Archive for April 2021
Relying on Your Own Mind
A recent issue of Time magazine launched the new “Kid of the Year” recognition. Along with this year’s selection of Gitanjali Rao, the magazine profiled four other young people whose accomplishments, imagination, and engagement in life are impressive. As I read about them, I couldn’t help imagining them among the thousands of other students I…
Read MoreSocial Media Activism At Exeter
“Save the Amazon!” “Black Lives Matter!” “LGBTQ+ rights!” Such catchphrases and messages have lost their value due to their sheer volume. Social media has actively harmed the movements they aim to further. Such messages pop into view as we swipe; we repost them and then let them disappear. It’s a monotonous cycle, one not fit…
Read MoreThe myth of meritocracy and what we can do about it
Despite our individual responsibilities, some issues are too big to be resolved individually. When we think of professionally and financially successful people, more than knowing who they are, it is important to ask where they come from. There is myriad evidence that in many countries, meritocracy is a myth and social reproduction is the norm. In…
Read MoreThe Search for Motivation
What makes someone successful? The answer might seem simple: motivated people do well in life, and unmotivated people fail. Motivation seems to be the key to so much, yet most people know so little about where it truly comes from. We often assume that some people are just born with more talent, willpower, and most…
Read MoreCall Me Pathologically “Woke”
In a recent New York Times column, conservative pundit Bret Stephens argued strenuously that divisiveness was ruining our great nation. He was specifically irritated by a proposed ethnic studies curriculum in California’s public schools. He hauled out all the culture war piñatas and beat them relentlessly. “Critical race theory” was most prominent among the targets. His conservative columns routinely…
Read More