Resolution Progress 2017: First Quarter

(Original ; Half ; Three-Quarters ; Final)

For the first quarter, I should have progressed about 25%. So, let’s see where I am.

• Read 52 books. First quarter goal: 13 books. I have actually finished 12.
  • Hit 20,000 pages. First quarter goal: 5,000 pages. I have actually finished 3,408.
  • Read politically. Total 10. First quarter goal: 2.5 books.
    • A Nation of Immigrants
    • Pedagogy of the Oppressed
    • The Origins of Totalitarianism (in progress)
  • Read on decision making and influence. Total 10. First quarter goal: 2.5 books.
    • Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart
  • African American and mixed study. Total 10. First quarter goal: 2.5 books.
    • Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
  • Read the book and (re-)watch the movie or TV series. Total: 5. First quarter goal: 1.25 books.
    • Out Of Sight
  • Finish the book series.
    • Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2-3. No progress.
    • Tarzan #4-9. Finished #4.
• Exercise.
  • Bench 290 pounds (1RM). I ended 2016 at 240 1RM. First quarter goal: 252.5 lbs. It improved by about 6 lbs, which is about half where it should be.
  • Squat 360 pounds (1RM eq). I ended 2016 at 310 1RM. First quarter goal: 322.5 lbs. It improved by about 12 lbs, which is about correct.
  • Deadlift 425 pounds (1RM eq). I ended 2016 at 375 1RM. First quarter goal: 387.5 lbs. It improved by about 30 lbs, which is way ahead.

The post Resolution Progress 2017: First Quarter appeared first on Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4.

From Resolution Progress 2017: First Quarter published March 31, 2017 at 06:28PM.

Intellectual humility

Adam Grant pointed to How ‘Intellectual Humility’ Can Make You a Better Person which I found intriguing.

We all have a tendency to overestimate how much we know — which, in turn, means that we often cling stubbornly to our beliefs while tuning out opinions different from our own. We generally believe we’re better or more correct than everyone else, or at least better than most people — a psychological quirk that’s as true for politics and religion as it is for things like fashion and lifestyles. And in a time when it seems like we’re all more convinced than ever of our own rightness, social scientists have begun to look more closely at an antidote: a concept called intellectual humility… which has to do with understanding the limits of one’s knowledge. It’s a state of openness to new ideas, a willingness to be receptive to new sources of evidence, and it comes with significant benefits: People with intellectual humility are both better learners and better able to engage in civil discourse. Google’s VP in charge of hiring, Laszlo Bock, has claimed it as one of the top qualities he looks for in a candidate: Without intellectual humility, he has said, “you are unable to learn.”

I wonder how my wanting to explain things tied in with my Imposter Syndrome derails the above overestimations. There is a thing in the back of my head looking to find fault in myself. So in going to explain something and realizing my weaknesses, my confirmation bias is to think, “Of course, I don’t understand it as well as I ought.”

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From Intellectual humility published March 26, 2017 at 09:39AM.

Let Me Explain; Let Me Sum Up

There is a great quote from The Princess Bride…

Westley: Who are you? Are we enemies? Why am I on this wall? Where is Buttercup?
Inigo Montoya: Let me explain.
[pause]
Inigo Montoya: No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Buttercup is marry Humperdinck in little less than half an hour. So all we have to do is get in, break up the wedding, steal the princess, make our escape… after I kill Count Rugen.

It is what I thought of while reading Mike Caufield’s The Power of Explaining to Others.

I like discussions about things because in talking about it, I have to…

1. Judge how much the other person knows.
2. Judge how much I know.
3. Figure out the best way to provide additional value.

In going through this, I figure out that what I know is usually less than I originally thought. Which makes me more curious, so I will seek more information. Many of my times getting lost down the rabbit hole of the Internet is trying to clean up the holes of my understanding from some recent conversation. There is an obsession to better know things, so I found it interesting that my habit of explaining books, articles, or whatever is on my mind ties to well into countering false information.

The conclusion to Gotcha Jerks Part II…

Not long ago, it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling for a very conservative coworker to call me the only liberal he knows that he can discuss things. We disagree, but we respect each other enough to discuss things. I am not hurt by our disagreements. And as much as he tries to act radical, I suspect a lot of it is poker bluff acting.

My motivation in talking with him is in part understanding what I do and do not know. He provides a perspective I normally probably would not see. He uses keywords I can search for to find more about those views. And… He is not seeking to convince me (nor I him) to the “right” side. We just talk to explain what we know to better understand. So, I hope in explaining to me, he is getting the same benefit I am.

 

The post Let Me Explain; Let Me Sum Up appeared first on Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4.

From Let Me Explain; Let Me Sum Up published March 25, 2017 at 10:32AM.