Humilitas, by John Dickson

One of the greatest books of the year, and perhaps a new end-of-the-year traditional read. . . man it's good.

Thesis: The most influential and inspiring people are often marked by humility (pg 19).

One of the failings of contemporary Western culture is to confuse conviction with arrogance” and that the solution to ideological discord is not “tolerance” “but an ability to profoundly disagree with others and deeply honor them at the same time” (pg 22-23)

Humilitas is “the noble choice to redirect your power in service of another . . . to forgo your status, deploy your resources or use your influence for the good of others before yourself (pg 24) . . . it is impossible to be humble in the real sense without a healthy sense of our own worth and abilities . . . {it} is more about how I treat others than how I think about myself (pg 25).

The power of a military commander, {teachers} CEO or university president are all conferred. They are granted to the leader by the organization. They are therefore extrinsic privileges and should be views as such. In other words, unlike “ability” and “persuasion” and “example”, authority does not belong to the leader” (pg 39).  It is gained by winning people over.

All of us tend to believe the views of people we already trust . . . even a brilliantly argued case from someone we dislike or whose motives we think dubious will fail to carry the same force as the case put forward by someone we regard as transparently good and trustworthy (pg 41, 42).

Leadership is not about popularity. It is about gaining people’s trust and moving them forward (pg 43).

And excerpt from the Hibbert Journal, 1918, Persons in power should be very careful how they deal with a man who cares nothing for sensual pleasure, nothing for riches, nothing for comfort or praise, or promotion, but is simply determined to do what he believes to be right. He is a dangerous and uncomfortable enemy, because his body which you can always conquer give you so little purchase upon his soul (pg 44).

We can all stand in awe of the amazing fact that we find ourselves living in a universe that only operates according to elegant “laws,” but has somehow, through those laws, produced a world of sentient being who can now comprehend those laws (pg 64).

If I have seen further, it is because I am standing on the shoulders of Giants” (pg 79).

Life is like “a boy playing on the seashore, searching for interesting shells and pebbles, while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me” (pg 79).

People who imagine that they know most of what is important to know are hermetically sealed from learning new things and receiving constructive criticism” (pg 116) . . . self-reliance, which {C.K. Chesterton} believed was sapping the energy out of religion, the arts and life itself. Chesterton argued that human pride is in fact the engine of mediocrity. It fools us into believing that we have “arrived”, that we are complete, that there is little else to learn. (pg 120).

Opening yourself up to the vulnerability of being wrong, receiving correction, and asking others how they think you could do better . . . is where we develop (pg 123).

Achievement is such a fragile basis for self-esteem . . . the more you rely on achievement for a sense of worth, the more crushing every small failure will seem . . . knowing that we are loved and valued by those we love and value is the predictor of a healthy sense of self-worth. . . . relationships are where security is really found (pg 127).

Mistakes of execution are rarely as damaging to an organization, whether corporate, ecclesiastical or academic, as a refusal to concede mistakes, apologize to those affected and redress the issue with generosity and haste (pg 130).

An excerpt from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People – Humility truly is the mother of all virtues. It makes us a vessel, a vehicle, an agent instead of “the source” or the principal. It unleashes all other learning, all growth and process. With the humility that comes from being principle-centered, we’re empowered to learn from the past, have hope for the future, and act with confidence in the present (pg 131).

We are not just intellectual beings; we are also emotional and social beings, and these factors must be understood in the art of {teaching} . . . pathos is a speaker’s ability to move his audience with humor or tragedy or simple rhetoric craft . . . {and} we tend to believe people we like and trust (pg 138,139).

It’s a special kind of person who has so much to give and yet prefers to find out about others” (pg 144).

When people trust us, they tend to believe what we say, and few are considered more trustworthy than those who choose to use their power for the good of others above themselves” (pg 147).

The inspiring {teacher} must control his ego and throw his energy into “maximizing other people’s potential” and “ensuring that they get the credit” (pg 156).

From C.K. Chesterton, “An open mind is like an open mouth: its purpose is to bite on something nourishing. Otherwise, it becomes like a sewer, accepting everything, rejecting nothing” (pg 170).

RESOURCES:

-       I Told Me So, by Gregg Elshof

-       A History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

-       Great Speeches in History by William Safire

Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt

Every once in a rare while I'll come across a book that not only speaks to my heart, it pulls at my fingertips and aligns with my heart so acutely, I swear, at some point in life, I would have written that exact story.

Teacher Man was that book.

For that past few weeks, I've been working on writing a teaching sort of book. The title so far is, "Teaching, Learning, and all that Human Being Stuff." I read this book as a sort of, get to know the lay of the land, sort of research. And now, I can't decide if I'm inspired or caged, because so much of what I've been writing and outlining is expressed in this book.

And man is it good. 

Here are a few favorite quotes and possible ideas/resourced I'd like to pursue a bit further:

The professor of education at New York University said, “first impressions are crucial. He said, The way you meet and greet your first class might determine the course of your whole career” (pg 39). This is actually a chapter I've been working on the past two weeks - how this concept seems to be taught and affirmed in many universities and lectures around the world, and how it simply isn't true. Just another educational scare tactic that serves an unclear purpose.

Look into: War poems: Siegfried Sassoon, “Does it matter” and Wilfred Owen’s, “Anthem for Doomed Youth.

Possibly use myself: An excuse note from Adam to God or An excuse not from Eve to God

“There’s no respect for teachers who send you to the office or call parents. If you can’t handle it yourself you shouldn’t even be a teacher. You should get a job sweeping the streets or picking up the garbage” (pg 92). This one too is on my outline of topics to discuss . . . damn you McCourt!

“How are you supposed to discuss the conclusion of The Scarlet Letter, the happy end for Hester and Pearl, with Louise sitting a few rows back, her heart broke, Sal staring straight ahead ready to murder the first Irishman to cross his path? (pg 94).

