“…the author falsely assumes it’s impossible that some people might be legitimately passionate about kitsch…”
– Kevin Montgomery, In Defense of Irony
“…the author falsely assumes it’s impossible that some people might be legitimately passionate about kitsch…”
– Kevin Montgomery, In Defense of Irony
“While we have gained some skill sets (multitasking, technological savvy), other skills have suffered: the art of conversation, the art of looking at people, the art of being seen, the art of being present. Our conduct is no longer governed by subtlety, finesse, grace and attention, all qualities more esteemed in earlier decades. Inwardness and narcissism now hold sway.”
– Christy Wampole, How to Live Without Irony
“I find for myself that my first thought is never my best thought. My first thought is always someone else’s; it’s always what I’ve already heard about the subject, always the conventional wisdom. It’s only by concentrating, sticking to the question, being patient, letting all the parts of my mind come into play, that I arrive at an original idea. By giving my brain a chance to make associations, draw connections, take me by surprise. And often even that idea doesn’t turn out to be very good. I need time to think about it, too, to make mistakes and recognize them, to make false starts and correct them, to outlast my impulses, to defeat my desire to declare the job done and move on to the next thing.”
– William Deresiewicz, Solitude and Leadership
“We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going. Who can answer questions, but don’t know how to ask them. Who can fulfill goals, but don’t know how to set them. Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they’re worth doing in the first place. What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of expertise. What we don’t have are leaders.”
– William Deresiewicz, Solitude and Leadership
“Personally, the areas I’m most passionate about these days are health care, alternative and online education, distributed creation systems (3D printing, free agent work platforms), human rights activism, citizen activism (data access, platforms for action), and anything that promotes and celebrates daily well-being.”
–
Susan Wu
(You have to consider high-level subjects to design far-reaching solutions).
