Category: Critical Thinking

Translated Literature: A plea to bolster your reading palate

August 8, 2022

Hello my fellow bloggers and blog-lovers. Today I am writing this entry from a sleepy town in Montenegro, Bijela, to be specific. Not much happens in this provincial, coastal town, which means I’ve been doing more reading than touristing here. Particularly, enter today’s topic, translated literature. Over the past year, I’ve developed quite an affinity … More Translated Literature: A plea to bolster your reading palate

How to Overcome Difficulties with the Ganbatte

June 21, 2022

Japanese people have an incredible ability to recover from catastrophes of any kind. After World War II that left the country in ruins, in just thirty years Japan became the second largest economy in the world, becoming leaders in the electronics sector in the eighties and nineties. How could the Japanese economic miracle happen? The … More How to Overcome Difficulties with the Ganbatte

Sacred Places

May 16, 2022

I spent a good portion of this past Saturday helping my wife with her small business.  She is a master baker and makes a variety of Mediterranean breads and desserts.  Her goodies are artisanal and high-end.  She sells them each Saturday at a farmer’s market located in Boerne, Texas, a town with a large German-speaking … More Sacred Places

Community Colleges Are Helping to Transform America

April 18, 2022

Note:  This blog was originally published as an Op-Ed in the San Antonio Express-News.  I’m republishing it here today because it relates nicely with Learning to Question:  A Pedagogy of Liberation, a book I’m reading and one I wrote about in my most recent Pointless Overthinking blog. *** I am an American educator. My job … More Community Colleges Are Helping to Transform America

man writing on notebook while sitting on wooden handrail

How To Kill Your Darlings. In Your Writing, I mean. Obviously. Not In Some Creepy Jim Jones Way.

April 15, 2022

Hemingway said you should write your story, and then take all of the “best” lines out. Would we like F. Scott Fitzgerald, or Toni Morrison, or James Baldwin half as much if they took our their best lines? S … More How To Kill Your Darlings. In Your Writing, I mean. Obviously. Not In Some Creepy Jim Jones Way.

I’ve Been Doing Even More Thinking about Thinking

April 1, 2022

Not long ago, I wrote a piece about thinking that prompted lots of reaction.  After publishing it, my mind moved on to other topics.  Recently, though, like in the last couple of days or so, I started thinking about thinking again.  As you can probably tell, thinking is one my favorite activities.  We think for … More I’ve Been Doing Even More Thinking about Thinking

woman typing on laptop

Allow Me To Use This Space To Express My Opinion That I Have Too Many Spaces To Express My Opinions

April 1, 2022

So, as I have mentioned more often than is dignified, I have a theater company. Specifically, an online theater company we started in 2020. We did well critically in our first season, but the opposite of well in terms of making any money. We were also really bad at even breaking even. Frankly, we weren’t … More Allow Me To Use This Space To Express My Opinion That I Have Too Many Spaces To Express My Opinions

man wearing white shirt brown shorts and green backpack standing on hill

Fear-Setting: A powerful exercise for making major life decisions.

March 31, 2022

Beware fear disguised as optimism. “There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, ‘Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,’ and an optimist who says, ‘Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine any way.’ Either way, nothing happens.” — YVON CHOUINARD Most of us don’t call fear out for what it … More Fear-Setting: A powerful exercise for making major life decisions.