Inner Speech - An Interesting Read

The piece linked below is different yet perhaps still relevant to our class.  If you have internal conversations on a regular basis, then our in class conversations might have offered a model for that.  The second half of the piece, on hearing voices, is not so relevant but it is interesting to read about.  I wonder though, when we are dreaming if we hear voices that way and it is entirely normal.

The Voices in Our Heads - The New Yorker via kwout

You also might enjoy reading the original story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, by James Thurber, which to my knowledge is the first piece to characterize daydreaming.  The piece was written in 1939, yet the story still holds up. 

Last Reminder - Discussion Group

So far there are two students who have indicated interest.  It really would be good to have at least three students, so I am asking about this one more time.  The original message is here.  Thanks.

Some Sort of Spiritual Alternative to Being Online

When I was an undergrad at Cornell, there were quite a few weekends in the fall and the spring where we'd go traipsing around in the woods for a few hours, often at a park called Buttermilk Falls.  It seemed like a good thing to do.  Later when I was a grad student at Northwestern, I would sometimes sit on the rocks (artificial landfill) and stare at Lake Michigan, letting the view dominate my thoughts.

I wonder, do Illinois students do something like that now and, if so, what do students do to clear their heads?  This question was motivated by reading the piece linked below by Andrew Sullivan, a former uber blogger, very well published, who had a breakdown from being online all the time.  He ultimately recovered but now seems to be reverting to his old ways.  It's a long read, but interesting, at least it was to me.

Andrew Sullivan: My Distraction Sickness — and Yours via kwout

One last post before the New Year

This is an interesting read about the philosophy of emotions.  It might aid some of your own inner reflection as well as to help you make new year's resolutions that have been to you.

The Philosopher of Feelings - The New Yorker via kwout

Mindfulness Again

This piece appeared in the Sunday NY Times Week in Review, a reposting of something from four years earlier.  I thought you might find it interesting.  I hope your vacation has been relaxing.  I know that for me it has taken more than a week to unwind.

The Power of Concentration - The New York Times via kwout

Compulsory Viewing When I Was A Kid

If you've never seen this before, you might be amused by it, even though the image quality is a bit shaky.  I saw that it was colorized and that version might be easier to view, but I didn't see a free version of that.   The March of the Wooden Soldiers, which happens right at the end is what people remember of this movie.

Reminder - Discussion Group

There is definitely no obligation for you to do this, but if you are interested in participating in the discussion group please let me know.  The original message is here.  Thanks.

Take Aways

This is only a little bit related to the course.  Mainly it is just some suggestions of interesting reads, none of which are very recent, that you might peruse over the break or next semester for your own entertainment and edification.

• Bolman and Deal Part 2 - the second half of the book, which we didn't cover at all, is worth a read in its own.   It takes the four frames developed in the first half and recasts them in a leadership setting.  You might enjoy that. 
• We did not talk at all about executive pay, which really is a big topic.  Since the subject matter gets more than a mention by the a current Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, Bengt Holmstrom, I thought this might be interesting for you to look at.  Note in the second half of the piece the issue on whether the compensation must depend only on verifiable performance.  We did talk about that in considering the principal-agent model.  
• This piece called Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead? is from a few years ago and is by Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton (the business school at U Penn).  The giving he talks about is more random acts of kindness than it is where a quid pro quo is expected.  You might try some of your own random acts of kindness over the break - with your friends or your family.   See how they react, particularly whether you surprise them with your kindness.  A positive reaction (as opposed to a gift in return) may encourage you to try it again. 
• This piece called The Bell Curve is one I really like.  It by Atul Gawande, a MacArthur Genius Award winner and a prolific author (plus he is a very well known M.D.).  It is about what determines excellence when excellence can be measures, in this case in the treatment of cystic fibrosis.  It might interest you to to see excellence cast this way, as it probably defies many of the stereotypes you have for it.  
• This one called The Expert Mind mind and should appeal to those students in the class who have a chess interest (I know there are a few of you), and other students as well.  It is about how experts differ from novices in their thinking and what it takes to become expert.  Chess is used as means to illustrate the more general issues.  

Bah, Humbug. Scrooge was an economist!

For your amusement only.  I thought you'd find the title of this piece interesting.  There is an economics paper  published in the American Economic Review (the top journal in the U.S.) back in 1993 that got all of this started.  You can find the paper here.

The Economics of Wasteful Spending: The Deadweight Loss of Christmas | PBS NewsHour via kwout

A little humor and....

