermine women [e.g. "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith"] need to be abandoned. (288)

...controlling what women wear or do with their bodies is demeaning, and whatever other excuses are given, it is ultimately an effort to constrain and undercut their talent, potential, and power. (289) show less

I've been seeing references to this book for several months, but it took a sermon on gratitude to provide the needed nudge to order it. I'm a sympathetic audience for Kaplan's message. I'm already a believer in the importance of gratitude, but there's plenty of room for improvement. Kaplan balances her personal experience of living gratefully for a year with research and interviews with scientists, doctors, psychologists, counselors, and fitness experts, as well as quotes from philosophers.

I show more couldn't help noticing a big hole in Kaplan's otherwise thorough research. Kaplan largely neglected a religious perspective on gratitude. She spoke to one Rabbi, one or two devotees of New Age spirituality, and one Catholic friend, but she didn't address what any of these religions actually teach about gratitude. The Bible has a lot to say about it:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6, ESV)

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17, ESV)

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV)

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-2, ESV)

There are also all the Psalms of thanksgiving, too numerous to quote here. It's hard to be proud, envious, greedy, or angry when you're focused on gratitude.

The biggest takeaway I gained from this book is its reminder to enjoy today. One of Kaplan's interviewees made the observation that thinking too much of the past can lead to depression and thinking too much about the future can lead to anxiety. It struck me that, in a sense, depression and anxiety are two sides of the same coin. I need to learn from the past and plan for the future while making sure that I fully live in the present. show less

GRATITUDE like MEDITATION is getting a lot of press these days and who can find fault!

I have been reading lots about this particular book The Gratitude Diaries so I thought I would give it a whirl. Kaplan is a a journalist married to an Internist (who adores her).....and she writes about gratitude in the context of marriage (fall in love again), children (really ??? teenagers???), jobs, health, sibling relationships (healing), personal struggles (alcohol), personal tragedies (tough ones) and show more personal goal setting (dieting). She tours the U.S. and interviews gurus in these areas that have got "gratitude" figured out. She quotes lots of research studies. I knew before I started this book that it is always better to view the glass half full, rather than half empty and to count our blessings.

I have always been intrigued when people return from third world countries and say how they found people with no worldly goods to be happy and willing to share while (we the fat cats) struggle with our moods and entitlements and affluence to keep a smile on our faces. Just saying.......

Okay so where is my struggle with this book? There just is too much ego and self reflection and self congratulations for me to celebrate this book. I will take a slice away from it and try my best to see the good and be grateful. It has inspired but with a dose of discomfort. show less

This was a pretty decent work of chick lit. It actually didn't end the way I expected it, which is good. I'd enjoy reading more of this author.