Alan looked around the room to see if there was anyone else he didn't know. Satisfied that he had a good sense of the players, he moved over to a table where Ridley was sitting by herself, looking at her phone.
"You running in the morning?" he asked.
"Of course. Don't even thinking of skipping just because of a reception."
"I wasn't," he said with a smile. "You haven't seemed very engaged tonight," he continued, changing the topic.
"You're all freshers," she said dryly. "There's nothing of any interest to the lot of you."
"Well aren't you just a ball of sunshine," he responded with a chuckle. "Since we're all so uninteresting, I don't suppose you're ready to head out yet."
"You thinking of turning in?" she responded. "It won't help you with tomorrow's run, but it couldn't hurt you."
Alan thought he detected the hint of a smile.
"I'm going to make you eat that smirk sometime in the next month," he answered. "Want to head out?"
"Sure."
It was a lovely, cool night in the Peterhouse grounds. Alan wasn't quite sure where Ridley lived, but she seemed to be headed in the same direction as he was.
"Is your room in this direction?" he finally asked.
"What do you think?" she answered, and seemed about to say more when the sound of something whizzed by. Then there was another of the same.
"Get down," she said, pushing him to the ground.
"Were those bullets?" he muttered when they spotted a couple figures in black moving quickly toward them from the side...
Showing posts with label Novel 2015. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Novel 2015. Show all posts
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Saturday Novel: An Indian Dinner
It's been a little over a month since I posted any on this year's imaginary novel. I thought I'd shift it to Saturdays. So here's a pulse...
_________________________
The morning run was grueling. Quirk had to be at least ten years older than he was, but he made Alan feel like he was fifty pounds overweight and a chain smoker. He deliberately stayed with Alan the whole time to push him.
The watch that Fox had given him also kept track of how far he had gone. When they passed three miles, he asked Quirk how far they were going to run that morning.
"We all run at least ten kilometers a morning," he said, "a mere six point two miles by uneducated measure."
Alan had a little extra adrenaline, but his time was clearly unremarkable for this group: forty-five minutes. He felt pretty much done for the day by the time he returned, although somehow he suspected there would be more to do that day.
When he got back to his room, he found a book on his bed, Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein. On the front was a sticky note that said, "Lalbagh at 7.30."
"What's the Lalbagh?" he said to himself, looking around the room for someone to listen. The handwriting looked to be Fox's, at least from what little Alan had seen.
A quick search revealed that it was a quaint Indian restaurant. He would have liked greater clarity, but he took from the context that he was expected to read this book and discuss it that evening.
It wasn't a normal book where there's a clear line of thought and chapters that moved from topic to topic. It was more like a collection of thoughts that wandered over a wide range of subjects. It reminded him a little of a book in the Bible he had studied at school: Proverbs.
Some of the book interested him. Other parts didn't. He fell asleep for about an hour after a quick lunch in the Peterhouse Hall. By the time 7 rolled around he at least felt like he had a few thoughts he might share.
He arrived to find one of the women who had run that morning standing just inside the door waiting as well. "Ridley, is it?" he said.
"Yes. Alan, right?" It was a British accent, but it had a hint of something else, maybe Spanish?
_________________________
The morning run was grueling. Quirk had to be at least ten years older than he was, but he made Alan feel like he was fifty pounds overweight and a chain smoker. He deliberately stayed with Alan the whole time to push him.
The watch that Fox had given him also kept track of how far he had gone. When they passed three miles, he asked Quirk how far they were going to run that morning.
"We all run at least ten kilometers a morning," he said, "a mere six point two miles by uneducated measure."
Alan had a little extra adrenaline, but his time was clearly unremarkable for this group: forty-five minutes. He felt pretty much done for the day by the time he returned, although somehow he suspected there would be more to do that day.
When he got back to his room, he found a book on his bed, Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein. On the front was a sticky note that said, "Lalbagh at 7.30."
"What's the Lalbagh?" he said to himself, looking around the room for someone to listen. The handwriting looked to be Fox's, at least from what little Alan had seen.
A quick search revealed that it was a quaint Indian restaurant. He would have liked greater clarity, but he took from the context that he was expected to read this book and discuss it that evening.
It wasn't a normal book where there's a clear line of thought and chapters that moved from topic to topic. It was more like a collection of thoughts that wandered over a wide range of subjects. It reminded him a little of a book in the Bible he had studied at school: Proverbs.
Some of the book interested him. Other parts didn't. He fell asleep for about an hour after a quick lunch in the Peterhouse Hall. By the time 7 rolled around he at least felt like he had a few thoughts he might share.
He arrived to find one of the women who had run that morning standing just inside the door waiting as well. "Ridley, is it?" he said.
"Yes. Alan, right?" It was a British accent, but it had a hint of something else, maybe Spanish?
Friday, June 26, 2015
Friday Novel: The Run
Alan's alarm went off at 5:45am, reminding him that he was not in Chicago any more. For a moment he struggled to get his bearings, to figure out where he was in the world. The impulse to go back to sleep was immense, and he almost did. Catching himself on the verge of unconsciousness, he deliberately rolled himself off the dorm room bed onto the floor below.
He was to meet someone called Quirk in front of Peterhouse for a morning run and exercises. This was a "run club" in Peterhouse. He would be joined by a random collection of Peterhouse students who, for various reasons, liked to kill themselves early in the morning.
He arrived to find eight or nine students already there, mostly men but with a couple women, as well as a slightly older person he took to be Quirk. He imagined that some of this collection must also be part of the Society. Clearly he was the new person.
"Six kilometers this morning, ladies and gents," Quirk said. "I expect all of you but the new guy to be under 32 minutes. Randolph, I'm with you this morning."
Fox had warned him that there was a physical component for those who were able. It wasn't expected of every member of the Society. After all, Fox had said, some members were constantly falling down stairs because their heads were somewhere else.
But Fox thought he might have the capacity to be the complete package, the "full monty," the brains and the brawn.
"Begin at your leisure," Quirk finally said. "Ready Randolph? How far do you think you can run and how fast?"
"I've been training for the last month," he said. "I've been doing three miles in about twenty-two minutes."
"Well, that's pathetic," he said. "Alright then. Let's go."
He was to meet someone called Quirk in front of Peterhouse for a morning run and exercises. This was a "run club" in Peterhouse. He would be joined by a random collection of Peterhouse students who, for various reasons, liked to kill themselves early in the morning.