You Don't Have to Say you Love Me: A Memoir, by Sherman Alexie

Sit with me, please. Let’s talk. Please. Linger.

Let’s touch and eat everything that we touch.

Let us stay through breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Let’s become each other’s favorite sinner.

- Excerpt from the poem Hunger Games (pg 320)

I've always enjoy Sherman Alexie and so wasn't all that surprised to find that I loved this one as well. The rawness, the intimacy, and the truths of hardships with parents and loved ones was about as authentic as I've read, ever, and I couldn't help but hear my own heart through his words.

But what I loved most, perhaps, was the way Sherman Alexie brought me on his journey of frustration, even hatred at times, but how, through it all, he found that his mother also did the best she could.

She was fully flawed, but she was also so much more. And I found that very convicting, as well as encouraging.

One of my favorite reads of the year.

If it’s fiction, then it better be true.

The Art of Learning : Josh Waitzkin

"Times at sea are periods of renewal, coming together with family, being with nature, putting things back in perspective" (pg 18). 

"So a kid aces a math test, comes home, and hears, "Wow that's my boy! As smart as they come!" Then, next week Johnny fails an English test and hears, "Your Mommy never liked reading either - obviously, it's not your thing." The boy suddenly links success and failure to ingrained ability" (pg 32). 

"So you guide the horse toward doing what you want to do because he wants to do it. You synchronize desires, speak the same language. You don't break the horse's spirit" (pg 87). 

"Investment in loss is giving yourself to the learning process" (pg 107).

"{they} were unable to improve because of a fear of releasing old habits. When Chen made suggestions, they would explain their thinking in an attempt to justify themselves. They were locked up by the need to be correct" (pg 108).

"Intuition is our most valuable compass in the world" (pg 137). 

"In life's mundane moments, even the most cunning chess psychologists can reveal certain essential nuances of character. If, over dinner, a Grandmaster tastes something bitter and faintly wrinkles his nose, there might be an inkling of a tell lurking. Impatience while standing in line at the buffet might betray a problem sitting with tension. It's amazing how much you can learn about someone when they get caught in the rain! Some will run with their hands over their heads, others will smile and take a deep breath while enjoying the wind. What does this say about one's relationship to discomfort?" (pg 153) - Conflict reveals Truth of Character. 

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything (via). 

I'm not a math guy, and after reading Zero, more than ever, I'm convinced of this fact. However, it is a worthwhile read and, like the Washington Post said, "It's really something."

Some favorite quotes:

"In the history of culture the discovery of zero will always stand out as one of the greatest single achievements of the human race." - Tobias Danzig

"With the introduction of . . . the infinitely small and infinitely large, mathematics, usually so strictly ethical, fell from grace . . . The virgin state of absolute validity and irrefutable proof of everything mathematical was gone forever; the realm of controversy was inaugurated, and we have reached the point where most people differentiate and integrate not because they understand whether are doing but from pure faith, because up to no it has always come out right" - Friedrich Engels

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

If you've ever read, Same Kind of Different as Me, you'll like this one. If you have't read either, I recommend both. 

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class (via).

If stories are the medium by which we can turn stereotypes into open discussions of curiosity, than this book is first on the shelf. J.D. Vance doesn't shy away from his hillbillyness, rather, he embraces it. Then, he fills in the cracks and holes with the type of humanity everyone can relate to and cheer for. 

How to Fly a Horse: the Secret of Creation, Invention, and Discovery - by Kevin Ashton

I'm starting to realize that these kind of books - the "be an innovator or creator" or "everyone is an artist" sort of book - are all made and written from the same cloth. And How to Fly a Horse is one of the better ones, even though it took a chapter or two to get the horse off the ground. 

: Creation :

"Creation is a chain reaction: thousands of people contribute, most of them anonymous, all of them creative" because, "creation is human. It is all of us. It is everybody (pg 9).

"Creative thinking is the same as problem solving, then extends it to say that creative thinking is the same as thinking in general but with a creative result. In Weisberg's words, 'when one says of someone that he or she is "thinking creativity," one is commenting on the outcome of the process, not the process itself'" (pg 17). 

"Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please'" (pg 18).

"Creation is destination, the consequence of acts that appear inconsequential by themselves but that, when accumulated, change the world. Creating is an ordinary act, creation its extraordinary outcome" (pg 23). 

Work is the Soul of creation (pg 24). 

: Thinking :

"Thinking is finding a way to achieve a goal that cannot be attained by an obvious action" (pg 31). 

: Adversity : 

"Failure is not final. It carries no judgement and yields no conclusions. The word comes from the Latin fallere, to deceive. Failure is deceit" (pg 66). 

"The observation, 'Innovation is a series of repetitive failures' applies to every field of creation and every creator. Nothing good is created the first time" (pg 69).

"Time is the raw material of creation . . . the math of time is simple: you have less than you think and need more than you know" (pg 71).

"Creating something new may kill us; creating nothing new certainly will" (pg 85).

William Syrotuck analyzed 229 cases of people who became lost, 25 of whom died. He found that when we are lost, most of us act the same way. First, we deny that we are going in the wrong direction. Then, as the realization that we are in trouble seeps in, we press on, hoping chance will lead us. We are least likely to do the thing that is most likely to save us: turn around. We know our path is wrong, yet we rush along it, compelled to save face, to resolve the ambiguity, achieve the goal. Pride propels us. Shame stops us from saving ourselves . . . Rejection educates. Failure teaches. Both hurt. Only distraction comforts. And of these, only distraction can lead to destruction. Rejection and failure can nourish us, but wasted time is a tiny death. What determines whether we will succeed as creators is not how intelligent we are, how talented we are, or how hard we work, but how we respond to the adversity of creation (pg 90).

: How we see :

"Inattentional blindness: Something that we can't see, or don't want to see, or our brain doesn't let us see, because we think that it's somebody else's problem" (pg 95).

