Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.
Plato’s Last Night
Further deciphering of the carbonized Herculaneum papyri, which recently produced information about Plato’s burial place (publicized last week), also detailed the philosopher’s final hours, according to Graziano Ranocchia (Pisa), who is leading one of the teams working on using technology to “read” the burnt, un-unrollable scrolls. (more…)
“There’s always something more to learn, which should make even the most accomplished expert humble” — medieval philosophers on intellectual humility
Double TT: Turbo Tilly - The Other Two Significant Unsung Heroes
Rob Heferen's (not related to Hugh Hefner) leadership at the ATO emphasizes curiosity, courage, and integrity. His approach promises a transformative shift in tax administration.
“If you see me around, please say hello (and please call me Rob).”
New ATO boss wants staff to listen and learn
Our love has chosen its appropriate gesture
Which when viewed in the midst of all the gestures
It didn’t choose seems almost insignificant.
The gesture our love has chosen is appropriate
We both agree not that we have any choice but
Amidst all those others does seem insignificant.
Is it incumbent on us thus to therefore obliterate
All of the gestures except this insignificant one
Chosen by our love for its own no doubt reasons.
It is up to us to obliterate all other gestures
Though they cluster round thick as presentations
Of war and sacrifice in a grade school classroom.
Use of our love’s chosen gesture for the obliteration
Of all those foreign gestures is forbidden however
We must find something else to erase them with.
Our love has chosen its appropriate gesture
Which when viewed in the absence of all other gestures
Seems to spell the opposite of insignificant.
“How to Train Your (MEdia)Dragon” is a 2010 animated film which tells the story of Hiccup, a young Viking, for whom dragons are seen as fearsome enemies.
Despite this, Hiccup eventually befriends a dragon named Toothless. Through his journey, Hiccup learns valuable lessons about leadership, teamwork, and the importance of understanding and accepting others.
One of the key themes in “How to Train Your Dragon” is the power of collaboration and teamwork. In the beginning of the film, Hiccup is a loner who is struggling to fit in with his peers and prove himself as a capable warrior. However, as he begins to work with Toothless and other dragons, he learns the value of cooperation and mutual respect.
This message is highly relevant to the business world, where collaboration and teamwork are essential to success.
Another important lesson from “How to Train Your Dragon” is the importance of understanding and acceptance. Throughout the film, Hiccup struggles to understand Toothless and other dragons, and initially sees them as threats to his community. However, as he gets to know Toothless and learns about the dragons’ behavior and needs, he realises that they are not as different from humans as he thought. He comes to see that dragons are intelligent and emotional creatures, and that they can be treated with respect and understanding.
This message is also applicable to the business world, where people can choose to understand and accept their colleagues, peers and customers, regardless of their differences. By creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace culture, companies can foster a sense of belonging and support. This leads to better communication and collaboration, as well as higher levels of morale, productivity and engagement.
In addition to collaboration and understanding, “How to Train Your Dragon” also touches on the importance of leadership and empowerment. Throughout the film, Hiccup takes on a leadership role, guiding Toothless and other dragons in their training and helping them to become more confident and capable. He encourages them to take risks and be independent, and trusts them to make their own decisions.
This type of leadership is conspicuous by its absence in most of the business world. By giving people the freedom to take ownership of their work and explore new ideas, companies can create a culture of innovation and excellence.
Overall, “How to Train Your Dragon” is a powerful and inspiring film that teaches valuable lessons about business culture. By highlighting the importance of collaboration, understanding, and leadership, the film encourages viewers to embrace diversity, communicate effectively, and work together towards a common goal.
- “You’re losing something essential from the moral equation when you abstract away from relationships” — Daniel Yudkin (Penn) on the lessons that Reddit’s “Am I the Asshole” has for moral philosophy
- What should we think about the suppression of speech when it’s not by the state but by social groups, employers, media corporations and platforms, search engines, etc.? — J.P. Messina (Purdue) discusses “private censorship” with Robert Talisse (Vanderbilt)
- “A thread on what actually happens in ‘woke’ college classrooms” — Isaac Bailey (Davidson) on a course all about that “troublesome word” that starts with an “n”
- “I think that, along with others, I have been contributing to a situation in which Christian philosophy has found it rather too easy to grow and grow and grow” — J. L. Schellenberg (Mount Saint Vincent) calls for a new kind of “philosophy of Christianity”
- A new artificial synapse “works with water and salt and provides the first evidence that a system using the same medium as our brains can process complex information” — new developments in “the burgeoning field of iontronic neuromorphic computing”
- “Russell’s complacency in the face of Bradley’s argument – and philosophy’s complacency more broadly – is misguided. Instead, Russell and we should be afraid” — Michael Della Rocca (Yale) on an unrefuted argument the implications of which “are as vast as they are troubling”
- “The open-question argument and the repugnant conclusion are manifestations of the same general problem – a failure of analysis – a gap that forms whenever one seeks clarity by breaking wholes into parts” — Mikhail Valdman (VCU), from a recent post at a new philosophy blog, “Same Difference,” from him and Sarah Valdman (Michigan)