He arrived to find eight or nine students already there, mostly men but with a couple women, as well as a slightly older person he took to be Quirk. He imagined that some of this collection must also be part of the Society. Clearly he was the new person.
"Six kilometers this morning, ladies and gents," Quirk said. "I expect all of you but the new guy to be under 32 minutes. Randolph, I'm with you this morning."
Fox had warned him that there was a physical component for those who were able. It wasn't expected of every member of the Society. After all, Fox had said, some members were constantly falling down stairs because their heads were somewhere else.
But Fox thought he might have the capacity to be the complete package, the "full monty," the brains and the brawn.
"Begin at your leisure," Quirk finally said. "Ready Randolph? How far do you think you can run and how fast?"
"I've been training for the last month," he said. "I've been doing three miles in about twenty-two minutes."
"Well, that's pathetic," he said. "Alright then. Let's go."
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Saturday Novel: London
The train from Cambridge slowly made its way through the north of London toward Kings Cross Station. Alan had thoughts of downtown Chicago as he observed row after row of terraced housing. But all of London had them. They were everywhere.
Most of the train lines coming from the north ended at Kings Cross. Here it was, the well-known station from the Harry Potter movies.
He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He had found the hotel on his phone. Apparently, Heathrow airport was on the west side of town and his hotel wasn't far from it. But he had the rest of the day to look around London.
"Excuse me," he finally asked a man reading a newspaper. "If you only had a day in London, what would you see?"
"A day?" the man said in a quite different accent from Mr. Fox. "You Americans think you can see anything in a day. It's Tuesday. It must be London. Just go to your hotel room and watch the telly." Then the man went back to his newspaper.
"That was helpful," Alan muttered to himself. He finally spotted the entrance to the Tube, a large map of the lines and stations. What did he know of London? There was the Queen's palace, right? Buckingham Palace. There was Big Ben and the Parliament. What else?
London Bridge caught his eye. He remembered a tune from childhood: "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady." A few tunnels and he was soon boarding the black line headed south.
London Bridge turned out to be nothing of any interest whatsoever. A sign told him that at one time this was the only place to cross the Thames River and that some rich American had bought the bridge in 1972 and reconstructed it in Arizona. What was more interesting was the Tower Bridge that he could see down the river, along with the Tower of London next to it.
He spent the next few hours just walking. He started at the Tower, where the kings had lived in the Middle Ages. Then he followed a path through Old London to St. Paul's Cathedral, an area that had been destroyed by a massive fire in the 1600s. Eventually he found his way to Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and Parliament.
It was a different world from his. Chicago had its places to visit too--even a historic fire. But it didn't have buildings that went back over 500 years or monuments to battles of the past. The history enticed him. For the first time in his life, it called him to something bigger than the moment. It was the smallest sense of the vastness of time and space--whose immensity he had hardly begun to know...
Most of the train lines coming from the north ended at Kings Cross. Here it was, the well-known station from the Harry Potter movies.
He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He had found the hotel on his phone. Apparently, Heathrow airport was on the west side of town and his hotel wasn't far from it. But he had the rest of the day to look around London.
"Excuse me," he finally asked a man reading a newspaper. "If you only had a day in London, what would you see?"
"A day?" the man said in a quite different accent from Mr. Fox. "You Americans think you can see anything in a day. It's Tuesday. It must be London. Just go to your hotel room and watch the telly." Then the man went back to his newspaper.
"That was helpful," Alan muttered to himself. He finally spotted the entrance to the Tube, a large map of the lines and stations. What did he know of London? There was the Queen's palace, right? Buckingham Palace. There was Big Ben and the Parliament. What else?
London Bridge caught his eye. He remembered a tune from childhood: "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady." A few tunnels and he was soon boarding the black line headed south.
London Bridge turned out to be nothing of any interest whatsoever. A sign told him that at one time this was the only place to cross the Thames River and that some rich American had bought the bridge in 1972 and reconstructed it in Arizona. What was more interesting was the Tower Bridge that he could see down the river, along with the Tower of London next to it.
He spent the next few hours just walking. He started at the Tower, where the kings had lived in the Middle Ages. Then he followed a path through Old London to St. Paul's Cathedral, an area that had been destroyed by a massive fire in the 1600s. Eventually he found his way to Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and Parliament.
It was a different world from his. Chicago had its places to visit too--even a historic fire. But it didn't have buildings that went back over 500 years or monuments to battles of the past. The history enticed him. For the first time in his life, it called him to something bigger than the moment. It was the smallest sense of the vastness of time and space--whose immensity he had hardly begun to know...
Friday, May 29, 2015
Friday Novel: The Society
For the first time, Alan began to have a sense of what this organization was. It was a secret society made up of individuals who studied in Europe at places like Cambridge and Bologna. It was born of the Enlightenment and had largely flown under the radar of the world today.
“So what are your goals? What is the purpose of this secret society? Liberty, fraternity, equality, like the French Revolution?”
“Kant’s essay is the place to start,” Fox answered. “I would suggest you read it sometime today. It’s easily available online. Kant quotes the old Roman poet Horace in his essay: sapere aude—‘Dare to know.’ It became the motto of the society.
“But we are not just committed to knowledge. We are committed to dialog. We are committed to dialectic.” Alan remembered that word from somewhere. “Dialectic.” His subconscious was pulling up Karl Marx, the father of communism.
“Marx?” Alan said.
“Not in this case,” Mr. Fox smiled. “Marx didn’t actually come up with the idea. He was borrowing from G. W. F. Hegel.
“What we mean by dialectic,” Fox continued, “is a discussion back and forth in which each side sharpens and improves its position by debate with the other.”
“So you just talk to each other?” Alan said, not particularly gripped by Mr. Fox’s description.
“The original group was fiercely committed to reason and the avoidance of all superstition and sentimentality,” Fox said. Then he smiled and added: “Of course it was not long before we debated this position as well.”
Alan wasn’t sure what to ask next. Finally, Mr. Fox broke the silence.
“Look. Think this way about what you are considering. You are being offered a unique opportunity to study in the most advanced community of learning in the world. Like any other university, you choose a specialty: math, science, history, religion, philosophy, art, music. Which subject you choose will determine where in Europe you primarily study, but you will spend some time in all of them, if you do well enough to continue in the program.”
“So it’s not just a matter of being admitted at the beginning?”
