The "root of judgment, character, and will"

"The idea of mindfulness itself is by no means a new one. As early as the end of the nineteenth century, William James, the father of modern psychology, wrote that “the faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will…. An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence.” That faculty, at its core, is the very essence of mindfulness. And the education that James proposes, an education in a mindful approach to life and to thought."

"Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes" by Maria Konnikova: https://a.co/3Omi6OR

RWE: contradiction isn’t persecution

https://www.threads.net/@debpixcom/post/C537uchgYeM/?xmt=AQGzmerldnjI5vuhEcfLRANsgP8zPUJuQ5KmdoByFwQeIQ

Philosophy in Warm Weather

…Now all the doors and windows

are open, and we move so easily
through the rooms. Cats roll
on the sunny rugs, and a clumsy wasp
climbs the pane, pausing
to rub a leg over her head.

All around physical life reconvenes.
The molecules of our bodies must love
to exist: they whirl in circles
and seem to begrudge us nothing.
Heat, Horatio, heat makes them
put this antic disposition on!

… Jane Kenyon

https://open.substack.com/pub/thewritersalmanac/p/the-writers-almanac-from-wednesday-970?r=35ogp&utm_medium=ios

Walk better

Phil.Oliver@mtsu.edu

👣Solvitur ambulando

💭Sapere aude

The Beatles did

"I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.'" ― Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Timequake

https://www.threads.net/@thatericalper/post/C5KXGjWLqjD/?xmt=AQGzXvb-tglkrTh5UDZZs_TmLA7qttG-98MMqlzMXgQwLQ

Christian Cooper, the "Extraordinary Birder"

How Spock's stoicism helped him in Central Park…

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/christian-cooper-the-extraordinary-birder/

A lively "dead" language

 My favorites: Solvitur ambulando... Sapere aude... mens sana in corpore sano...

A. Bartlett Giamatti would not approve

"...don't introduce, for instance, instant replay into umpiring and remove the whole principle of judgment and as long as you don't introduce limits on the allowable time between pitches."

"BART: A Life of A. Bartlett Giamatti" by Anthony Valerio, Robert Brower: https://a.co/agh8Z2F

Umberto Eco’s personal library

I find that if am ever feeling bad about buying too many books in addition to the other books I already own and will probably never get time to read all of, looking at this "small section" of the late Umberto Eco's personal library helps…

https://substack.com/@tomcox/note/c-52070718?r=35ogp&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

“Starstuff, contemplating the stars”

https://www.threads.net/@the_intellectualist_official/post/C4qen8AOd0a/?xmt=AQGzuLLann7JAuNQnoxKOS8Il93Jj_5fwfknptpe5_-ypw