Capacity for Wonder and Sunsets

This episode of "The Anthropocene Reviewed" reviews humanity's capacity for wonder and sunsets. John Green analyzes F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," highlighting a key sentence that endures despite the novel's initial poor reception and eventual rise to fame, using it as a springboard to discuss the capacity for wonder. He then reviews sunsets, exploring their clichéd beauty through scientific explanation and personal anecdotes, ultimately arguing that their beauty is "enough" and assigning them a five-star rating. The podcast concludes with a dedication to deceased dogs. A specific example used is Green's son's reaction to a leaf, highlighting how attentiveness shapes our perception of wonder.