“If you choose to come, your first few months will be a trial period. You can return to begin as soon as you graduate, if you want. But by the end of your first three months, both you and we will have a decision. Do you want to continue? Do we believe you should continue?”
“Then what?” Alan followed.
“Then you will have the rest of the year to decide what subject and thus what location you wish to pursue. During the first year, you will likely spend a quarter of the year at each of the main four locations here in Europe. At the end of the year. You will need to choose, if you are chosen to continue.”
“Sounds like you all will constantly be evaluating me.”
“In truth, you can be dismissed at any time. There is no eagerness to do so. It is only that one can only proceed if one progresses sufficiently.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Then suddenly, Mr. Fox was done.
“It has been a delight to meet you, Mr. Randolph. You have a good deal about which to think. I have booked you a hotel tonight by Heathrow airport.” Mr. Fox handed him the hotel’s business card.
“Here is also a credit card by which you can purchase a train ticket to London, as well as another plane ticket should you choose to return. A text will arrive this afternoon with your boarding passes for your flight tomorrow,” Mr. Fox said, standing up. “I trust you can find your way,” he said and stretched out to shake Alan’s hand.
“Yes, I think I can,” Alan said, a little unused to so much freedom and power.
“Good day,” Mr. Fox said.
“Wait,” Alan quickly interjected. “When am I supposed to come back? When do I have to decide? How will I contact you?”
“We know where you are. You have six months to decide. Just show up if you choose to begin. We will know you are coming.”
“One more thing,” Alan blurted out. “What is the name of this society?”
“La Société des Lumières,” he said. “The Society of the Enlightenment.”
“So what are your goals? What is the purpose of this secret society? Liberty, fraternity, equality, like the French Revolution?”
“Kant’s essay is the place to start,” Fox answered. “I would suggest you read it sometime today. It’s easily available online. Kant quotes the old Roman poet Horace in his essay: sapere aude—‘Dare to know.’ It became the motto of the society.
“But we are not just committed to knowledge. We are committed to dialog. We are committed to dialectic.” Alan remembered that word from somewhere. “Dialectic.” His subconscious was pulling up Karl Marx, the father of communism.
“Marx?” Alan said.
“Not in this case,” Mr. Fox smiled. “Marx didn’t actually come up with the idea. He was borrowing from G. W. F. Hegel.
“What we mean by dialectic,” Fox continued, “is a discussion back and forth in which each side sharpens and improves its position by debate with the other.”
“So you just talk to each other?” Alan said, not particularly gripped by Mr. Fox’s description.
“The original group was fiercely committed to reason and the avoidance of all superstition and sentimentality,” Fox said. Then he smiled and added: “Of course it was not long before we debated this position as well.”
Alan wasn’t sure what to ask next. Finally, Mr. Fox broke the silence.
“Look. Think this way about what you are considering. You are being offered a unique opportunity to study in the most advanced community of learning in the world. Like any other university, you choose a specialty: math, science, history, religion, philosophy, art, music. Which subject you choose will determine where in Europe you primarily study, but you will spend some time in all of them, if you do well enough to continue in the program.”
“So it’s not just a matter of being admitted at the beginning?”
“If you choose to come, your first few months will be a trial period. You can return to begin as soon as you graduate, if you want. But by the end of your first three months, both you and we will have a decision. Do you want to continue? Do we believe you should continue?”
“Then what?” Alan followed.
“Then you will have the rest of the year to decide what subject and thus what location you wish to pursue. During the first year, you will likely spend a quarter of the year at each of the main four locations here in Europe. At the end of the year. You will need to choose, if you are chosen to continue.”
“Sounds like you all will constantly be evaluating me.”
“In truth, you can be dismissed at any time. There is no eagerness to do so. It is only that one can only proceed if one progresses sufficiently.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Then suddenly, Mr. Fox was done.
“It has been a delight to meet you, Mr. Randolph. You have a good deal about which to think. I have booked you a hotel tonight by Heathrow airport.” Mr. Fox handed him the hotel’s business card.
“Here is also a credit card by which you can purchase a train ticket to London, as well as another plane ticket should you choose to return. A text will arrive this afternoon with your boarding passes for your flight tomorrow,” Mr. Fox said, standing up. “I trust you can find your way,” he said and stretched out to shake Alan’s hand.
“Yes, I think I can,” Alan said, a little unused to so much freedom and power.
“Good day,” Mr. Fox said.
“Wait,” Alan quickly interjected. “When am I supposed to come back? When do I have to decide? How will I contact you?”
“We know where you are. You have six months to decide. Just show up if you choose to begin. We will know you are coming.”
“One more thing,” Alan blurted out. “What is the name of this society?”
“La Société des Lumières,” he said. “The Society of the Enlightenment.”
Friday, May 22, 2015
Friday Novel: The Cambridge Banquet
"I noticed that some of you are not having sherry," Alan asked. There were only twelve or thirteen people in the room, some five of whom were his age. The professors from Cambridge were wearing an academic gown of mostly black, with some cardinal red lining the front and on the hood. There were a few others with different gowns, most of which he did not recognize. One he did recognize was the one Father Barrett was wearing from Bologna.
"Observant," Mr. Fox said. "No matter what James Bond may say, no one's reactions and ability to process a situation is at its peak with alcohol in his or her system. So we always take turns at these gatherings. Some drink. Some don't."
"Are you expecting something to happen?"
"I wouldn't expect someone to attack here at Cambridge. And, as you know, we only announced this dinner yesterday. It is never scheduled predictably, other than generally being in summer, when we have a sufficient number of candidates. We should be okay," he said nonchalantly and wandered off.
After only three weeks there, Alan already felt sharper and more prepared to defend himself than ever. He still didn't quite know what the belt or phone did, but Mr. Fox assured him it required an assailant to attack face-to-face.
"So, have you been enjoying your time here in Cambridge?" came the familiar voice of Father Barrett, who had a small glass of sherry in his hand.
"Yes," Alan find himself saying. "Some of it has been grueling, but I've surprisingly found it very satisfying."
"Good," Barrett responded. "I've heard good things about your progress. You can run a kilometer in just over three minutes. You are well into physics 2 and calculus 3. You've read all the philosophy brainwash they feed you up here." The last comment came with a smile and another sip of sherry.
"You consider Wittgenstein, Kuhn, and Putnam brainwash?" Alan asked over the din of conversation in the wooden floored and walled room. "What do you have them read in Bologna?"
Barrett raised his eyebrows with a smirk and said, "Machiavelli and Nietzsche." Then he took another sip of sherry.
