What a lovely coincidence to be able to upvote your session on Improv at SXSW EDU just as I'm designing an improv experience for the first class meeting this fall. One reason I'm so pleased to be reading More Than Words with them this year is that the "Writing is a Practice" chapter is such a vivid introduction to the concept.
Thanks for the timely and important article, John. I haven't read any of the Booker 12, although I JUST read the Booker winner of 1978, The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch and LOVELOVELOVED it. 🌊🌊🌊 Many years ago I read a book called Teaching as a Subversive Activity and it was inspiring, if a bit premature for my life. Maybe its time has come again, if anyone could find a copy.
His subsequent attempts to walk back what, at least to me, still seems like in unmistakable echo of the old “women’s brains just can’t do math since they’re wired to write poetry” shibboleth don’t change my feeling that he should just shut the fuck up.
This is one of the things that ultimately saw him leave his post in a faculty vote of no confidence. Sometimes I wonder if he's seeking a form of revenge.
John, your articles are generally very good, but this one was exceptional! So much to think about here. The thought that popped into my head upon reading "pick up an oar and start helping us row the good ship of the world towards greater enlightenment" was Carl Sackler's comment after he was stiffed out of a tip after caddying for the Dalai Lama:
“Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.”
You are promising returns earlier than the Lama ...
Nice post overall, and I'm totally on board with your strong offense on the value of writing (i.e., thinking) but one quibble:
"Imagine a world where the Biden Administration, taking the threat of Trump to democracy as seriously as it deserved, made it a priority to end the filibuster, add three seats to the Supreme Court and two states (Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico) to the union. This is country that is hardened against an authoritarian."
I don't think that would make a country that is hardened against authoritarianism.
That is, those aren't systematic approaches that limit the risks of an authoritarian taking control over the government. Those are approaches that would have limited the risk of one particular authoritarian taking control at this particular time. Those measures are neutral on authoritarianism generally, even if they would have been measures against Trump.
Arguably, the more Supreme Court Justices there are, the more likely their decisions tend toward the mean. But sometimes you don't want a Supreme court that is pinned to the mean - sometimes you want them to be able to make hard decisions that may defy a public opinion that is a lagging indicator.
There are good reasons not to get into the business of changing the way our government works just to target particular politicians.
While I get the argument that this may have been an extreme case calling for extreme measures, that's the thing about democracy: you get the government you deserve. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves. (Not that I'm endorsing Cassius's extreme measure in that extreme case. Which, let the record show, failed to eliminate the threat of Rome's rising authoritarianism.)
What a lovely coincidence to be able to upvote your session on Improv at SXSW EDU just as I'm designing an improv experience for the first class meeting this fall. One reason I'm so pleased to be reading More Than Words with them this year is that the "Writing is a Practice" chapter is such a vivid introduction to the concept.
Beautiful
Thanks for the timely and important article, John. I haven't read any of the Booker 12, although I JUST read the Booker winner of 1978, The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch and LOVELOVELOVED it. 🌊🌊🌊 Many years ago I read a book called Teaching as a Subversive Activity and it was inspiring, if a bit premature for my life. Maybe its time has come again, if anyone could find a copy.
Lawrence Summers stopped having even a shred of credibility for me since 2005, when he made public his idiotic “theories” about why women were underrepresented in the sciences (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/02/18/what-larry-summers-said).
His subsequent attempts to walk back what, at least to me, still seems like in unmistakable echo of the old “women’s brains just can’t do math since they’re wired to write poetry” shibboleth don’t change my feeling that he should just shut the fuck up.
This is one of the things that ultimately saw him leave his post in a faculty vote of no confidence. Sometimes I wonder if he's seeking a form of revenge.
I've been at the World Science Fiction convention going to panels on "AI" and talking about the importance of story. This fits right in.
John, your articles are generally very good, but this one was exceptional! So much to think about here. The thought that popped into my head upon reading "pick up an oar and start helping us row the good ship of the world towards greater enlightenment" was Carl Sackler's comment after he was stiffed out of a tip after caddying for the Dalai Lama:
“Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.”
You are promising returns earlier than the Lama ...
Like the Lama, John is also a big hitter.
I wish I had made the connection. Given that I can almost receipt Caddyshack from heart, I should have.
In it. Thank you for teaching beyond the system.
Nice post overall, and I'm totally on board with your strong offense on the value of writing (i.e., thinking) but one quibble:
"Imagine a world where the Biden Administration, taking the threat of Trump to democracy as seriously as it deserved, made it a priority to end the filibuster, add three seats to the Supreme Court and two states (Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico) to the union. This is country that is hardened against an authoritarian."
I don't think that would make a country that is hardened against authoritarianism.
That is, those aren't systematic approaches that limit the risks of an authoritarian taking control over the government. Those are approaches that would have limited the risk of one particular authoritarian taking control at this particular time. Those measures are neutral on authoritarianism generally, even if they would have been measures against Trump.
Arguably, the more Supreme Court Justices there are, the more likely their decisions tend toward the mean. But sometimes you don't want a Supreme court that is pinned to the mean - sometimes you want them to be able to make hard decisions that may defy a public opinion that is a lagging indicator.
There are good reasons not to get into the business of changing the way our government works just to target particular politicians.
While I get the argument that this may have been an extreme case calling for extreme measures, that's the thing about democracy: you get the government you deserve. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves. (Not that I'm endorsing Cassius's extreme measure in that extreme case. Which, let the record show, failed to eliminate the threat of Rome's rising authoritarianism.)