By: John Fehlen on January 8, 2024
My name is John. I identify as a white, straight, upper class, middle-aged male. Therefore, I will just shut up now. Of course, I jest. I’m just kidding. But, I do have to be honest: over the last handful of years I have more than occasionally felt like I just need…
By: Kally Elliott on January 8, 2024
Grief is complicated. There is an illustration of grief that looks like a giant ball of tangled string: one way in, a thousand tangles and loops, and finally, a way out. Years ago, someone I loved hurt me deeply. I was in great emotional pain but instead of feeling sad, I felt MAD. I was…
By: Jennifer Vernam on January 1, 2024
In his book The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time[1], Yascha Mounk outlines his belief that to right the wrongs of injustices, society has over-swung the pendulum in the opposite direction and in the process, has abdicated many of the liberal foundations that served as building blocks for modern-day democracy.…
By: Caleb Lu on December 11, 2023
“Some people just shouldn’t have kids.” This was something that I overheard in a conversation last year about how IVF(in-vitro fertilization) babies frequently end up in the NICU(neonatal intensive care unit). Their argument was simple, parents who “artificially” conceived were more likely to have fragile babies. By fragile, it was implied that these babies could…
By: Daron George on December 10, 2023
“Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an exploration of how systems, both natural and artificial, respond to different kinds of stressors. In this review of Talibs’s book, I will focus on Taleb’s perspective on stressors as sources of information and catalysts for improvement. Central to Taleb’s idea is the concept…
By: Laura Fleetwood on December 10, 2023
Identity politics is a charged phrase these days. For some, it elicits a prideful response, for others a snicker or sneer. Regardless of whether one is a fan of identity politics, we all must acknowledge that we want to be valued for who we are. It is this desire for recognition and respect that Francis…
By: Tonette Kellett on December 10, 2023
Nassim Taleb’s book Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder was a challenging read for me this past week, perhaps because it’s the end of the semester for both doctoral work and my job at school. I’m pressured to finish my assignments, give and grade semester exams myself, and so on. Then there is this very…
By: Michael O'Neill on December 9, 2023
Introduction In Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s (NNT) groundbreaking work, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, the author challenges traditional perspectives on resilience and introduces the concept of antifragility. Rooted in both financial expertise and philosophical insight, Taleb urges readers to view “volatility, randomness, and disorder,” not as threats but as opportunities for growth.[1] He opens his…
By: Audrey Robinson on December 9, 2023
Controversy To say that Nassim Taleb’s book, Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder, is highly controversial is an understatement. Some have read his book and his prior two books, The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness, and found Antifragile disappointing and sometimes contradictory to his earlier works. Then, a select group thinks he is “pretentious,…
By: Chad McSwain on December 8, 2023
Much Too Delicate In a recent conversation concerning resilience, I offered a thought that I described as The Great Dilemma in Parenting, which is the tendency to protect our children from harm while we know that the difficult situations will make them mentally, emotionally and spiritually stronger. If you have ever wondered how to navigate…
By: Daron George on December 8, 2023
Introduction My journey towards academic success was far from typical. Growing up, my environment didn’t exactly celebrate intellectual prowess. Being too bright was perceived as distancing oneself from their roots, leading to a sense of alienation. You were often accused of “forgetting where you came from.” This greatly influenced my formative years as a young…
By: Dinka Utomo on December 7, 2023
Grandiose fantasies are a symptom of Resistance. They’re the sign of an amateur. The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work. -Steven Pressfield- A piece of advice was given to me by one of the lecturers where I studied theology. The advice reads, “the best written work…
By: Jana Dluehosh on December 7, 2023
Resistance, professionalism, and the Muse are main themes in Steven Pressfields the War of Art: Break through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. Pressfield takes a very easy way of writing to walk us through his own experience of resistance and how to press through this through professionalism and embracing the mystical idea…
By: Adam Harris on December 7, 2023
Recently, I watched a clip of Rick Rubin, named “One of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World” by Time magazine, discussing his philosophy and approach to art as well as his creative process. If you’re not familiar with Rick Rubin (not Santa Claus) you have probably heard some of the artists he…
By: Mathieu Yuill on December 7, 2023
When I was younger, I thought of myself as an artist. I loved drawing and writing, spending my summers at art camps and evenings in art classes. My high school was even focused on the arts. But around the age of 16, I started to see things differently. I got into photography and wrote for…
By: Todd E Henley on December 7, 2023
In her book, Jump, Kim Perell talks about what to do with our fears and challenges in life. She says, “Instead of letting it paralyze you, let it catalyze you.”1 In other words whatever has the power to cause resistance in your life, use it to give you insight, wisdom, direction, passion, fire in your…
By: Sara Taylor Lattimore on December 7, 2023
Diamonds! When I think of antifragile, I think of Diamonds. Beauty created under pressure, a beauty that reflects light beyond itself. In his book Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb sets out to help the reader understand how resiliency is obtained and how we can grow from challenges. This idea that disorder isn’t synonymous with demise. This…
By: Laura Fleetwood on December 7, 2023
It’s ironic to post about Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book Antifragile during a time when I am very fragile health wise. Over the past 5 weeks, I have battled a treatment-resistant sinus infection that just developed a secondary infection this past week. After days spent in bed with swollen lymph nodes, pain and anxiety attacks, I’ve…
By: Russell Chun on December 7, 2023
Опір даремний, Opir daremnyy, Resistance is Futile (Ukrainian) Part 1 – What my Peers are saying. Part 2 – What Others are Saying Part 3 – What I learned from Word of Art Part 4 – Epilogue Steven Pressfield’s War of Art [1]provided a welcomed message for the cohort struggling to finish papers and live…
By: Pam Lau on December 7, 2023
At this strange time in the world in which we are marching towards a New Year, it is a comfort to look back at this semester at the words we have read, the questions we have asked and the prayers we have prayed. After writing three papers and 11 blogs this year (not counting outside…