"Observant," Mr. Fox said. "No matter what James Bond may say, no one's reactions and ability to process a situation is at its peak with alcohol in his or her system. So we always take turns at these gatherings. Some drink. Some don't."
"Are you expecting something to happen?"
"I wouldn't expect someone to attack here at Cambridge. And, as you know, we only announced this dinner yesterday. It is never scheduled predictably, other than generally being in summer, when we have a sufficient number of candidates. We should be okay," he said nonchalantly and wandered off.
After only three weeks there, Alan already felt sharper and more prepared to defend himself than ever. He still didn't quite know what the belt or phone did, but Mr. Fox assured him it required an assailant to attack face-to-face.
"So, have you been enjoying your time here in Cambridge?" came the familiar voice of Father Barrett, who had a small glass of sherry in his hand.
"Yes," Alan find himself saying. "Some of it has been grueling, but I've surprisingly found it very satisfying."
"Good," Barrett responded. "I've heard good things about your progress. You can run a kilometer in just over three minutes. You are well into physics 2 and calculus 3. You've read all the philosophy brainwash they feed you up here." The last comment came with a smile and another sip of sherry.
"You consider Wittgenstein, Kuhn, and Putnam brainwash?" Alan asked over the din of conversation in the wooden floored and walled room. "What do you have them read in Bologna?"
Barrett raised his eyebrows with a smirk and said, "Machiavelli and Nietzsche." Then he took another sip of sherry.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Friday Novel: Origins of the Society
Fox paused, clearly contemplating how much to say and in what order.
“In 1784, a German philosopher by the name of Immanuel Kant answered a question that had appeared a year previous in a Berlin magazine, ‘What is enlightenment?’ His answer was basically that enlightenment was learning to think for yourself. For him it was an ability in one's mind to critique one's country, one's religion, and those in authority over you. In effect, it is the ability to use reason to evaluate the traditions you have inherited and the culture in which you swim."
Alan sat silent. He had heard of Kant, but didn't know much about him, other than the fact that his theology professor in high school wasn't too keen on him.
"This piece resonated with a controversial figure here in England by the name of Joseph Priestly. In fact, Priestly himself had influenced Kant's thinking on these sorts of things."
Alan finally said something. "I've heard of Kant, but not of Priestly."
"Priestly was the kind of person who tended to cause controversy wherever he went. He supported the American and French Revolutions and in 1791 finally came under so much pressure in England that he left with his family to the newly formed United States. He spent the last part of his life in Pennsylvania.
"But before he left," Fox continued, "he was quite eager to start a society of sorts here in England, a 'society of enlightenment.' He had many friends all over Europe. He was a minister, a scientist, a chemist. He discovered oxygen, for example.
"Priestly wanted to start a very public movement, but after he was forced to leave England, his goals were left to others, most importantly an unlikely person named Henry Cavendish, the chemist who had made major discoveries about hydrogen just a few years before Priestly discovered oxygen.
"Cavendish was a bit of a recluse, a very private and shy man. He probably had Asperger's syndrome. He had no interest in revolution or a public movement. But he did have connections with Peterhouse College at Cambridge. He had the idea of a secret society, one that functioned out of the great universities of Europe with the goal of moving the world toward enlightenment..."
“In 1784, a German philosopher by the name of Immanuel Kant answered a question that had appeared a year previous in a Berlin magazine, ‘What is enlightenment?’ His answer was basically that enlightenment was learning to think for yourself. For him it was an ability in one's mind to critique one's country, one's religion, and those in authority over you. In effect, it is the ability to use reason to evaluate the traditions you have inherited and the culture in which you swim."
Alan sat silent. He had heard of Kant, but didn't know much about him, other than the fact that his theology professor in high school wasn't too keen on him.
"This piece resonated with a controversial figure here in England by the name of Joseph Priestly. In fact, Priestly himself had influenced Kant's thinking on these sorts of things."
Alan finally said something. "I've heard of Kant, but not of Priestly."
"Priestly was the kind of person who tended to cause controversy wherever he went. He supported the American and French Revolutions and in 1791 finally came under so much pressure in England that he left with his family to the newly formed United States. He spent the last part of his life in Pennsylvania.
"But before he left," Fox continued, "he was quite eager to start a society of sorts here in England, a 'society of enlightenment.' He had many friends all over Europe. He was a minister, a scientist, a chemist. He discovered oxygen, for example.
"Priestly wanted to start a very public movement, but after he was forced to leave England, his goals were left to others, most importantly an unlikely person named Henry Cavendish, the chemist who had made major discoveries about hydrogen just a few years before Priestly discovered oxygen.
"Cavendish was a bit of a recluse, a very private and shy man. He probably had Asperger's syndrome. He had no interest in revolution or a public movement. But he did have connections with Peterhouse College at Cambridge. He had the idea of a secret society, one that functioned out of the great universities of Europe with the goal of moving the world toward enlightenment..."
Friday, May 08, 2015
Friday Novel: To Cambridge
For the whole trip from Chicago to Cambridge, Alan had the funny feeling that he was being watched. He wasn’t quite able to put his finger on it. There was a guy on the plane, for example, whom he had seen several times in the airport in Chicago. Then there was someone at Heathrow airport in London who later ended up on the same train to Cambridge.
Alan was also surprised to find Mr. Fox waiting for him at the station when he arrived in Cambridge.
“Welcome to Cambridge, Mr. Randolph,” came the voice of Mr. Fox the moment he stepped off the train.
“I didn’t expect to see you here at the station,” Alan answered.
“I thought I’d walk you to the house where you’ll be staying for the next couple weeks.”
“I won’t be in Grantchester?”
“No. You’ll be in a house here in Cambridge until we can get you oriented to your new circumstances.”
“My new circumstances?”
“Yes,” Mr. Fox said and paused for a moment. “You are a legacy. Your father was a member of the society. Most new potentials do not have any enemies. Indeed, the enemies of the society usually do not know when new students are coming or going.
“In your case,” Fox continued, “your father is well-known and has a few talented enemies. If you do not want to take on the risk, you are welcome to leave. If you do not make it past the first quarter, no one will likely pay you much attention thereafter.
“But if you continue, there will always be a small risk that someone will try to hurt you or your family, if you choose to have one. This is of course one of the reasons your father never married your mother.”
The comment hit Alan like a ton of bricks. Could it be that his father had a good reason for staying somewhat aloof from him and his mother? The thought had never even occurred to him.