.... if you've never seen it before an essential part of anyone's education about American culture.

A totally optional discussion group on leadership for next semester

The last few years I have invited students to join me in the spring for a weekly discussion group on the topic of how they might get more out of their learning.  Three years ago, I didn't get enough nibbles.  Two years ago I had three takers.  We met each Friday afternoon throughout the spring semester.  It was an interesting experience, unusual for both the students and for me.  Last year I had two takers initially, but one soon dropped.  The other person was extremely shy and it was kind of odd to have conversations with him.  We went for a while but didn't meet quite as regularly.

This year I'd like to do something similar but on a different topic.  I maintain a reading list on leadership and learning.  We might start with a few pieces from there to help us find a rhythm.  After that, I'd hope that students would offer up their own pieces for us to discuss.

When the group seemed to work well we went for somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours and met in BIF.  That much of what we did I'd like to keep.  Based on that experience the ideal number of students is at least 3 and probably no more than 5.  If we can get that this time around we'll be a go.

If you are interested you can indicate that either by commenting on this post (and maybe that will attract some others to do likewise) or you can send me an email.

Let me say one more thing about scheduling.  I am not teaching next semester so I am pretty happy to meet whenever is convenient for the group (if such a time exists).  But I would prefer daytime to evening.  You should probably treat that as a firm constraint in assessing your own availability for this.

One More Quiz

How many ears does Captain Kirk have?

Today's Quiz

The projector didn't work in class today, but truthfully I only thought of this after class was over.  There are three questions.  They all pertain to this image.

1.  What is this guy's name?

2.  What magazine is this guy associated with?

3.  What slogan is he identified with ?

What Does It Mean To Be A Good Student

Since several of your posts on personal reputations were about your being good student, I did a search on that and eventually found the essay linked below, which I thought wasn't bad.  It is from 1997, ancient history for you, just yesterday for me.  One wonders how much of it has changed since.
The piece does say that you can grow ability.  (The psychologist Carol Dweck in here book Mindset says you can grow intelligence.)  In either case, translating that into the jargon of our course, that would be increasing general human capital.  Here, the labelling matters not.  What does matter is that practice of the right sort can improve things.

The one issue I have with this is on the matter of hard work.  We may have talked about this in class earlier in the semester.  If you are absorbed in something and it has your full attention, you may learn a lot from the experience, but it might be quite enjoyable so I wouldn't describe that as hard work.  I am told that people have different innate ability to concentrate.  If that is true, for those with that ability the learning isn't hard work.  For those who find concentrating difficult, it is more of a struggle.

If you do read this I wonder if it coincides with your view of what being a good student means.

On Being a Student via kwout

Happy Thanksgiving

With the Men's basketball game against West Virginia pretty much out of hand and my inability to watch the Dallas Cowboys play football now, yet with about 45 minutes before we sit down for our meal here, I found myself looking for other diversions.  This piece was interesting and I thought, given that you all write blog posts, that it might resonate with you.  I hope you are enjoying life wherever you find yourself now.

The Running Conversation in Your Head - The Atlantic via kwout

Some Linked Content for the Party in Class

The Fun Theory

Wrong Answers Jeopardy

Some music Professor Arvan listened to when he was in college 

From Bob Dylan:

Lily, Rosemary, and The Jack of Hearts

This song was on the flip slide of the album.  It's really wonderful but not that well known.  The big hit at the time was called Tangled Up in Blue and was the first song on side one.   

About Bob Dylan:

Diamonds and Rust

This song is from an album by the same name.  Joan Baez has a truly wonderful singing voice and it really shows here.  She and Dylan were once a thing, maybe a decade earlier. 

From Cat Stevens:

Wild Word

This song is from the album Tea for the Tillerman.  The entire album is worth a listen.  I had forgotten about this music entirely until quite recently a friend posted something to rekindle the memory.  Then I realized that Jeep seems to be using one of Cat Stevens' songs in its current commercial.

This is an Okay Read but the Picture Is Priceless.

Why We Can’t Finish Things | Vitae via kwout

Party in Class Next Thursday

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Not Course Related - My Prediction for Game 1 of the World Series

I will be asleep before the end of the fifth inning.  I wouldn't bet against that one.  As to who will win the game, it's an exciting matchup so let fate decide.

On measuring student performance - a post from the Tomorrow's Professor list

It seems that many student in the class are fixated on their GPA.  I wonder what you'd make of this piece.

The full essay