Selective attention: as someone becomes more trained, they move their eyes less, until all they have to do is glance at a few locations for a few moments to find the information they need (pg 98).

"Experts do not think less. The think more efficiently. The practiced brain eliminates poor solutions so quickly that they barely reach the attention of the conscious mind" (pg 100). 

"Creating is thinking. Attention is what we think about. The more we experience, the less we think - whether in chess, radiography, painting, science, or anything else. Experise is efficiency: experts use fewer problem-solution loops because experts do not consider unlikely solutions" (pg 102).

"Creation is attention. It is seeing new problems, noticing the unnoticed, finding inattentional blind spots . . . the real secret of the art is to always be a beginner" (pg 105).

Expertise - a system of beliefs, experiences, and assumptions, Kuhn calls, a paradigm, has blinded them (pg 107).

From David Foster Wallace:

After work you have to get in your car and drive to the supermarket. The supermarket is very crowded. And the store is hideously lit and infused with soul-killing Muzak. It's pretty much the last place you want to be. And who are all these people in the way? Look at how repulsive most of them are, and how stupid and cow-like and dead-eyed and nonhuman they seem, or at how annoying and rude it is that people are talking loudly on cell phones. Look at how deeply and personally unfair this is. Thinking this way is my natural default setting. It's the automatic way that I experience the boring, frustrating, crowded parts of life.

But there are totally different ways to think about these kinds of situations. You can choose to look differently at this fat, dead-eyed, over-made-up lady who just screamed at her kid in the checkout line. Maybe she's usually like this. Maybe she's been up three straight nights holding the hand of a husband who is dying of bone cancer. If you really learn how to pay attention, it will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't (pg 109). 

On David Foster Wallace: "It's a choice. His ability to choose to see ordinary things differently  - "as not only meaningful, but sacred" - made him one of the greatest writers of his generation (pg 110).

"Dissonance: When what we know contradicts what we believe, we can either change our beliefs to fit the facts or change the facts to fit our beliefs. People suffering from certainty are more likely to change the facts than their beliefs" (pg 116).

"Make an enemy of certainty and befriend doubt. When you can change your mind, you can change anything" (pg 117).

: Chains of Consequence :

"The Amish approach to technology only seems arbitrary. The Amish are cautious about technology because they are cautious about how it shapes their communities" (pg 149) - the decision to accept or deny is based not on themselves and their personal wants and desires. Interesting. 

So, do better tools always lead to a better life? Does making better things makes things better? How can we be sure that making things better won't make things worse?" (pg 156) - great questions. 

: The Gas in your Tank :

From Woody Allen: 

I never like to let any time go unused. When I walk somewhere in the morning, I still plan what I'm going to think about, which problem I'm going to tackle. I may say, this morning I'm going to think of titles. When I get in the shower in the morning, I try to use that time. So much of my time is spent thinking because that's the only way to attack these writing problems (pg 178).

Success doesn't strike; it accumulates.

"Passion is innate and dwells in the heart. Knowledge is instilled and found in the head. The purpose of each Ilongot's life was to develop the knowledge they needed to focus their passion into creation for the common good. . . passion is the most extreme state of choice without reward . . . and the word passion comes from the Latin passio for "suffering" (pg 181).

"We can't be misled by passions, because they are so close, so internal to our soul, that it can't possibly feel them unless they are truly as it feels them to be. Even when asleep and dreaming we can't feel sad or moved by any other passion unless the soul truly has this passion within it. 

Or: Passion is the voice of the soul.

Passion is energy; if it does not create, it harms (pg 182).

The more we create, the less we destroy (pg 184).

Good writing is bad writing, well edited (pg 189).

"Almost nothing we create will be good the first time. It will seldom be bad. It will probably be a dull shade of average. The main virtue of a first sketch is that it breaks the blank page. It is a spark of life in the swamp, beautiful if only because it is a beginning (190). 

: On Group Think :

"The purpose of a creative conversation is to identify and solve creative problems, such as 'What should this episode be about?' or 'What order should these scenes be in?' The only participants in the conversation should be people who can make a contribution to answering these questions" (pg 214). 

"Adults think before acting; children thing by acting" (pg 221).

"We are all social chameleons, adjusting our skin to blend in with , or sometimes stand out from, whatever crowd we happen to be in" (pg 224).

: Good-Bye, Genius :

"The first definition of 'genius' comes from the ancient Rome, where the word meant 'spirit' or 'soul.' This is the true definition of creative genius. Creating is to humans as flying is to birds. It is our nature, our spirit (pg 236).

"It is easier to look for flies in the soup than to work in the kitchen" (pg 236).

Tim Cope : An Epic Journey of Selfishness and Destruction

"A man without friends is as small as a palm. A man with friends is as big as the steppe" (pg 20).

From the onset, I was thrilled with what this book would offer and the journey we would share. I love survival and personal journey stories, especially the type that rely upon the kindness and goodness of humanity, and the type that bring man to the bring of giving up, of questioning all that they are and have, yet, several months or weeks later, find themselves on the other side. Stories that echoed Tim sentiments. "I would be able to render myself my vulnerable, and therefore pledge a much greater trust int eh humanity of others. With no familiar companion or culture to lean on, I would be forced to appeal to the better side of human beings no matter who they were. Doing so would offer me the kind of immersion - in the landscape and in the lives of people - that I craved" (pg 23).

At the top of page 49 I have written, "Currently sitting on the Great Wall. The sun rises, spilling an orange haze all around. Beautiful." This, perhaps, marked a shift in my reading, and in the story. While in the calm and quiet of my own journey, a revelation had crept in over the mountains, and it began to affect my reading of this book. From that morning on, I no longer connected with Tim's journey, I struggled with it. Because it seemed so unrelentingly selfish. 

