The Fragilista
They think that the reasons for something are immediately accessible to them, even if they have no clue. No matter how complex or difficult, no problem results in an “I don’t know.” …
Philosophy
Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change
In New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change, Winifred Gallagher writes: [O]ur fast-paced world invites us to see ourselves in yet another light—this time as nature’s virtuosos of …
There is No Such Thing as Information Overload
Just as too much junk food can lead to obesity, too much information consumption can lead to stupidity. Clay Johnson’s book, The Information Diet, shows you how to thrive in this information …
Daniel Dennett: Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
After reading How to Make Mistakes and How to Criticize with Kindness, a reader sent in a link to this video of Philosopher Daniel Dennett speaking at Google. Dennett is the author of the faboulous …
How Charitable are you Supposed to be When Criticizing the Views of an Opponent?
“Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticizing the views of an opponent?” *** Philosopher Daniel Dennett’s book, Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking, already gave us how …
Daniel Dennett: How to Make Mistakes
In Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking, Daniel Dennett, one of the world’s leading philosophers offers a trove of mind-stretching thought experiments, which he calls …
William James on Habit
William James offers three maxims to aid the successful formation of new habits. *** In his book, Daily Rituals, Mason Currey explores William James’s thoughts on Habit. “Recollect,” …
The Divine Comedy
Is Dante still relevant in our new world? As if to prove this point, the most recent season of Mad Men kicked off with John Ciardi’s 1954 translation of Inferno: Midway in our life’s journey, I …
James T. Mangan: 14 Ways to Acquire Knowledge
Brainpickings put me onto this timeless wisdom from famous eccentric James T. Mangan’s 1936 book You Can Do Anything! PRACTICE Consider the knowledge you already have — the things you really …
TED Bookstore 2013
If you missed out on attending the famous TED conference this year — you’re not alone. But now you can queue up some of the books that were available at the TED Bookstore for your spring reading …
Gaming the System
Some college students used game theory to get an A by exploiting a loophole in the grading curve. Catherine Rampell explains: In several computer science courses at Johns Hopkins University, the …
Plato’s Argument Against Writing
“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” — Chinese Proverb *** From Plato’s Phaedrus, commenting on the invention of writing. Here, O …
History Does Not Belong To Us But We Belong To It
“Because an experience is itself within the whole of life, the whole of life is present in it too.” — Gadamer Hans-Georg Gadamer is associated in particular with one form of philosophy: …
Wittgenstein: Reality is Shaped by the Words we Use
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of our language.” — Wittgenstein Philosopher Bertrand Russell described Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein as …
The Difference Between “Knowing That” and “Knowing How”
The focus right now in our education system is on a certain type of knowledge: “knowing that” as opposed to “knowing how.” The difference is somewhat experiential. Matthew …
Matthew Crawford: “We’re not as free and independent as we thought.”
“We have a generation of students that can answer questions on standardized tests, know factoids, but they can’t do anything.” — Jim Aschwanden *** Despite the metrification of the …