Posts

Showing posts from October, 2019
Image
Recently, I found myself reading an “autobiography” of a professor who had written it after learning that he had developed terminal pancreatic cancer. What is ironic, however, is that the book, The Last Lecture , is mostly about him preparing for an assignment where the lecturer was to pretend that it will be his or her last lecture. In Randy Pausch’s case, he didn’t need to pretend, this was going to be his real “last lecture.” Many professors are actually assigned to give a “last lecture.” They are expected to give “final” parting ideas to the audience, talk about what matters most and “reflect” on their legacy. Randy Pausch, however, knowing that he had terminal pancreatic cancer, approached the assignment differently than other professors.  This book does not actually contain any of the “transcript” of the lecture, so to speak, but I was curious anyway and read the lecture transcript (There’s a Youtube video too). The lecture was mostly about him and his childhood dreams,

Review: Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg

Image
I usually don't enjoy reading books in the fiction genre and I have a hard time finding really interesting books in the non-fiction genre. I mostly read political biographies and I've recently been reading a book called Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg, who's running for the Democratic nomination during the 2020 election. Although I have not finished the book yet, I think that this book is really interesting and a good read for someone who enjoys reading non-fiction and provides a lot of political insight. This book is a non-fiction book and talks about Pete Buttigieg's life and plan for America if he wins this election. The book beings in South Bend, Indiana, where Mayor Buttigieg grew up. He talks about what it was like living in a small, Midwestern town in the '80s and '90s and also discusses the economy of the town. He goes in-depth about how the products made locally seemed to deliver quality, and they thrived in the community that was in South Bend,

The Dialogues of Plato: The Republic, Part I

The Republic  is one of the most well-known books of philosophy in the world of academia, for good reason. The beginning of the book covers the idea of justice and what it might be. Socrates starts by discussing with Cephalos the concept of justice, and if there is a definition to it. Cephalos said that justice is to speak the truth and to give back whatever one has received. Socrates gives the argument of a friend who entrusts a set of weapons to you when he is in "right mental condition," i.e., not crazy. Then, he says, when he is not in the right state of mind he asks for the weapons back. Your friends would tell you not to give the weapons back. Cephalos then says that yes it would be just to not give them back to the friend when he is not in the right state of mind.  I personally agree with this idea, except for the fact that saying the truth is not justice. I believe that a fundamental part of justice is speaking the truth and supporting the truth. In this situation, w