"We will train you to defend yourself, of course. And you will always have an added layer of security around you of which you probably will not even be aware. You should recognize that, if you join one of the schools, you will lose a good deal of privacy for a time.
"Mostly importantly," he added. "We will give you the tools of the trade, shall we say."
"The what?" Alan puzzled.
"Let's just say that once you are equipped, the chance of a successful attack significantly diminish. Thus there is a high motivation to get to you now, like a defenseless egg that has just hatched. Later on, it won't really be worth it."
Alan was also surprised to find Mr. Fox waiting for him at the station when he arrived in Cambridge.
“Welcome to Cambridge, Mr. Randolph,” came the voice of Mr. Fox the moment he stepped off the train.
“I didn’t expect to see you here at the station,” Alan answered.
“I thought I’d walk you to the house where you’ll be staying for the next couple weeks.”
“I won’t be in Grantchester?”
“No. You’ll be in a house here in Cambridge until we can get you oriented to your new circumstances.”
“My new circumstances?”
“Yes,” Mr. Fox said and paused for a moment. “You are a legacy. Your father was a member of the society. Most new potentials do not have any enemies. Indeed, the enemies of the society usually do not know when new students are coming or going.
“In your case,” Fox continued, “your father is well-known and has a few talented enemies. If you do not want to take on the risk, you are welcome to leave. If you do not make it past the first quarter, no one will likely pay you much attention thereafter.
“But if you continue, there will always be a small risk that someone will try to hurt you or your family, if you choose to have one. This is of course one of the reasons your father never married your mother.”
The comment hit Alan like a ton of bricks. Could it be that his father had a good reason for staying somewhat aloof from him and his mother? The thought had never even occurred to him.
"We will train you to defend yourself, of course. And you will always have an added layer of security around you of which you probably will not even be aware. You should recognize that, if you join one of the schools, you will lose a good deal of privacy for a time.
"Mostly importantly," he added. "We will give you the tools of the trade, shall we say."
"The what?" Alan puzzled.
"Let's just say that once you are equipped, the chance of a successful attack significantly diminish. Thus there is a high motivation to get to you now, like a defenseless egg that has just hatched. Later on, it won't really be worth it."
Friday, May 01, 2015
The Assessment (Novel 2015)
"You have had a year of physics, a year of chemistry, and a year of calculus in high school, yes?" Dr. Randolph said.
"Yes."
"We do not think in terms of courses. We think in terms of competencies. My job is to determine what you have already mastered and then lead you to master what you have not."
"And how long do we have to do that?" Alan asked.
"Until October, you will meet with me at least once a week, probably more. The point is not so much that you reach a certain goal as that you demonstrate the will and capacity to progress."
"In math and science?"
Dr. Randolph paused. "You know you will have a choice, if you are approved, at the end of the year."
"Of several different schools? Yes," Alan answered. Dr. Randolph then waited for a moment, as if to allow Alan's thoughts to run their course.
"Then let us begin," Dr. Randolph finally continued. He began to ask Alan questions in physics and calculus. They seemed to wander in a stream of consciousness.
"Is acceleration a scalar or a vector?"
"You can treat it in either way."
"What is the difference between a scalar and a vector?"
"A vector in Newtonian physics implies direction."
"Very good. Do you know anything about vectors in quantum physics?"
"Not much but I would like to."
And so the conversation continued for several hours. Sometime around noon, Mr. Fox poked his head in the door to see if they were ready for lunch, but they didn't even notice he was there.
"Show me the distance formula for one dimension on the board?" Dr. Randolph asked.
"Now show me how to derive a velocity formula in one dimension by taking its derivative."
After about an hour, Mr. Fox left and returned with a tray of tea and sandwiches, but they hardly noticed. Alan could tell that, while Dr. Randolph was wandering from question to question and from motion to Newton's laws, he was slowly checking off a list of knowledge and skills in his mind. At times he would say something like, "Physica 4 point 9," and a problem would appear on the screen. Alan would solve it and they would move on to the next question.
It was late afternoon before Alan started missing questions. He knew the basic equations and concepts. But as soon as Dr. Randolph would begin to probe, Alan would blank. The questions became more general, through thermodynamics and electromagnetism.
Although the day had begun rather seriously, you could see Dr. Randolph's spirits lighten as the day went on. It was about six when he suddenly stopped and looked at Mr. Fox, who had been sitting quietly in the back of the room working.
"Anyone feel like a good carbonara?" he said. "There's a great Italian restaurant in Cambridge."
"What's carbonara?" Alan said.
"Yes."
"We do not think in terms of courses. We think in terms of competencies. My job is to determine what you have already mastered and then lead you to master what you have not."
"And how long do we have to do that?" Alan asked.
"Until October, you will meet with me at least once a week, probably more. The point is not so much that you reach a certain goal as that you demonstrate the will and capacity to progress."
"In math and science?"
Dr. Randolph paused. "You know you will have a choice, if you are approved, at the end of the year."
"Of several different schools? Yes," Alan answered. Dr. Randolph then waited for a moment, as if to allow Alan's thoughts to run their course.
"Then let us begin," Dr. Randolph finally continued. He began to ask Alan questions in physics and calculus. They seemed to wander in a stream of consciousness.
"Is acceleration a scalar or a vector?"
"You can treat it in either way."
"What is the difference between a scalar and a vector?"
"A vector in Newtonian physics implies direction."
"Very good. Do you know anything about vectors in quantum physics?"
"Not much but I would like to."
And so the conversation continued for several hours. Sometime around noon, Mr. Fox poked his head in the door to see if they were ready for lunch, but they didn't even notice he was there.
"Show me the distance formula for one dimension on the board?" Dr. Randolph asked.
"Now show me how to derive a velocity formula in one dimension by taking its derivative."
After about an hour, Mr. Fox left and returned with a tray of tea and sandwiches, but they hardly noticed. Alan could tell that, while Dr. Randolph was wandering from question to question and from motion to Newton's laws, he was slowly checking off a list of knowledge and skills in his mind. At times he would say something like, "Physica 4 point 9," and a problem would appear on the screen. Alan would solve it and they would move on to the next question.
It was late afternoon before Alan started missing questions. He knew the basic equations and concepts. But as soon as Dr. Randolph would begin to probe, Alan would blank. The questions became more general, through thermodynamics and electromagnetism.
