By Reason of Insanity"More than a hundred years later, Twain’s cry was answered. When John Hinckley, Jr., was found not guilty by reason of insanity after attempting to assassinate President Ronald Regan, Congress passed the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insanity_Defense_Reform_Act). The burden of proof shifted from the prosecution to the defense, and remains that way in the majority of states that still accept the plea. (In 1994, the Supreme Court upheld Montana’s abolition of the defense, which is also inadmissible in Idaho, Kansas, and Utah.)"
http://laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/reason-insanity?src=longreads
Complexity and the Ten-Thousand-Hour Rule
"..the ten-thousand-hour research reminds us that “the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play.” In cognitively demanding fields, there are no natu- rals. Nobody walks into an operating room, straight out of a surgical rotation, and does world- class neurosurgery."
http://gladwell.com/complexity-and-the-ten-thousand-hour-rule/
Confessions of a Novelist "The examination of the story-telling process may be divided into two parts; that which concerns the technique of fiction (in the widest sense), and that which tries to investigate what, for want of a simpler term, one must call by the old bardic name of inspiration"
http://laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/reason-insanity?src=longreads
Complexity and the Ten-Thousand-Hour Rule
"..the ten-thousand-hour research reminds us that “the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play.” In cognitively demanding fields, there are no natu- rals. Nobody walks into an operating room, straight out of a surgical rotation, and does world- class neurosurgery."
http://gladwell.com/complexity-and-the-ten-thousand-hour-rule/
Confessions of a Novelist "The examination of the story-telling process may be divided into two parts; that which concerns the technique of fiction (in the widest sense), and that which tries to investigate what, for want of a simpler term, one must call by the old bardic name of inspiration"
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1933/04/confessions-of-a-novelist/385504/
DFW's speech:
he capital-T Truth is about life BEFORE death.
It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:
"This is water." "This is water."
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/06/sushi200706?printable=true
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-21/puerto-rico-hedge-fund-vultures-to-the-rescue
It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:
"This is water." "This is water."
http://web.archive.org/web/20080213082423/http://www.marginalia.org/dfw_kenyon_commencement.html
If You Knew Sushi
An excellent personal story from a sushi fanatic:
An excellent personal story from a sushi fanatic:
"After returning from Japan, I see that one of the joints in my neighborhood has
posted a new menu in an attempt to revive its dying business. Now, besides the
cheeseburger deluxe, there is yellowtail pastrami and bigeye-tuna mignon with
potato "gnocci" and red-wine, mushroom, and foie-gras broth. Around the corner
from that place is a sushi place called Tokyo Bay, whose name now evokes
dioxins. Contaminated-sediment sushi."
Hedge Fund Vultures to the Rescue inPuerto Rico
"But guess who sees potential in Puerto Rico? Los buitres, the vultures: American hedge funds that bought
Puerto Rican bonds after the price fell and are agitating for changes to increase the value of their bonds and sell
out for a profit. In some countries—Argentina, for example—hedge funds are seen as the worst of the worst.
But in Puerto Rico, at least to date, they are perceived in some circles as the last, best hope."
