Geoff's Miscellany

Read this tweet today:

I truly believe the most subversive thing you can do today is spend as much of the day as possible nurturing what is not machine-like in you

— Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) June 25, 2016

Many movies with machines portray them as “becoming human” when they start having feelings, emotions, or impulses.

Today I was working on the list of classroom rules/slogans I’ll be using to help my students stay on track this coming school year. Here they are with the explanations I’ll give to them on the first day of school.

1. Do the thing to have the power. This from a powerful quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The law of nature is, Do the thing, and you shall have the power: but they who do not the thing have not the power.” It is similar to Proverbs 14:23, “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” The idea of course is that if there's something you want to achieve, gain, or become you have to start heading that way.
2. Every problem is an opportunity. My boss at my programming job told me that there are no bad problems. Instead, every obstacle, failure, and problem is an opportunity for a better solution. In my classroom difficult problems are opportunities. They aren't excuses to give up. They are reasons to learn more, try harder, or find a better way. As Marcus Aurelius said, “The obstacle in the way becomes the way.”
3. Act the way you want to feel. Gretchen Rubin is the origin of this pithy directive. Many people wait for motivation or energy to get going. I agree that managing your energy is wise. Get sleep, eat good food, and exercise. But waiting until you're energized to do a task will leave you never doing it. Refer to rule one. If you want to feel like you're awake and alert, sit with good posture. If you want to feel successful and studious, act successful and studious. If you want to feel smart, ask and answer questions.
4. Better to give than to receive. This is a shortened version of Jesus' claim that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Consistently think of ways to bless those around you with your talents, resources, attitude, and words. If you can bless your parents, teachers, or classmates by what you do at school, do it.
5. Struggle makes strength. The principle of progressive resistance in sports science is the principle that steadily increasing the demands on the body's muscles will steadily make them stronger. This principle holds true in all matters. Doing difficult things is definitely worth it. Arm yourself with this mentality. It's Biblical, scientific, and you will prove it in your own life if you put it into practice.
6. Leave it better. At my great grandfather's funeral, my dad observed that everywhere he went he would pick up trash, talk to somebody who looked lonely, literally sweep the sidewalk, rake leaves, or take out a mower from his trunk and mow the grass. My dad said, “He left everywhere he went better than it was when he got there.” I want you to treat my classroom, your house, your parents' car, the school, and everywhere we go this way. But not only so, nearly everywhere you go is an opportunity to learn, grow, observe something new, and otherwise to improve. So in my classroom you will leave it better, both ways.

Many people, because they aren't Christians, miss out on the Bible's clever stories, wise observations, and lack of -”ism” based ideas.

Many contemporary Christians miss the same simply because they don't read the whole Bible.

An enigmatic Old Testament character named “The Preacher” made these observations:

Ecclesiastes 10:8-12 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. (9) He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. (10) If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. (11) If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. (12) The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him.

The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. (Proverbs 22:13)

Often in life, we who are risk averse take the slothful route and claim that the time isn’t right for action because things aren’t perfect. My karate instructor said that the most common excuse he received from people skipping karate after a vacation was “I need to get back into shape first.” Some people won’t go to church because “I need to get right with the Lord first.” If you’re super risk averse then you’re probably waiting for circumstances to be exactly right, but you’ll actually be in the process of waiting when good circumstance pass you by. Check this actual sloth out:

I've written a few posts that overlap with themes concerning education. But I think that, over all, good education has this main goal: it supports human happiness.

Of course, everything humans do is “for happiness,” just like every arrow is aimed at a target. But like arrows, decisions and processes can miss their mark. Education is no different. And just like how we do everything for happiness, we should make sure we define it happiness in terms of our specific nature as human beings. Happiness requires virtue (goods of the mind and soul), wealth (goods of the body and mind), and friends.

There are many models we can use to understanding the world. When I took college history my professor told us that there were several paradigms for interpreting the events of history: economic, philosophical, national, geographical, and religious. He would say that some of these paradigms are more appropriate to a situation than others, but that none of them were right or wrong because every major human event involves all of these paradigms. Outside of academics there is still significant need for good mental models. Most of us just use one.

The central reality of Christian spirituality is this:

John 8:31-32  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, (32)  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

There is a startling array of things that a new Christian can do or that people will recommend to them.

There are (and this is good) like 50 spiritual disciplines to choose from.

How is politics pro-wresting?

The world probably isn’t a simulation.

Your senses give you access to the real world, but that access is still mediated.

Your perceptions can be inaccurate, your inferences can be wrong, and there can be data you missed out on.

A great deal of your worldview is false.

Another significant amount of it is not quite false, but simply fictional. It could turn out to be true, but we don’t know.

“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.¹” - Blaise Pascal

We use other words for happiness: success, joy, “the good life,” peace, and sometimes even satisfaction.