Photo by Tim Cope

"In truth, though, Ruslan's news that he could guide me for just two more days was a mutually convenient way of parting with our rapport intact. I was already tired of trying to understand the world as it was filtered through his eyes, and i was looking forward to a new chapter" (pg 110). 

I think I understand what Tim means here, and have probably had similar lines of thought, but as I read these lines I found my heart and mind convicted, not sympathetic, because Tim's three and a half year journey is littered with thoughts of a similar strand. Namely, how people can help and bless him, but when they are of no longer any use, the parting becomes convenient. 

The markings in my book were suddenly littered and reduced to "ass" because I could think of no other imagery to describe Tim's actions. 

Actions such as refusing to leave his journey - his dream - when his pretty serious girlfriend was suddenly faced with a possible life-ending illness. They spoke on the phone, Tim acknowledges that she might not make it and could really use his company, but with his friends about to join him on his journey and with the thought that leaving might mean he'll never finish, he sacrifices her for his dream. A paragraph later, like his journey, she and her personal hell are forgotten because his friends have arrived and, apparently, life moves quickly on. 

Ass.

A dozen or so pages later, while isolated and in self-proclaimed "purgatory," Tim writes, "my situation was all the more tenuous. Additionally, unlike any other time on my journey, there would be no sympathetic ear from Kathrin - even if she were prepared to listen, she was in Italy and unreachable" (266). How quickly Tim needs help, which he often found in quick phone conversations and unexpected helping hands, yet he's unable to see that when others needed him, he was unavailable, because that would disrupt his dream. 

Ass.

Five pages later, Tim finds himself again in need of help, and yet again, he expects, and even demands, the help of another. While struggling to obtain a permit for travel into Russia, Tim writes, "Like every day, I was there starting at eight in the morning, on the fax and the phone. By lunchtime there was no permit and my frustration was boiling over. I refused to let Kosibek's secretary leave on her lunch break" (pg 270). Apparently, Tim's needs are more important than anyone else's. 

Ass.

After a few more stories like this, my opinion of Tim became very sour and critical. To the point that when he wrote about the Kalmyk people and their struggle for survival, I was no longer read his words and phrasings with anything other than criticism. Phrases like, "To survive, Kalmyks resorted to more frequent raids, sold their children as slaves, and even took up fishing" (pg 278). Why was the selling of children so easy to swallow and comprehend but taking up fishing so astonishing? Shouldn't it be the other way around? I might be nitpicking, but these subtle thoughts and ways of thinking saturate this story, and for me, became almost unbearable to read.  

"If people know their history, their traditions, they understand the value of experience that our people have collected over thousands of years. When we know who we are, our place in the world, and why we exist, we are happy and have a purpose in life!" (pg 269).

- Okna Tsahan Zam

Most of the wisdom from this story comes from the mouths of Tim's friends whom he encounters along the way. They give of themselves, their resources, time, and even safety to help Tim fulfill his dream. In return, he seems content to give them the pleasure of his white-skinned company.

He thanks those who helped him, many times, and offers deep gratitude and indebtedness, yet, at the end of it all, what he seems to come away with is the beauty and harshness of the steppe, his dream of covering a vast and difficult land fulfilled, and several speaking and publishing contracts. He comes out on top, while his ex-girlfriend and everyone else he met along the way is left behind. 

As I write, I know it sounds harsh, and perhaps it is, but coming on the tail of stories such as On the Road and Into the Wild, Tim Cope yet again encourages young men (and women) to set off on a life changing adventure where the one and only focus is self. On such a journey, personal experience is the ultimate goal, and everyone and everything are expendable to that cause.

I hate these stories, and I'm tired of them, because "A man without friends is as small as a palm. A man with friends is as big as the steppe." 

If you are intrigued even a little by Tim's journey, here are a few short clips that should satisfy the pallet. 

Word by Word : Kory Stamper

I could never be a lexicographer because they pay too much attention to detail. Way too much attention to detail. They define them, split them, lump them, agglute them, and dissect them with a patience I’ve never had for anything, but I’m glad they do it, and I will never look at another dictionary with such simplicity and ignorance (change this word) again.

However, if you are a word person, a grammar guy or gal, and if you get caught up in all sorts of intricate discussion on whether or not “irregardless” is an actual word or a butchering of the English language, if you spend a large percentage of your writing and reading life wrestling with word choice, placement, and arrangement, then you might really dig this book. And then maybe, you can tell me your thoughts. I promise to listen and not judge.

Admittedly, it’s a bit strange, how much I want to be a writer yet how much I seem to just not care that much about grammar and the sliced down details of words, because I think words matter – greatly – and when I read a piece of work with poor grammar, I notice, and I’m distracted, at best. Checked out completely at worst. It’s actually one of the greatest and consistent critiques of my own writing and speaking, but, strangely, I just don’t care that much to spend my valuable time working on it.
Images, stories, and the rolling of beautiful sentences that conjure the deepest of emotions, that is what attracted me to literature and the words on a page, not the details.

It’s a conundrum, and for now, I’m okay with that, because I have to be. I don’t have time for anything else.

That said, nothing is all bad (or all good for that matter), and Word by Word is no different. (To be fair, and fully clear, I didn’t hate this book, not even close. I would just be extremely specific on who I recommended it to).

Here are some of the highlights:

“Most people think of the parts of speech as discrete categories, drawers with their own identifying labels, and when you peek inside, there’s the English language, neatly folded like a retiree’s sock: Person, Place, Thing (Noun); Describes Action (Verb); Modifies Noun (Adjectives); Answers the W Questions (Adverb); Joins Words Together (Conjunction); Things We Say When We Are Happy, Surprised, or Pissed Off (Interjection).”

Not sure if I ever saw it explained so simply. I’ll probably use this in the future.

