Brené Brown on Empathy
Why Hacker News recommends it
Recommended as a quick, memorable explanation of how to support someone in pain without making it about yourself.
What it is
A short animated RSA piece with Dr Brene Brown's voiceover on the difference between empathy and sympathy. She argues that real connection requires getting in touch with your own vulnerability, rather than trying to fix someone's pain.
Recommended by 3 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2013 to 2020.
What Hacker News said
Recommends neilk · 2013-12 · on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2013?”
Most of what I read is related to startups or economics, but for the short list of change-my-life books: This year I read a lot about what you might loosely call the Paleo movement / anti-carbs and sugar movement. The New Evolution Diet , The Primal Blueprint , books by Gary Taubes, and so on. I think this is going to change how I eat and exercise forever. The Gift of Imperfection and other works by Brené Brown. Lately this is being promoted by Oprah, which isn't usually a good sign. I think it stands apart because it's not theory or poetry; it's based on some solid research on what people living more productive and satisfying lives are actually doing. If nothing else, her books have made me
Recommends andrewtbham · 2016-01 · on “Is it the Wealth Gap that's bad or the Empathy Gap that comes with it?”
I'm unsure how this anecdote proves anything about a correlation between empathy and wealth. Whether you are rich or poor, you can have empathy. If you're interested in empathy, I suggest you watch this brenee brown video. The video may seem anecdotal but she has done a lot of research about shame and vulnerability and... having read her books, money is not something that comes up in the research. [this video]
Recommends rpdillon · 2020-10 · on “How to deal with extreme physical pain”
My employer had me go through training that had this video as part of the curriculum. Though I already understood the ideas, the video was still useful for me. It's less than 3 minutes long. [this video] In short, sometimes people need connection to others; problem-solving mode isn't always the most useful path.
Cites justanotherta · 2014-10 · on “On Getting Wasted”
Yes, there are certainly many different types of "madness". The "layer of abstraction" that the specific variety of madness imparts on the holder is their own reality. The hypothetical accepted objective true reality is irrelevant to them. While this true reality is the standard with which to measure the conduct of people's behavior, if you are to preserve the emotional well being of the suffer of madness it would be helpful to communicate and act in a way which is consistent with their own subjective reality. By delving into their madness you can understand their behavior and actions more than understanding it from an outside perspective. If the goal is to simply enforce external standards
Cites snthd · 2019-01 · on “My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag”
The problem is not that the comparison is valid or invalid, but that someone supporting you shouldn't be making it about them . Brené Brown on Empathy - The RSA [this video]