Although the day had begun rather seriously, you could see Dr. Randolph's spirits lighten as the day went on. It was about six when he suddenly stopped and looked at Mr. Fox, who had been sitting quietly in the back of the room working.
"Anyone feel like a good carbonara?" he said. "There's a great Italian restaurant in Cambridge."
"What's carbonara?" Alan said.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Middle of the Night Novel Writing
Had a coffee about 9pm. Woke up about 2:30. Graded a little. Worried about the state of race relations in America a little. Thought I'd write some novel before sleeping a little more. Happy Tuesday.
__________________
On Wednesday morning, Alan woke as before at 5am to run, only to find Mr. Fox waiting for him in the meeting room with an assortment of items.
"No running this morning?" Alan asked.
"There's a different plan till Friday."
On the table was a parachute and a small backpack.
"I take it I'm going to be jumping out of another plane this morning?" Alan surmised.
"Yes, but this time on your own. Then you will hike 84 miles and find your way to Tynemouth. I expect to meet you in The Priory pub by sundown on Friday."
"Where's Tynemouth? And where are you dropping me?" Alan asked, a little nervous to be pulling the cord himself for the first time. "Will I be alone?"
"You'll be walking the length of Hadrian's Wall, from west to east. We'll drop you over Bowness-on-Solway where the wall path begins. Leave your parachute in front of the old church. Then you'll need to average about thirty miles a day. That's a fast clip but the path is easy and well marked. Once you get to Wallsend, you'll want to take the Metro to Tynemouth. You have enough money in the pack to get there comfortably."
"And what am I supposed to do while walking for three days?" Alan finally said. He had never been alone for a whole day, let alone three days. The thought of merely walking without doing anything sounded excruciating to him.
"Oh don't worry," Fox continued. "Your Latin should be up to speed by the time you get to Tynemouth."
Somehow that seemed even worse than three days of silence.
"Your Latin is better than most first recruits to be sure. But you will need to be able to hold an intelligent conversation in Latin if you expect to go on to the second quarter. I expect you to have mastered a thousand words by Friday and be able to understand any sentence like those you'll be hearing. And it goes without saying that you should be able to speak fairly fluidly in simple sentences by then too."
He pulled out an iPhone and head buds from one side of the pack and held it up. "Start at the beginning, proceed to the end. Repeat."
...
__________________
On Wednesday morning, Alan woke as before at 5am to run, only to find Mr. Fox waiting for him in the meeting room with an assortment of items.
"No running this morning?" Alan asked.
"There's a different plan till Friday."
On the table was a parachute and a small backpack.
"I take it I'm going to be jumping out of another plane this morning?" Alan surmised.
"Yes, but this time on your own. Then you will hike 84 miles and find your way to Tynemouth. I expect to meet you in The Priory pub by sundown on Friday."
"Where's Tynemouth? And where are you dropping me?" Alan asked, a little nervous to be pulling the cord himself for the first time. "Will I be alone?"
"You'll be walking the length of Hadrian's Wall, from west to east. We'll drop you over Bowness-on-Solway where the wall path begins. Leave your parachute in front of the old church. Then you'll need to average about thirty miles a day. That's a fast clip but the path is easy and well marked. Once you get to Wallsend, you'll want to take the Metro to Tynemouth. You have enough money in the pack to get there comfortably."
"And what am I supposed to do while walking for three days?" Alan finally said. He had never been alone for a whole day, let alone three days. The thought of merely walking without doing anything sounded excruciating to him.
"Oh don't worry," Fox continued. "Your Latin should be up to speed by the time you get to Tynemouth."
Somehow that seemed even worse than three days of silence.
"Your Latin is better than most first recruits to be sure. But you will need to be able to hold an intelligent conversation in Latin if you expect to go on to the second quarter. I expect you to have mastered a thousand words by Friday and be able to understand any sentence like those you'll be hearing. And it goes without saying that you should be able to speak fairly fluidly in simple sentences by then too."
He pulled out an iPhone and head buds from one side of the pack and held it up. "Start at the beginning, proceed to the end. Repeat."
...
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Reformulating Chemistry
My youngest children take chemistry next year. So I was thinking. What are some different ways that someone could present the content of chemistry? (I actually wrote 65 pages a few years back toward a chemistry novel back when one of my step-daughters was taking chemistry. It was along the lines of Alice in Wonderland.)
1. It seems to me that, for most high school students, chemistry should probably start with things that can be observed and then move to explain them with theory you can't observe. So you can observe many elements. You can observe chemicals. Atoms? Not so much. You can observe gases, liquids, and solids. Covalent bonding, a little harder.
2. For whatever reason, I am really attracted to teaching chemistry from the periodic table. I know it has to do with my personality. I remember things far better if I can see the big picture first. Start with individual details and half of them will evaporate away for me.
The periodic table is like a map. Again, my memory and understanding works better if you approach learning with a spiraling circle. Start with the big picture. Then swirl around the land again in more detail. Then start swirling around the subtopics in the same way. Since there is limited time, don't teach any one area exhaustively before moving on to the next. If you do that, I will know half the topics well and know nothing about the other half.
Some topics in math and science are cumulative, but many aren't. I think you could start with motion, thermodynamics, or electromagnetism in physics, for example. But, inevitably, high school and college students like me end up with a lot of knowledge of motion and very little of electromagnetism. I don't think I had a history class in high school that got beyond World War I. And the surface area or volume of a sphere--I was never in a math class that got that far, even though you could go do a web search and learn it right now.
So I prefer swirling. Go over the whole field in the broadest of strokes. Then go through all the major topics again in greater detail. Then in later courses go into the individual topics in great detail.
3. Another way to teach, and one that would fit with yet another personality, is to start small and go big. You could start with the atom. Then move to molecules. Then move to organic chemistry. Then organelles, then cells. Then move to tissues, organs, systems. Then motion, sociology, eventually astronomy.
4. So in conclusion, how's this for a chemistry curriculum?
1. It seems to me that, for most high school students, chemistry should probably start with things that can be observed and then move to explain them with theory you can't observe. So you can observe many elements. You can observe chemicals. Atoms? Not so much. You can observe gases, liquids, and solids. Covalent bonding, a little harder.
2. For whatever reason, I am really attracted to teaching chemistry from the periodic table. I know it has to do with my personality. I remember things far better if I can see the big picture first. Start with individual details and half of them will evaporate away for me.
