Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
I’ve never taken any advice from anybody…not really. Perhaps the rocky patches of my road have been rockier than most, but looking back I really haven’t had very many of ’em. As I read over this I see it matches closely with what I did.
And the rocky patches weren’t even really that rocky; a little lonely maybe. On balance though it’s been a good life. It’s good to see something that fits in with how I went about things, that also would be good advice for someone younger. There is very little pleasure in it for me when I find myself telling the younger set “what I did has worked out very well over the long term but don’t do things my way.” And I know they don’t find it comforting. So I intend to hang on to this.
1. Acquire skills that are hard to get outside school. Your first temptation will be to fill your schedule with courses on fascinating subjects. Do this, but don’t forget to also use university to tech up. For anyone interested in public policy or development, I suggest at two semesters of statistics and economics. Then pick a field of study in development (economics, politics, etc) and pick the hardest courses in each. Other technical skills may come in handy, depending on your interests: international law, political theory, tropical medicine, qualitative methods, finance & accounting, and so forth.
2. Learn how to write well. Take writing seriously. Consider a course in creative, non-fiction, journalism, or business writing. Read books on writing. You won’t regret it.
3. Focus on the teacher, not the topic. You will learn more from great teachers than great syllabi.
4. When in doubt, choose the path that keeps the most doors open. If you aren’t sure of your interests, stick to mainstream majors, ones with plenty of job and grad school options at the end, and get your core stats and math training (multivariate calculus, linear algebra, and multivariate regression).
5. Do the minimum language and management classes. Languages are hugely valuable, but better learned in immersion, during your summers and holidays. Maybe take an intro course, but only that. Business and management skills are critical, but classrooms are poor places to get skills other than finance and accounting.
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Second opinion on language.
Study a language; hopefully one that uses strict rules for gender and declension. There are a lot of things you need to learn about your language–English–that you’ve never been taught. If you are going to be engaged in any type of advocacy, a clear understanding of how language works will be critical to your future success.
Studying languages in college is a different experience than the one you encountered in your high school French class. You are going to be spending at least three hours a day, one in class, one reading, writing and speaking aloud, and an hour with tapes, listening and repeating.
I kept four sets of self-made flash cards. One colour for nouns, another for verbs, another for verbs of motion. One that included adjectives and adverbs to drill in the difference.
The glue of civilization is not found in math or science. The glue of civilization is in our language. Mastery of language must be your number one goal. But, it’s your decision.
- OregonGuy | 06/07/2010 @ 12:02.