Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday

Tags

Coursera, Education, Learning, Martin Luther King, Netflix, Poetry, Reading broadly, Thinking Critically, Udemy

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read more at – https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martin_luther_king_jr_402936?src=t_intelligence

Learning is a great thing! I enjoy picking up new things, learning about different topics, learning about myself, and opening my mind to other ideas, peoples, places, and concepts. Recently, I began reading poetry. Wow! I really enjoy it. If you want a great venue for poetry, check out this website: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/

I’m also enjoying a new app I found (mentioned earlier on this blog). It is called www.curious.com. This one will cost you money—29.99/year, but for me, it’s worth it. You get daily puzzles (up and down words, Unolingo, crosswords, and Ken Ken). You get podcasts about money, science, business, culture, art, and you get access to what I would label minicourses. These courses aren’t the best quality, but you may find a cool topic that you haven’t found elsewhere. I like this site and have made going through what is called the daily challenge part of my daily ritual. Check it out. You may join me.

As mentioned earlier, I will begin my character development this upcoming month. Like Benjamin Franklin, I will begin with a new character trait in October and add one new trait each month, focusing on the new one and maintaining the previous one. This will be a 12-month adventure. I’ll be updating you on my progress on Sundays, which will be labeled Series Sunday. On Sunday, I’ll be giving you an update on my progress weekly. This will keep me honest and help me chronical my challenges as I tackle each new character trait.

Learning does cause us to think more deeply. It opens us to new ideas and new ways of looking at things. At times I run across ideas or topics that really upset me. These are the times I push myself through the material and really pay attention to my internals. Each time I read a new chunk of content that I disagree with it changes me just a little. Some of the material gets through. I consider this to be one of my important learnings. Open-mindedness is truly a great thing. I recommend this to everyone. Read broadly—read books and articles written by people you disagree with. You will learn something—I promise.

Books:

Rediscovering Americanism and The Tyranny of Progressivism, Mark R. Levin – Decent book, but heavy on the quotes. I don’t know what this guy really thinks because 80% of the book is literally a copied quote from one of the folks he cites. I wouldn’t waste your time on this one.

Ethics, Aristotle – Almost done with this one.

The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell – This is my bible. I finished it and will re-read again. This book is a permanent fixture on my reading list.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe – Still plugging away on this one. I’ve put it on hold, not because it is a bad book but due to the nonfiction reading, I’m taking on (I love nonfiction books more than fiction).

The Science of Success: What Researchers Know That You Should Know, Paula Caproni. I just started this book in conjunction with the author’s course on Coursera.

Classes:

Western Heritage, Hillsdale College – I finished this course. Since Hillsdale has altered its online format (no quizzes, no discussions, etc.), I have decided not to do their courses anymore. I enjoy engaging in a course not just watching videos. If you still care to pursue some of the online courses on Hillsdale.edu, you have been warned. I’m going to focus on courses offered by Coursera and Udemy going forward. I learn more when I am engaged by the content, not an by being an inactive participant.

The Science of Success: What Researchers Know That You Should Know, Paula Caproni, University of Michigan, Coursera. – I started week 1 yesterday. A buddy of mine recommended this one and I’m glad he did. This is a good course so far.

Documentaries:

Movies:

Venom (Another Marvel Movie) is scheduled to come out on the 5^th. I cannot wait. This one looks terrific!

Fun:

Ozark – Netflix (in the cue) – Re-watching Season 1 to remind myself what’s going on. I’ll kick into Season 2 when I’m back on track with this one.

Jack Ryan – Amazon Prime (in the cue) – Still pending.

Interesting Apps:

I didn’t find anything new in the iPhone app realm this week.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

Tags

change opinion, Listening, open-mindedness, Reading broadly, tolerance

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” – Thomas Jefferson

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/thomas_jefferson_389008?src=t_religion

This quote is such a refreshing one when I consider the level of animosity and divisiveness present in America today. I used to be interested in politics, but within today’s environment, it is impossible to watch the immature arguments that frequent our airwaves, social media, and all the rest.

Tolerance is the key word here.

We are all unique. We also have our opinions about things. True friendship is about understanding another person’s view and remaining friends regardless of their opinions.

I purposely read articles with opinions different from mine. I do this because I want to keep an open mind. I want to understand why people feel differently about an issue than I do. This has provided a real opportunity to reconsider my positions and maybe, just maybe, change them, if an article’s arguments are strong enough.

I was sucked into the political debate over and over throughout my life and still, at times, have a real difficulty not getting ticked off when someone comes to the table with a position that I am opposed to. Over time, I began to realize how idiotic this way of living is.

Once I began reading articles highlighting opinions that were opposite of mine I began opening my mind to these opinions and reading them. Some of them fail to convince me of anything. Some, however, get through. This is when something interesting occurs. I begin to see the other side of an issue and begin to realize that my position may have been wrong. Many times, I end up in the middle of an issue, taking the pieces of arguments from both sides and keeping the ones that I believe make the most sense.

I think back to the time of our nation’s founding and wonder how difficult the arguments must have been during Jefferson’s time. If he could argue these points with colleagues and remain friends, so could I. I have found over time that my learning has increased exponentially.

Open your mind to other people’s ideas and opinions. All you have to lose is the time you take to hear out someone’s point of view. If they don’t convince you, so be it. If they do, you have a better grasp of an issue and many times will arrive upon a solution that was much better than your one-sided view and the view of your colleague. The interaction allows you to see alternative solutions that would have been impossible had you not allowed yourself to be exposed to another’s opinion.

Enjoy your Saturday, readers!

Until next time…

Dave