You’ve probably seen the quote. It’s on Instagram, it’s on graduation cards, and it’s tucked into the bio of that one person you know who reads a lot of philosophy. "There are these two young fish swimming along..." It starts like a joke, but it ends up being a heavy, almost desperate plea for sanity. If you are looking for a david foster wallace this is water pdf, you aren't just looking for a transcript. You are likely looking for a way to deal with the soul-crushing boredom of adult life without becoming a total jerk.
In 2005, David Foster Wallace stood in front of a bunch of graduating seniors at Kenyon College. He looked a bit out of place—long hair, bandana, sweating under the lights. He didn't give them the usual "follow your dreams" speech. Instead, he talked about the grocery store. He talked about traffic. He talked about how easy it is to live your entire life on a "default setting" where you are the center of the universe.
The Default Setting We All Hate (But Use Anyway)
Most people want the david foster wallace this is water pdf because they feel like they’re stuck on a treadmill. Wallace’s main point was that our brains are hard-wired to be self-centered. It’s not that we’re evil; it’s just that we are the only people who experience our own lives 24/7. When someone cuts you off in traffic, your "default setting" says they are a jerk who is in your way. You don’t automatically think they might be rushing to the hospital.
Honestly, it’s exhausting.
Wallace argued that a real education isn't about filling your head with facts. It’s about "learning how to think." And by that, he meant choosing what you pay attention to. If you don't exercise that choice, you end up miserable. You end up worshiping things that will eat you alive—like money, beauty, or power.
Why the PDF Version Hits Different
There is a weird history with how this speech became a "book." The actual david foster wallace this is water pdf that circulates online is often just a raw transcript. But in 2009, a year after Wallace took his own life, it was published as a tiny book with one or two sentences per page.
Some people hated this. They felt like the publishers were trying to turn a complex, dark, and beautiful speech into a "Live, Laugh, Love" gift book for graduates. When you read the original transcript, you see the grit. You see the part where he mentions that people who commit suicide usually shoot themselves in the head—a line that was famously edited out of some versions.
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- The Original Context: Delivered May 21, 2005.
- The Metaphor: Two fish unaware they are in water until an older fish points it out.
- The "Water": The obvious, hidden realities of our daily existence.
Real Freedom Isn't What You Think
We usually think of freedom as being able to do whatever we want. Wallace flipped that. He said the only freedom that really matters is being able to care about other people and sacrifice for them in "myriad petty, unsexy ways every day."
That’s the "water."
It’s the boring stuff. It’s standing in a long line at the supermarket at 5:00 PM when you’re tired and frustrated. If you can stay conscious enough to realize that the people around you are just as tired and frustrated as you are, you’ve won. You’ve escaped the default setting.
Where to Find the Best Version
If you are hunting for a david foster wallace this is water pdf, there are a few legal and easy ways to get it:
- The Kenyon College Archives: They still host the original transcript for free because, well, it happened there.
- Farnam Street: Shane Parrish’s site has a great, clean version that includes the audio. Listening to Wallace’s voice—the pauses, the stutters, the heavy sighs—makes the text feel a lot more human.
- The Internet Archive: You can find scans of the 2009 book version if you want to see that specific formatting.
Is It Actually Possible to Live This Way?
Kinda. Sorta. Not really—at least not all the time.
Wallace himself admitted it was "unimaginably hard" to stay this conscious. You’re going to get mad. You’re going to be a "naturally self-centered" person plenty of days. The point of the david foster wallace this is water pdf isn't to make you a saint; it’s to give you a tool to use when the world feels particularly "consumer-hell-type" loud and crowded.
It’s about awareness. It’s about reminding yourself, over and over again, "This is water."
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It’s a mantra for the moments when you want to scream at the person taking too long at the ATM. It’s a reminder that you get to decide what has meaning. If you worship your own intelligence, you’ll always feel like a fraud. If you worship beauty, you’ll die a thousand deaths as you age.
Actionable Next Steps
Instead of just downloading the david foster wallace this is water pdf and letting it sit in your "Downloads" folder forever, try this:
- Listen to the audio first. The text is great, but his delivery adds a layer of empathy you can't get from a screen.
- Practice "The Grocery Store Test." Next time you’re in a frustrating, mundane situation, try to invent a story about the person bothering you that makes them the hero of their own tragedy. It doesn't have to be true; it just has to be possible.
- Print the last page. The ending is the most vital part. Keep it somewhere you’ll see it when you’re "operating on your default settings."
Real education is about the work of a lifetime. It’s about staying conscious and alive in the "day-to-day trenches." It is about the simple, incredibly difficult task of noticing the water.
Next Step: Download the original transcript from the Kenyon College website and read it while listening to the 22-minute audio recording to capture the nuances of Wallace's tone.