“Many people believe that the dictionary is some great guardian of the English language, that its job is to set boundaries of decorum around this profligate language like a great linguistic housemother setting curfew. Words that have made it into the dictionary are Official with a capital O, sanctioned, part of Real and Proper English. The corollary is that if certain words are bad, uncouth, unlovely, or distasteful, then folks think that the dictionary will make sure they are never entered into its hallowed pages, and thus are such words banished from Real, Official, Proper English. The language is thus protected, kept right, pure, good. This is commonly called “prescriptivism,” and it is unfortunately not how dictionaries work at all. We don’t just enter the good stuff; we enter the bad and ugly stuff, too. We are just observers, and the goal is to describe, as accurately as possible, as much of the language as we can” (pg 35).

And I think they should be. People want and need dictionaries to understand the world around them, the language spoken, and the images attempting to be conjured. If dictionaries sifted out the slang and morphing and, god forbid, vulgarity of words, not only would a dictionary be even more boring, it would become more and more useless. At least to the common, every-day man and woman.

“We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don’t want it to go: it heads right for the goddamned electrical sockets. We dress it in fancy clothes and tell it to behave, and it comes home with its underwear on its head and wearing someone else’s socks. As English grows, it lives its own life, and this is right and healthy. Sometimes English does exactly what we think it should; sometimes it goes places we don’t like and thrives there in spite of all our worrying. We can tell it to clean itself up and act more like Latin; we can throw tantrums and start learning French instead. But we will never really be the boss of it. And that’s why it flourishes” (pg51.

I’m currently in process of being considered for an ESL teaching position at a university in Philadelphia, so this stuck out a bit more to me than it otherwise would have. Language impacts the way we think, which clearly impacts the way we act and live. American’s, perhaps more than any other people group, crave, even demand, a life defined by autonomy. No surprise that the language does as well.

: Possible Reading Resource :

Polly Adler’s book A House Is Not a Home. Polly Adler’s name was well-known to discerning readers of the early twentieth century: she was the most celebrated brother owner and madam in New York. Her memoir supplied some fantastic quotations, including the delightful, “trying to chisel in on the beer racket” (pg 79).

“In an odd way,” Steve Perrault says, “I tend to feel that the definition is an imperfect thing any way you look at it. A definition is an attempt to explain a word’s meaning using these certain conventions, and you have to distinguish between the definition of a word and the meaning of a word. The meaning is something that resides in the word, and the definition is a description of that. But a definition is an artificial thing” (pg 124).

This is more like it. “The meaning is something that resides in the world,” and not in the specific artificial thing. That “artificial thing” is its roots, though, and without it, the word would be lost in the wind of language. Which is perhaps the beauty of the English language – it allows and fosters both.

: Possible Reading Resource :

“Jo Freeman’s pamphlet The BITCH Manifesto was written in 1968 and published in 1970, right as second-wave feminism crested. The year of the manifesto’s creation, “sexism” was first used in print, and the first public protest against restrictive abortion laws happened in New York City; the year of its publication” (pg 157).

Sideburns are a “play on the name of the Civil War officer who made them popular, General Burnside” . . . and we say somone is “worth their salt” because “in the ancient world salt was such a valuable commodity that we used to pay people in it (and this is why you also get a salary). (pg 171-172).

“In the days of steamer travel between England and India, wealthy patrons traveling with the Peninsular and Oriental Company reserved the choicest cabins on the ship, which were the ones that got the morning sun but were shaded in the afternoon – no air-conditioning in the nineteenth century. These cabins were on the left side of the ship on the way out, and the right side on the way home, and were so stamped “P.O.S.H” to indicate that the ticket holder had a cabin that was port side out, starboard side home. The “posh” ticket, then, was for the moneyed, elegant folk, and it was the association with wealth that gave us the “elegant” and “fashionable” sense of “posh” we know today (pg 177).

Whether it is true or not, I love it and will probably refer to it whenever I want to sound intelligent and well-read.

“Who thought that “pumpernickel” was a good name for a dark rye bread? Because when you trace the word back to its German origins, you find means “fart goblin” (pg 182).      

The Smartest Kids in the World, by Amanda Ripley

After five years teaching and administering in an international school, my thoughts on curriculum have morphed, my teaching strategies multiplied, and my ideas of the "perfect school" challenged. This book was an excellent read because it affirmed some of things I do and would like to do as an educator, but more importantly, it convicted me as a parent. No matter where we are in the world and regardless of the school we find ourselves in, when it comes to holistic education of children, it's all about the home. Not after school clubs, not dynamic teachers, and certainly not technology. The responsibility is on me, the parent.

The Smartest Kids in the World travels from the US to South Korea, Finland, and Poland and asks the same question over and over, "What makes a great student?"

The answer isn't all that surprising.

About midway through, Ripley says this, "Parenting, like drive and diligence, was often in international studies of education. The evidence that did exist tended to focus on one country only, and it generally showed what you'd expect: More involved families had children with higher grades, better test scores, improved behavior, and better attendance records. That dynamic held true across all ages, races, and income levels in the United States."

Then she asks this question, "But what kinds of parental involvement mattered most? And did parents do different things in different countries?

Answer: Intentionality.  "When children were young, parents who read to them every day or almost every day had kids who performed much better in reading, all around the world, by the time they were fifteen" because, "Done well, it meant teaching them about the world - sharing stories about faraway places, about smoking volcanoes and little boys who were sent to bed without dinner. It meant asking them questions about the book, questions that encouraged them to think for themselves. It meant sending a signal to kids about the importance of not just reading but of learning about all kinds of new things."

"As kids got older," she continues, "the parental involvement that seemed to matter most was different but related. All over the world, parent who discussed movies, books, and current affairs with their kids had teenagers who performed better in reading. Here again, parents who engaged their kids in conversation about things larger than themselves were essentially teaching their kids to become thinking adult. Unlike volunteering in schools, this kinds of parental efforts delivered clear and convincing results, even across different countries and different income levels" (pg 108-109).

