Tags
Amazon, Case Western University, Coursera, Curious.com, Groupthink, Hillsdale College, Netflix, Patton
“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” – George S. Patton
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_s_patton_130444?src=t_thinking
I enjoy reading broadly and trying new things. Recently I ran across a website called www.curious.com. It is a site that provides stimulating ways to exercise your brain with puzzles, interesting articles, a word of the day, a poem of the day, and a whole lot of other activities. I am not an affiliate but highly recommend it if you are ok with the $40/year or $10/month subscription. I was because I like a diversity of things to do and look at each day.
Patton was a stickler for out-of-the-box thinking and pushing his subordinates to come up with their own solutions. He was well-known for pushing the envelope with his commanders during all his exploits in WWII. Patton is referring to a term we now call “groupthink”. Groupthink occurs when a group of people all think alike without refuting one another or challenging each other’s ideas. You typically find this type of thinking in organizations where politics reign and people are stifled or ostracized for coming up with ideas that are not in alignment with a leader’s or organization’s thinking. Some of the results of groupthink have been devastating.
We can do this with ourselves as well. We stifle our own ideas before we entertain them. When you brainstorm individually give every idea an equal weight during the session. You will evaluate each idea later. Use every resource you have at hand when you are seeking a solution. If you keep an open mind, you’ll be amazed at the ideas that come in. Some of them will be exactly what you need to solve your problem.
Here’s my progress on key reading, learning, and entertainment activities for this week:
Books:
Ethics, Aristotle
The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe
Classes:
Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential, Coursera – I just finished this one. This is sort of a continuation of the Learning how to learn course I finished a bit ago and it was terrific. Learning how to learn and Mindshift are both worth your while if you are interested in taking them. They can both be found on www.Coursera.com.
Western Heritage, Hillsdale College
Mini-Habits Course, Udemy
Designing Your Own Weight Loss Plan – Case Western University – Coursera – Just finished week 1—pretty good so far.
Documentaries:
Movies:
Fun:
The West Wing (Currently on Netflix)
I’ve been playing a video game with my Army buddy called StarCraft II. It is great fun.
Ozark – Netflix (in the cue)
Jack Ryan – Amazon Prime (in the cue)
U.S. Open Tennis (when I have time to catch a good set here and there).
Until next time…
Dave