The periodic table is like a map. Again, my memory and understanding works better if you approach learning with a spiraling circle. Start with the big picture. Then swirl around the land again in more detail. Then start swirling around the subtopics in the same way. Since there is limited time, don't teach any one area exhaustively before moving on to the next. If you do that, I will know half the topics well and know nothing about the other half.
Some topics in math and science are cumulative, but many aren't. I think you could start with motion, thermodynamics, or electromagnetism in physics, for example. But, inevitably, high school and college students like me end up with a lot of knowledge of motion and very little of electromagnetism. I don't think I had a history class in high school that got beyond World War I. And the surface area or volume of a sphere--I was never in a math class that got that far, even though you could go do a web search and learn it right now.
So I prefer swirling. Go over the whole field in the broadest of strokes. Then go through all the major topics again in greater detail. Then in later courses go into the individual topics in great detail.
3. Another way to teach, and one that would fit with yet another personality, is to start small and go big. You could start with the atom. Then move to molecules. Then move to organic chemistry. Then organelles, then cells. Then move to tissues, organs, systems. Then motion, sociology, eventually astronomy.
4. So in conclusion, how's this for a chemistry curriculum?
- Start as usual by distinguishing mixtures from homogeneous material... compounds, elements. Do it with actual stuff. Goal--to show that all the stuff around us boils down to some basic components and combinations of components.
- Now move to the periodic table. These are the elements. All matter around us reduces to these. Run through it with object lessons. Some are gases, some liquids, some solids at room temperature. Some are more stable than others. Look, here's a helium balloon. Here's a lithium battery.
- You can combine them together and make compounds. Salt. The oxygen in the air comes in pairs of two oxygens. Etc...
- With hydrogen you can dive into what an atom is. What is the default state of an atom? How do atoms take on charges? How do you get hydrogen chloride (ions)? What are acids?
- You can do some experiments too. Use electrolysis to isolate hydrogen and oxygen, for example.
- With helium you can introduce the noble gases and go down into Neon, Argon, etc. Now comes the octet rule and an explanation of why these are so stable.
- I think you could cover a good deal of the basics in a short time in this way. Atomic mass, metals, alkali metals, semiconductors, precious metals, radioactive elements. Mention types of bonding, electronegativity, etc but save depth explorations for later.
- But before long, you will want to begin looking at reactions. Now we're balancing equations. Now we start looking at energy and heat. For whatever reason, these aspects of chemistry seem harder for people to get their heads around, but we've now been amply prepared for them.
- Show the reactions, show the experiments. To the extent it's practicable, have students do the experiments.
- Repeat in greater depth...
But that's for another day...
Friday, April 24, 2015
Friday Novel
Alan walked south gingerly along the river Cam out of Cambridge. He felt quite strange, having lived his whole life in Chicago. Alone, in such open space, he felt exposed, almost naked.
No one was in sight, which was even stranger. There was something idyllic about the walk to Grantchester. It made him realize what peace would be like... and that he had never known it.
He was to meet his new mentor at the Orchard Tea Gardens at noon. It was easy enough to find. Grantchester was the smallest place he had ever visited. He was early enough to wander a little. He didn't know most of the names of some famous Cambridge people who used to visit--Ludwig Wittgenstein, Virginia Woolf. He had heard of a couple others--Bertrand Russell the philosopher and Maynard Keynes the economist.
"Eos scias?" came a voice behind him.
"Let's see. 'Do I know them?'" Alan deciphered the Latin. "Yes, a couple. Keynes, Russell."
"Both studied at the school," the man continued. "Wittgenstein was a mentor... when we could get him to show up."
"Who was Wittgenstein?"
"Another philosopher, like Russell. Very moody. Everything you expect of a genius."
They both continued to look at the history of the Orchard on the wall.
"Want some lunch?" the man finally said.
"So your name is Fox, right?" Alan broke the silence.
"Yes," he answered. "Daniel Fox. I attended the school some twenty years ago in the mid-90s."
"And what exactly is the school,"Alan asked, again trying to get a clearer sense of what was being offered him."
...
No one was in sight, which was even stranger. There was something idyllic about the walk to Grantchester. It made him realize what peace would be like... and that he had never known it.
He was to meet his new mentor at the Orchard Tea Gardens at noon. It was easy enough to find. Grantchester was the smallest place he had ever visited. He was early enough to wander a little. He didn't know most of the names of some famous Cambridge people who used to visit--Ludwig Wittgenstein, Virginia Woolf. He had heard of a couple others--Bertrand Russell the philosopher and Maynard Keynes the economist.
"Eos scias?" came a voice behind him.
"Let's see. 'Do I know them?'" Alan deciphered the Latin. "Yes, a couple. Keynes, Russell."
"Both studied at the school," the man continued. "Wittgenstein was a mentor... when we could get him to show up."
"Who was Wittgenstein?"
"Another philosopher, like Russell. Very moody. Everything you expect of a genius."
They both continued to look at the history of the Orchard on the wall.
"Want some lunch?" the man finally said.
"So your name is Fox, right?" Alan broke the silence.
"Yes," he answered. "Daniel Fox. I attended the school some twenty years ago in the mid-90s."
"And what exactly is the school,"Alan asked, again trying to get a clearer sense of what was being offered him."
...
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Art and Religion in the Curriculum
The fun of my pointless novel continues!
I've brainstormed on material for the protagonist's education in relation to languages, history, science and math, and philosophy. So now I'm on the last brainstorm for art and religion.
Of course religion is integral to the Christian college. But what about a secular university education?
1. The role of art and religion in a college curriculum, IMO, is to teach students how to be human. You can learn about the science of economics, but ethics is essential when it comes to applying that knowledge. (Yes, it is ignorant to assume unthinkingly that the goal is just for anyone who can to make as much money as possible in whatever way possible) You can learn how to do a lot of things, which might make you a fine communist or a fine capitalist. But without values, you're little more than a dumb animal--maybe dumber.
Beauty and value are important because they make life meaningful. Your yearly salary doesn't matter when you're drowning. And it doesn't matter that you've won a Nobel Prize if you never spent any time with your children and have no healthy relationships. The selfish will die one day and will not be missed. I consider legislators idiots who think public school is only about reading, writing, and arithmetic, while they slash funding for music and pay no attention to the resources needed to redirect students on a trajectory to be a burden on society.
2. The problem of course with teaching values is the question of whose values. Religion can be an incredibly positive force for good in the world... and it can be just as incredibly a negative tool of oppression and evil. I would think a classy undergraduate curriculum would expose students to the great religions of the world--Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, secularism, as examples.