The best days of class, according to Kim, one of the students shadowed, were the ones where her teacher pushed the desks into a circle and everyone talked about the book (pg 40).

No gimmicks, no movies, and no posters. Just conversation. Discovery. And time, where the kids are allowed to ask questions and search for answers. Much like good parenting.

Favorite Quotes:

“I’d like to live somewhere where people are curious.” Pg 38

“The best days were the days her teacher pushed the desks into a circle and everyone talked about the book.” Pg 40

Sisu – Strength in the face of great odds – a sort of inner fire. “It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity” pg 153

“{Tom} looked up in media res and discovered it was a Latin phrase that referred to starting a story in the middle of the plot. He caught up quickly, and by spring, he could toss off his own allusions to Greek mythology in the English classes. He figured out that a lot of the banter had been bullshit, but he’d needed to learn the vernacular.” Pg 188

The Extremes:

South Korea's educational outcome:

United States educational outcome:

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, by Adam Grant

Another solid gift from my wife. Is there anything hotter than a hot wife who gifts good books?  

Creative Destruction: The risky business of going against the grain

“On matters of style, swim with the current,” Thomas Jefferson allegedly advised, “on matters of principal, stand like a rock" (pg 13).

With the base notion that there are infact very few original ideas, and because if one is TOO radical in their style and expression that they are rarely if ever heard (thus losing their voice to whatever it is they’re actually trying to say), swim with the current – don’t fight against it. Be unique, pursue aristic expression, but also embrace and accept the times we find ourselves in. 

But when those currents begin to shape our principals – our convictions of morality and truth – stand like a rock. Have integrity. Be authentic.

Blind Inventors and One-Eyed Investors: The art and science of recognizing original ideas

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams (pg 29)

Simonton finds that on average, creative geniuses weren’t qualitatively better in their fields than their peer. They simply produced a greater volume of work, which gave them more variation and a higher chance of originality. “The odds of producing an influential or successful idea,” Simonton notes, are “a positive function of the number of ideas generated.” – pg 35

Consider Shakespeare, Mozart, Beethovan, Picaso and Maya Angelou – we celebrate their great works, but these are the peaks to the mountains of works they’ve produced.

“Original thinkers,” Robert Sutton notes, “will come up with many ideas that are strange mutations, dead ends, and utter failures. The cost is worthwhile because they also generate a larger pool of ideas – especially novel ideas.”

Many people fail to achieve originality because they generate a few ideas and then obsess about refining them to perfection. (pg 37)

“An American gained little from working in Canada . . .”

In isolation, this is a great quote to share with an AP class that has two Canadians, but in context, it makes much more sense.  A few sentences before the passage reads, “The most creative fashion collections came from houses where directors had the greatest experience abroad, but there were three twists. First, time living abroud didn’t matter: it was time working abroad, being actively engaged in design in a foreign country, that predicted whether their new collections were hits. Second, the more the foreign culture differed from that of their native land, the more that experience contributed to the directors’ creativity. An American gained little from working in Canada, compared to the originality dividends of a project in Kora or Japan. (pg 49).

It’s all about context.

Out on a Limb: Speaking truth to power

People think an amateur can appreciate art, but it takes a professional to critique it. Merely changing a handful of words from positive to negative was sufficient to make the critical reviewer sound smarter. “Prophets of doom and gloom appear wise and insightful while positive statements are seen as have a naïve quality. (pg 72)

This is discouraging. Because it’s true – often times. There are many thoughts rolling around for me, but really, the main takeaway is this: I want to be the type of person who can professionally critique art, habits, teaching strategies, whatever, by articulating what I LIKE about it just as much, if not more so, as what I dislike about it.

Fools Rush In: Timing, strategic procrastination, and the first-mover disadvantage

Being original doesn’t mean require being first. It just means being different and better. (pg 105)

Goldilocks and the Trojan Horse: Creating and maintaining coalitions

“Horizontal hostility” : The minor differences in people who are otherwise alike that form the basis of feelings of strangeness and hostility between them (pg 117)

Like vegans and vegetarians. Compared to much of the world, they are very much alike, but because they are so much alike, they can often find horizontal hostility because the other isn’t doing it right and therefore tainting it – “making us look bad.”

We compete with those who are similar, not those in different camps.

“Make the world better.” – Lucy Stone

Rethinking Groupthink: The myths of strong cultures, cults, and devil's advocates

The greatest tragedy of mankind comes from the inability to have thoughtful disagreement to find out what’s true. Through the process of open-minded debate, Dalio expects employees to reconcile their differences – to “have strong opinions, weakly held.”  (pg 195)

The fight to stay in sync. This is Unity, and it guards against uniformity – the death of creativity and originality.

“Argue like you’re right, listen like you’re wrong” pg 201

If you’re going to tell the emperor he has no clothes, you’d better be a good tailor . . . or know someone who is (pg 197)

Devil's Advocate: 

The concept dates back to 1587, when Pope Sixtus V instituted a new process for vetting candidates for sainthood into the Roman Catholic Church. He assigned a promotor fidei, or promotor of the faith, to oppose canonization by critically evaluating the character of candidates and challenging claims of miracles they had performed. The promoter of the faith august against the advocates Dei, God's advocate, and became known as the devil's advocate

The "devil's advocate" was in a position to PROMOTE THE FAITH - seek Truth, or ensure that what was happening, the direction they were going, the claims that were being made, were TRUE!  They didn't argue for the sake of arguing or sounding smart or ruffling feathers, but to maintain Truth's purity. In this, they were unified, even though, I'm sure, they caused and stirred conflict. 

