Why I Would Not Teach My Values to My Kid

The people who know me well would probably exclaim, “That’s a good idea!” Well, sorry to disappoint, but this isn’t about the fact that my values are questionable. I would not teach my own values to my child even if I thought my values were immaculate. This brings us to the question: What do I mean by “values”? The simplest way to put it is: To deem one thing to be superior to its counter part. For instance, in the last presidential election, many parents involved their kids into politics by teaching them that Obama is better than McCain. So, we had preschool kids campaigning for Obama. Read on »

Published: Feb-7-10

In Defence of Plagiarism

by Jim Hamlyn

I’m not at all convinced that plagiarism is an entirely bad or avoidable thing. However, if you’re a student reading this in the hope of discovering a handy excuse to steal someone else’s work I’m afraid I’m probably going to disappoint you. Read on »

Published: Jan-19-10

Behavioral Differences Between 4 Types of Online Networks

There are many different types of online networks and each encourages different user behavior. For the purpose of this discussion, I would like to create 4 different categories of online networks: centered-public, centered-private, decentered-public, and decentered-private. "Centered" means everyone is looking at the same thing. "Decentered" means everyone is looking at a different thing. Facebook is a good example of a decentered network; when I login, what I see is different from what you see when you login. "Public" means anyone can view the content, and "private" means only selected/invited users can view the content. Read on »

Published: Jan-1-10

There Is More to Teaching Than Teaching

by Jim Hamlyn

Louis Menand, of The New Yorker, recently reviewed “The Program Era” by Mark McGurl: a book which traces the ways creative writing has been taught in American universities. The overarching question raised by the Menand is whether creative writing can actually be taught at all. Of course, it is taught, in a literal sense, but to what extent is that teaching fruitful? Read on »

Published: Sep-18-09

What Is The Point of Building A Business?

Why would you start and run your own business? You might say, “Money. What else could it be?” Well, that is the common assumption but this isn’t true for everyone, and depending on your answer, the path you take may be quite different. It sounds like common sense, but I see some very successful business people make bad decisions because they didn’t ask this question. Read on »

Published: Sep-13-09

How Our Addiction to Corporations Killed Our Communities

When I read the autobiography of Emma Goldman, I was struck by how differently people lived here in the East Village, New York, at the turn of the 20th Century. I was particularly surprised by how everyone assumed they would eventually have their own businesses. On the other hand, most of us now expect that we work for corporations all our lives. Today, that became the mainstream, and running one’s own business became an “alternative” way to make a living. As a matter of fact, the corporate world tends to shun people who have defected to the alternative world. So, once you defect, it’s hard to get back into the mainstream. Born into this cultural environment, I had always assumed that this was the norm. It didn’t occur to me to think that people might have lived differently in the past. Read on »

Published: Aug-9-09

Marriage and Individualism

“This man was hurting, yet his problem wasn’t mine to solve. In fact, I needed to get out of his way so he could solve it,” said Laura A. Munson in her essay entitled “Those Aren’t Fighting Words, Dear.” It is her account of how she dealt with her marriage that almost fell apart. Her husband one day pronounced to her, “I don’t love you anymore. I’m not sure I ever did.” Instead of reacting to it in an expected manner, she decided to stay calm and said, “I don’t buy it.” Her essay struck a chord with many people who are/were in similar situations. Read on »

Published: Aug-4-09

What Does “Virtue Is Its Own Reward” Mean?

What does “Virtue is its own reward” mean? And, what does “virtue” mean? When I searched the web, I came across this video of Barry Schwartz speaking at a TED conference about virtue. In his case, he defines virtue as a moral and social concept. I believe this is the most common way that the word “virtue” is used. Despite my respect for his ideas on the paradox of choice, I disagree with his thesis on this topic. I think he got the order wrong. When you practice virtue as its own reward, what appears to be moral is actually not moral at all. It only appears so to other people who are observing your act. Read on »

Published: Jul-13-09

How We Develop Creativity

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of creativity. It’s an elusive concept, like the concept of God. A friend of mine told me about a recent article in New Yorker dealing with the same topic: “Should creative writing be taught?” My view is in line with the “official position” of The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop: Read on »

Published: Jun-15-09

Fear of Everything Else

I’ve known many people in my life who are smart and talented yet somehow cannot manage their own lives well. I’ve always been puzzled and fascinated by this phenomenon. I figured there must be some careers perfect for their intelligence and talent. The only problem, I thought, was that they weren’t aware of these careers. In fact, most career orientations offered at schools are based on the same premise. It’s an encouraging and exciting premise too, like finding a Mr. or Ms. Perfect. Needless to say, I’ve never succeeded in finding such a career for anyone. This is when I began doubting my own premise. Maybe the problem does not lie in the careers they choose, but in everything else that they have to deal with no matter which careers they choose. In other words, it’s not about what they want to do; it’s about what they don’t want to do but have to. Read on »

Published: May-27-09