Musings
About learning and creativity
Here are some things I’ve been musing on this week:
Why do people believe strange things? Because they’re socially rewarded for believing them. In other words, it’s a crony belief. For an excellent discussion on merit beliefs versus crony beliefs, I really recommend this article. Go read it. Now.
http://www.meltingasphalt.com/crony-beliefs/
On a related note, Buster Benson has written one of my favorite articles of the year — a summary and cheat sheet of cognitive biases. He went through Wikipedia’s entire list of cognitive biases, analyzed them, and put them into four categories, with explanations of how each work and the common traps we fall into. This is one of the best thinking tools I’ve come across
https://betterhumans.coach.me/cognitive-bias-cheat-sheet-55a472476b18
This is an interesting and disturbing article in The Atlantic, discussing how social media has flipped the power dynamic between professors and students on American campuses, and students are using this power to prevent the discussion of anything they find disturbing, or even uncomfortable. As any psychologist will tell you, avoiding what makes you anxious generally increases the anxiety rather than diminishing it, so the long term problems of this change are likely much higher for the students propagating it than they realize. Fortunately, I don’t think the dynamic described is nearly as bad in Canadian colleges and universities, though you can argue with me in the comments, if you like.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/
So what do you do if you find yourself dead? Why not go to New Orleans and hang with academics and other strange people… It’s past Halloween, but here’s a creepy Neil Gaiman story for you, anyway.
https://www.tor.com/2017/10/31/reprints-neil-gamain-bitter-grounds-2/
What I’m reading:
Fiction
Napier’s Bones by Darryl Murphy
What delighted me about this book wasn’t just the fast, engaging plot or the smooth writing, but the skillful way that Murphy depicts mathematics as the source and power of the magic system used by the characters. It’s one of the most unique and intriguing set ups I’ve read, and what makes the book very much worth reading.
Non Fiction
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
The blurbs about this book are on how it’s written for business people, especially executives, but the vast majority of what Sinek says in this book are directly applicable to everyone. We all need to persuade other people at some point, we need to sell ourselves, or our ideas, and Sinek lays out why we need to be clear about our “why”, both for ourselves, and as an effective persuasive tool.
The Integral Vision by Ken Wilber
Wilber’s Integral philosophy and approach quite profoundly changed how I looked at society, philosophy and religion, and shed some much needed clarity on the bigger context of the current “culture wars”. Wilber has written extensively about his ideas; some of his books are far too long-winded and rambling, but this one is short, clear and concise, and excellent introduction to the ideas and their power to understand society and individuals.
Please note: The book links above are affiliate links, so if you are at all interested in buying the books I’ve recommended, I’d appreciate it if you clicked through my links, to support my work. Thank you!
Yesterday was the first day of NaNoWriMo… and as I write this, I’ve gotten 352 words written for the challenge. I haven’t given up yet, though, but I’m a little worried about my sore wrist giving me trouble with the intense typing required... I’ll give you an update on my progress again next week.
I also have a novel almost outlined, there are just a couple of key bits in the fourth act that I’m missing yet. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to go full tilt on that one in December.
