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Outliers- Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers! Good if you are looking for something different. I read this one quickly because I didn’t want to put it down. In Outliers, Gladwell sets out to define the path of successful individuals in a way that has not been done before. Why is our society so quick to accept that fame and success is a result of the die-hard pursuit of the individual? No one can do everything alone. Gladwell dissects vignette after vignette of successful outliers and what led them to their extraordinary accomplishments: a reoccurring pattern of good circumstances, access, opportunity, pure luck, and personal motivation and drive. Brilliance alone will not make you an outlier, as there are millions of brilliant intellects whom are not successful. What outliers have that other do not is a “perfect storm” of outlandish circumstances that bring them to the top.
I am officially a Gladwell fan! Now on to “Blink” and “The Tipping Point”….
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Reflection on : “Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery”
Why do we continue to celebrate a day in our nation’s history that marked an era of slaughter, genocide, and heartlessness? Sure, there always someone who will come out “on top” when a nation is colonized, but does this make it alright? Does it validate the countless lives lost, nations decimated, languages lost in time forever, and a continuing legacy of historical oppression that persists on our Nations initial inhabitants?
No. Colonization was carried out in the name of privilege and ethnocentric views of self entitlement. Spaniards took from the Pueblo nations that which was not rightfully theirs. Columbus is just but one name of countless barbarians who slaughtered natives of this country, took their land, and threw test after test at them as if to say, “do you dare to survive?”
Well, in truth, many did not survive. At the same time, Native Americans comprise what is recorded to be an estimated 2% of the US population. From 100% to 2%. Think about that. But, regardless, that 2% has survived against all odds. The continuing legacy and celebration of “Columbus Day” is an insult to a very important part of our population that deserves respect.
Link to Article Here:
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The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
Just finished this.. Great read! Paul Collier is one of the leading economists of our time. His insight into the “traps” which prevent the countries that comprise the bottom billion of our world’s population from rising from poverty, are not to be overlooked. I see many important points in this novel that should be considered, even when looking inwards at poverty in the United States. In this book, Collier employs a melange of African country dynamics to illustrate his point.
The traps outlined are:
The conflict Trap
The Natural Resources Trap
Landlocked with Bad Neighbors
Bad Governance in a small country
Jeffry Sachs is another forefront economist who Collier takes no hesitation to label as a “raging liberal” after the immergence of Sachs’ book “The End to Poverty” which also took a global focus. Sachs has just published a book this past week, this time focusing on United States development entitled, “The Price of Civilization.” I anticipate finishing this book the day I get my hands on it. Expect a follow-up post with how I think these two works compare.
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The ballerina diaries: In Bunheads, former dancer Sophie Flack offers an inside look at the ballet world—and the sacrifices girls, like her main character, must make to reach the top. Read more here »
Posted on October 8, 2011 via Teen Vogue on Tumblr with 514 notes
Source: teenvogue
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Shamosa nai
A good old favorite of mine! Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgEfYGzojcA&feature=relatedDear Blog Readers,I think what I love most about my classes this year is the freedom… -
Ami Margo: Dhaka, proposals, villages, language partners, dreams
Listen to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8pQLtHTPaIAnd if you want some Bangla: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGSxRYtIBU4Alright! Here we go!(I promise to have… -
HA HA This is the most practical iphone case I have ever seen!
…. HA
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Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you’re really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though I’ve got a few missing. It’s ok though, because I’ve got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8-color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation.. so when I meet someone who’s an 8-color type.. I’m like, “hey girl, magenta!” and she’s like, “oh, you mean purple!” and she goes off on her purple thing, and I’m like, “no - I want magenta!
ha ha haPosted on April 27, 2011 via Days Go By... with 6 notes
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How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a
single moment before starting to improve the world.”
- Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl, 1947Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl, 1947 -
Ami bishash kori.
I have hope.
A spot for my random thoughts and wonderings.
