Published in Thrice Removed·PinnedContentsAlphabetical list so older posts don’t get lost in the shuffle! Unfortunately, it won’t stay pinned to the top! A work in progress, indeed. BOOKS Arendt’s On Violence — philosophy Beavan’s No Impact Man — environment, climate change Brown’s Braving the Wilderness — psychology, self-help Camus’s The Plague — retelling…2 min read2 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022Charles Taylor on the Crises of DemocracyA lecture as part of the Civid Freedom in an Age of Diversity program. See the lecture in full (67 min) on Vimeo here where he explores the very complex situation we’re in. He says we’re not in a period of democratic stagnation, but in a downward spiral that has…Charles Taylor8 min readCharles Taylor8 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022Slee’s No One Makes You Shop at Wal-MartOn the psychological forces that influence our decisions. This book has been very helpful in explaining the psychology of our choices when it comes to continuing to shop at stores that are exploiting people, animals, resources or just opportunities. Can we be ethical consumers without threat of punishment? Here’s the…Slee12 min readSlee12 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022Seneca’s On the Shortness of LifeWhy we continue to waste time, and how to stop! I had a brief Facebook conversation with Massimo Pigliucci about my decision to fritter away a morning watching the rain and petting my cat. He said, “It’s up to you to determine whether your morning was wasted or not. But…Seneca16 min readSeneca16 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022John Ralston Saul’s A Fair CountryHow Canada’s origins continue to set us apart today. I used to be so proud to be Canadian and that’s wavered over this difficult period in our history. I was searching for this book to loan out, and once found, I got totally engrossed in re-reading it. It made me…John Ralston Saul14 min readJohn Ralston Saul14 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022Sahlberg’s Finnish LessonsLearning from the educational success stories from the Finland. Everyone’s a buzz about schools in Finland being awesome, so I read a book and some articles and their curriculum documents to figure out what’s so special. In a nutshell, copying their school system will do little unless we can find…Pasi Salhberg12 min readPasi Salhberg12 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022Bertrand Russell’s The Conquest of HappinessSome old-school self-help! Some Russell quotations have been floating around lately, so I read The Conquest of Happiness, first published in 1930, and, boy, did I need this right now! The main ideas and some bits I liked are below by chapter. The book is really just a mix of…Bertrand Russell37 min readBertrand Russell37 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022Rawat’s Hear YourselfAnother attempt at calming my mind! Since falling into a pandemic funk, I’ve tried a variety of books and videos to try to get a little inner stillness in order to continue to function. Omicron and our region’s rising numbers aren’t helping matters! I’m crap at meditating, but Healthy Gamer’s…Prem Rawat7 min readPrem Rawat7 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022Prensky’s Teaching Digital NativesSome concerns with his framing of teen tech literacy. I read Teaching Digital Natives back in 2012 when it was being read by the teachers and administrators of a new type of course. I wish I had been given it at the beginning of our course development. …Prensky23 min readPrensky23 min read
Published in Thrice Removed·Jul 16, 2022Montaigne’s “Of Cruelty”What counts as being moral? Montaigne’s essay “Of Cruelty” speaks more to virtue than evil. He’s sorting out what it means to be virtuous. In a nutshell he says, “What I have in me of good, I have by chance.” Being virtuous has to be more than just the good…Montaigne6 min readMontaigne6 min read
