Ascribing a name to something makes people feel that the object, so-named, is a real thing – and importantly thing-y in some way. I suppose I had noticed this phenomenon before, but something crystallized while I was sitting in a research presentation of an early career scholar a few years ago. I think she was …
So I have been thinking a lot about discipline. Not in the sense of punishment. Punishment is about an authoritative person or structure enforcing submission of someone who is subject to their power. There is probably a time and place for this type of discipline – such as in a functional accountability system – but …
Here is the thing about humility: it is not the same thing as self-deprecation. People (in my part of the world) often seem to think humility is about downplaying one’s own abilities or accomplishments. But that strikes me as ironically narcissistic. It is self-focused. To say ‘awe shucks, I’m not so great’ is still to …
It bugs me. I know it is nit-picky and pedantic, but it has become one of my pet peeves – because it is an absurd way to use a construction metaphor. You can build on a base. You can build from a base. But it does not make sense to go to the bother of …
My mom wanted her ashes spread in the river at her favorite campsite. So after the memorial service, my family and some of her close friends made the trip south from Havre, into the foothills of the Bear’s Paw mountains. Actually, now that I think about it, I am not certain whether that particular campsite …
That’s No Moon In next month’s issue of Icarus, a group of geological and astronomical scientists argue for moons and planets to be classified within the same category. Maybe that seems like the very definition of tedium, but I think it is actually a fascinating look into the fallacy of reification, the human capacity for …
A buddy once came to visit me when I lived in Bozeman, Montana. We were both at a point in life that airline tickets were a bit of a stretch financially. However, he knew somebody who worked for the airport in Minneapolis and arranged for him to hang out in the terminals for several hours …
I woke up yesterday thinking about what I wanted to write. And today, same. Yesterday I stayed in bed for a while, enjoying being able to puzzle through ideas under the warm sheets, knowing it was -15F outside. Today, I didn’t lounge – even though it was even colder outside. I got out of …
I had been hoping to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while I was in Cleveland. I had even made a point to schedule a little extra time into my travel plans, to make it easier to fit that visit around the conference agenda for Crossroads. So I didn’t necessarily need the extra …
My office door isn’t plumb. That bugs me. It isn’t far out. You can’t see it. Really, its only noticeable if there is weight on the coat hook on the back of the door. Because then it falls partially-closed. Not fully-closed mind you. Not even mostly closed. Just closed enough to look sloppy. If my …