Rocking the Boat and Keeping it Steady: Managing anxiety, apathy, ambivalence, and anger

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it . . . the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

Without a sense of urgency, people . . . won’t make needed sacrifices. Instead, they cling to the status quo and resist. ( pg 232)

To counter apathy, most change agents focus on presenting an inspiring vision of the future. This is an importantmessage to convey, but its not the type of communication that should come first. If you want people to take risks, you need first to show what’s wrong with the present/ To drive people out of their comfort zones, you have to cultivate dissatisfaction, frustration, or anger at the current state of affairs, making it a guaranteed loss. “The greatest communicators of all time start by establishing what is: here’s the status quo.” Then, they “compare that to what could be,” making “the gap as big as possible.” (pg 234)

Venting doesn’t extinguish the flame of anger, it feeds it (pg 240) When we are angry at others, we aim for retaliation or revenge. But when we’re angry for others, we seek out justice and a better system. We don’t want to punish; we want to help. (pg 242).

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it difficult to plan the day.” (E.B. White) pg 242

Actions for Impact:

Individual action:

1.     Question the default

2.     Triple the number of ideas you generate

13.  Focus on victim, not perpetrator

Leadership action:

4.     Emphasize values over rule

For more on . . .

Reading List 2017  :  Non-fiction reads  :  Books (recommended by others)

TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking - by Chris Anderson

From recommendations of font sizes to larger philosophical applications to life, this book is a great resource for any public speaker (of course), educator, or anyone brave enough to try and impact the world through Ideas.

Thank you to my wife for finding it in a Hong Kong bookstore. 

Here are some highlights:

The Why of Public Speaking:

“Your number-one goal as a speaker is to take something that matters deeply to you and to rebuild it inside the minds of others.” – pg 12

“An idea is anything that can change how people see the world.” Pg 13

“An important idea, wrapped up in a fresh story, can make a great talk.” Pg 15

When giving a presentation, “give, don’t take.” It’s not about you, the admirations you want to receive, or to boost your name and product, it’s about sharing a gift that you have that will benefit others, not self. Pg 24

“ The intense appeal of the standing ovation can lead aspiring speakers to do bad things.” pg 27

“Here’s the thing about inspiration: it has to be earned. Someone is inspiring not because they look at you with big eyes and ask you to find it in your heart to believe in their dream. It’s because they actually have a dream that’s worth getting excited about. And those dreams don’t come lightly. They come from blood, sweet, and tears. Pg 28

“If you have dreams of being a rock-star public speaker, pumping up an audience as you stride the stage and proclaim your brilliance, I beg you to reconsider. Don’t dream of that. Dream of something much bigger than you are.” Pg 29

“What are humans for? Humans are for being more human than we’ve ever been. More human in how we work. More human in what we learn. And more human in how we share that knowledge with each other.” Pg 234

“The secret to happiness is: find something more important than you are, and dedicate your life to it.” – Dan Dennett

“We don’t seek the painful experiences that hew our identities, but we seek our identities in the wake of painful experiences. We cannot bear a pointless torment, but we can endure great pain if we believe that it’s purposeful. Ease makes less of an impression on us than struggle. We could have been ourselves without our delights, but not without the misfortunes that drive our search for meaning.” – Andrew Solomon

 

The How of Public Speaking:

 "Throughline is the connecting point that runs through your entire presentation, connecting every piece, and perhaps encapsulated in fifteen words or less."

“The throughline traces the path that the journey takes. It ensures that there are no impossible leaps, and that by the end of the talk, the speaker and audience have arrived together at a satisfying destination” pg 33

“Great writing is all about the power of the deleted word” pg 36

- Don’t be trapped by your ego – kill your darlings.

“An issue-based talk leads with morality. An idea-based talk leads with curiosity.” Pg 41

“If you want to reach people who radically disagree with you, your only chance is to put yourself in their shoes as best you can. Don’t use language that may trigger tribal responses. Start with a visual of the world as seen through their eyes. And use every one of the tools described here to build a connection based on your shared humanity.” Pg 62

“There’s always somebody who wants to confiscate our shared humanity, and there are always stories that restore it. If we live out loud, we can trounce the hatred and expand everyone’s lives – Andrew Solomon pg 69

If the whole power of a talk is in the connection between the speaker and audience, slides may actually get in the way of that. Pg 113

With a talk and slides, you have two streams of cognitive output running in parallel. The speaker needs to blend both streams into a master mix. In these circumstances, the audience member’s brain needs to decide whether to focus on your words, your slides, or both and it’s mostly involuntary. You must choose where you want their attention. Pg 116

            Questions: Are the visuals key to explaining what I want to say, or a distraction?

“Give your audience enough time to absorb each step. Don’t feed too much of the slide at a time or people will get overwhelmed.” Pg 122

- Rarely show clips longer than 30 seconds

- Must explain something that can’t be explained by still images; and have great production value

Transitions: Should never call attention to itself

- Cut: shifting to a new idea

- Dissolve: two slides are related in some way

“Every word you speak that someone has already seen on a slide is a word that carries zero punch. It’s not new news.” Pg 142

- Tease the arrival of a slide before revealing it.

“Every piece of content in our modern era is part of an attention war. It’s fighting against thousands of other claims on people’s time and energy . . . all these are lethal enemies. You never want to provide people with an excuse to zone out.” Pg 157

“If the ending isn’t memorable, the talk itself may not be.” Pg 168

The How: Authenticity

“When speaking live, we are vulnerable. When we are live and passionate, the audience can sense the conviction, and they get to be a part of the excitement of seeing a big idea identified, battled with, and finally shaken into shape.  The fact that they can sense that the presenter truly mean what they’re saying in the moment helps give permission to embrace the meaning, the idea.” Pg 134

“If the audience can tell you’re reciting. They may see your eyes roll around between paragraphs as you bring the next sentence to mind. More likely they will notice that your tone is slightly flat and robotic, because you are focused on brining the right sentences out instead of brining real meaning to those sentences.”  Pg 136

- As related to life: scripted apologies or affirmations have a similar effect.

Ask, “Is this essential to advancing my message, and is this interesting, really interesting? Do I love saying this line? If anything lands in the maybe pile . . . it’s out” pg 145

A Checklist:

-       Is this a topic I’m passionate about?

-       Does it inspire curiosity?

-       Will it make a difference to the audience?

-       Is my talk a gift or an ask?

-       Is the information fresh? Or is it already out there?

-       Do I have the credibility to make this talk?

-       What are fifteen words that encapsulate my talk?

-       Do those fifteen words really matter?

 

 Future TED Talks:

            Sherwin Nuland         

            Bryan Stevenson

            Rob Reid

            Hans Rosling

            David Deutsch

            Nancy Kanwisher

            Steven Johnson

            David Christian

            Dan Pallotta

            Reuben Margolin

            Thomas Heatherwick

            Hans Rosling

            James Nachtwey

            J.J. Abrams

            Brene Brown

            Julian Treasure

            Billy Collins

            June Cohen

A Loving Life, by Paul E. Miller

I've been accused of hating Christian books, movies, and music. It's an accurate accusation. And this book by Paul E. Miller is a great example of why. 

I'm trying to find the silver-lining in life, people, and thoughts because I don't want to be a bitter old man who complains about everyone and everything. So I tried with this book, and sure enough, there are some.  Things like:

Suffering is the crucible for love. We don't learn how to love anywhere else. Don't misunderstand; suffering doesn't create love, but it is a hot-house where love can emerge . . . the death of self offers ideal growing conditions for love. 

and

One of the oddest things about deep suffering is that the sun comes up in the morning. Life limps along.

and this

One of the hardest parts of a hesed love is that you can love others, but there may be no one to love you. The very act of loving can make you lonely.

But then he uses phrases like, "Your life energy needs to come from God" and I begin to lose interest. But that isn't enough to toss the book because I'm sure I too use similar language at times and really, so what if he says a phrase differently than I'd like.  

This book is damaging and frustrating not because of a few shallow phrases, but because of it's arrogance. All throughout, Miller uses his family and himself as the standard for esed love. The story of Naomi and Ruth are his structure and outline, but he is the center of book: his advice, his love, and his actions - the saving of a remote African village was perhaps the most disturbing. "I can endure in love for these people . . . I recruited teams, raised funds, and planned strategy . . . I loved them from above" - like Boaz!  He literally spends two pages talking about how he saved this village and then relates himself to the savior of the Naomi story!  

Who is this book about again?

Equally disturbing, but in contrast to the saved-by-a-white-foreigner story is the arrogance with which he looks down on Paula - the woman with five children from five different husbands who can't work, needs money, wisdom on how to live life, and is completely without anything redeemable - even morals. And that is exactly how Paul E. Miller sees her: a project that needs him. The way he describes her is ruthless and pious. No grace. No kindness. He actually says, "Frankly, I was disgusted with her choices" and concludes her story with a callous, "A few years later she got cancer and passed away."

His reflection on the woman and her life is "I assumed her appreciation of our care meant repentance. It didn't. I helped her situation but not her soul. But my biggest regret was that I didn't stay in touch with her sons." 

This is why "Christian" literature bothers me. It often takes a story, pads layers upon layers of possible intent, then spends the majority of the time talking about self, then sells it as a brilliant and new way of living.

The simple gospel truth of "remember the poor" doesn't need explanation. 

(As a side note, the continual assumption that the reader is of such low understanding and cognitive ability frightens me. Here's an example: "The Hebrew for "she sat beside the reapers" suggests that Ruth sat down at the side of or next to the reapers." And there's about half a dozen such examples in this book.)

The best part of this book is when he writes:

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Eph. 4:2)

Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Col. 3:13)

In repentance and rest is your salvation (Isaiah 30:15)

When you give a dinner or banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, let they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:12-14)

I think Paul E. Miller means well, that he has done some pretty great things, and that I am probably being unfair at the least and hypocritical at best. I'm aware that, as I write my critique, I am exuding the same critical nature he showed Paula. So I don't want to write him off as worthless or someone in need of something I can provide. What have I done or written?  Am I able to cast the first stone?

Certainly not. 

I would just rather not read this type of literature.

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed the World

By Mark Pendergrast

Favorite Quotes:

- "The aroma is familiar and obvious enough - that fragrance that often promises more than the taste delivers. Body refers to the feel or "weight" of the coffee in the mouth, how it rolls around the tongue and fills the throat on the way down. Acidity refers to a sparkle, a brightness, a tang that adds zest to the cup. Finally, flavor is the evanescent, subtle taste that explodes in the mouth, then lingers as a gustatory memory." - pg xvi

- "So important did the brew become in Turkey that a lack of sufficient coffee provided grounds for a woman to seek a divorce." - pg 7

- "They came to be known as penny universities, because for that price one could purchase a cup of coffee and sit for hours listening to extraordinary conversations -or, asa 1657 newspaper advertisement put it, "PUBLICK INTERCOURSE." . . . "The coffeehouses provided England's first egalitarian meeting place, where a man was expected to chat with his stablemates whether he knew them or not." - pg 12

- "Wherever it has been introduced it has spelled revolution. It has been the world's most radical drink in that its function has always been to make people think. And when the people begin to think, they become dangerous to tyrants." pg 17

- "It wasn't enough simply to employ people. 'You love them, you love their families, you are part of them.'" - pg 126

- "Our judgement concerning the worth of things, big or little, depend on the feelings the things arouse in us." - pg 128

- "I believe the only way to conquer is to walk where the battle rages most fiercely, and fight, fight, fight until you win." (Alice Foote MacDougall) - pg 131

- "There have been many other extraordinary outcomes from the cooperation of roasters and growers. Paul Katzeff sells Delicious Peace, coffee grown on a Ugandan cooperative consisting of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Community Coffee of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, convicted the feuding Colombian towns of Toledo and Labateca to work together to produce a great blend high in the Andes." - pg 358