There are some axioms that most religions would accept in some form. Most would have a sense that it is virtuous for individual self-interest to come behind the greater good of the many. There is a balance between "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one" and "all individuals have certain basic rights." I personally find the idea of a social contract between the members of a society to be perhaps the most useful construct for thinking about human society.
3. Art and literature remind us of a feature of humanity that is almost entirely unique to the human race. Art does not have to represent anything. It does not have to teach anything. I agree with Tolstoy that it is best when it is infectious. But it is valid for its own sake. Literature is the same.
It seems to me that the great art and great literature, even great religions of different world cultures, naturally goes hand in hand with learning their histories and languages.
4. So this alleged first novel focuses on Europe. The first quarter of the novel is in Cambridge. What art and literature of Britain should he study? Shakespeare of course, Dickens, Austin. Locke seems appropriate. The British museum offers a window into some of the art taken from Greece, Turkey, and Egypt in the 1800s.
The second quarter is in Bologna. Obviously that offers all the art of Florence and Rome. In literature there is Dante, Virgil, Augustine, Aquinas. Since Greece is near there is Homer, Plato, Herodotus, and Aristotle. There is Roman and Greek architecture.
The third quarter is in Germany. I suppose there is Goethe and the Brothers Grimm. Of course there is Kant, Heidegger, and Gadamer. There are plenty of museums in Berlin and Munich.
The fourth quarter is in Paris and there is the Louvre. There's Picasso, Seurat, and countless others. For literature there is Sartre and Camus, Foucault. Les Miserables, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Descartes, Rousseau, Pascal.
I'm not sure how much I would weave in or how, but this is part of the territory...
I've brainstormed on material for the protagonist's education in relation to languages, history, science and math, and philosophy. So now I'm on the last brainstorm for art and religion.
Of course religion is integral to the Christian college. But what about a secular university education?
1. The role of art and religion in a college curriculum, IMO, is to teach students how to be human. You can learn about the science of economics, but ethics is essential when it comes to applying that knowledge. (Yes, it is ignorant to assume unthinkingly that the goal is just for anyone who can to make as much money as possible in whatever way possible) You can learn how to do a lot of things, which might make you a fine communist or a fine capitalist. But without values, you're little more than a dumb animal--maybe dumber.
Beauty and value are important because they make life meaningful. Your yearly salary doesn't matter when you're drowning. And it doesn't matter that you've won a Nobel Prize if you never spent any time with your children and have no healthy relationships. The selfish will die one day and will not be missed. I consider legislators idiots who think public school is only about reading, writing, and arithmetic, while they slash funding for music and pay no attention to the resources needed to redirect students on a trajectory to be a burden on society.
2. The problem of course with teaching values is the question of whose values. Religion can be an incredibly positive force for good in the world... and it can be just as incredibly a negative tool of oppression and evil. I would think a classy undergraduate curriculum would expose students to the great religions of the world--Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, secularism, as examples.
There are some axioms that most religions would accept in some form. Most would have a sense that it is virtuous for individual self-interest to come behind the greater good of the many. There is a balance between "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one" and "all individuals have certain basic rights." I personally find the idea of a social contract between the members of a society to be perhaps the most useful construct for thinking about human society.
3. Art and literature remind us of a feature of humanity that is almost entirely unique to the human race. Art does not have to represent anything. It does not have to teach anything. I agree with Tolstoy that it is best when it is infectious. But it is valid for its own sake. Literature is the same.
It seems to me that the great art and great literature, even great religions of different world cultures, naturally goes hand in hand with learning their histories and languages.
4. So this alleged first novel focuses on Europe. The first quarter of the novel is in Cambridge. What art and literature of Britain should he study? Shakespeare of course, Dickens, Austin. Locke seems appropriate. The British museum offers a window into some of the art taken from Greece, Turkey, and Egypt in the 1800s.
The second quarter is in Bologna. Obviously that offers all the art of Florence and Rome. In literature there is Dante, Virgil, Augustine, Aquinas. Since Greece is near there is Homer, Plato, Herodotus, and Aristotle. There is Roman and Greek architecture.
The third quarter is in Germany. I suppose there is Goethe and the Brothers Grimm. Of course there is Kant, Heidegger, and Gadamer. There are plenty of museums in Berlin and Munich.
The fourth quarter is in Paris and there is the Louvre. There's Picasso, Seurat, and countless others. For literature there is Sartre and Camus, Foucault. Les Miserables, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Descartes, Rousseau, Pascal.
I'm not sure how much I would weave in or how, but this is part of the territory...
Friday, April 17, 2015
Friday Novel
"Your Dad was given an unusual opportunity when he was your age. And since he was your father, that same opportunity is potentially available to you."
"He didn't really go to the University of Bologna, did he?" Alan asked.
"Not exactly."
Father Barrett took another casual sip of his espresso, as Alan patiently waited for him to continue.
"You have seen the school," he finally said. "It is a special school, one of several campuses in Europe."
"What does it teach?" Alan pushed. "I mean, what's it for? What good does it do for someone to study at some secret school? It's not like you can put it on a resume."
Finally, Alan added: "And I'm not interested in the slightest if it's a school for priests."
Barrett smiled, and took another sip.
"I believe your father had a diploma from Bologna in his office in Chicago," he finally said. "That is what is on his resume. The truth is more complex. It's what is not on his resume that made his life the most special."
"So what was he then? I mean, was he some kind of spy?"
Alan paused. "Was he even really a priest?"
Father Barrett finally finished his espresso. "Want to walk back to the school?"
In a few moments they were walking back toward the school...
"He didn't really go to the University of Bologna, did he?" Alan asked.
"Not exactly."
Father Barrett took another casual sip of his espresso, as Alan patiently waited for him to continue.
"You have seen the school," he finally said. "It is a special school, one of several campuses in Europe."
"What does it teach?" Alan pushed. "I mean, what's it for? What good does it do for someone to study at some secret school? It's not like you can put it on a resume."
Finally, Alan added: "And I'm not interested in the slightest if it's a school for priests."
Barrett smiled, and took another sip.
"I believe your father had a diploma from Bologna in his office in Chicago," he finally said. "That is what is on his resume. The truth is more complex. It's what is not on his resume that made his life the most special."
"So what was he then? I mean, was he some kind of spy?"
Alan paused. "Was he even really a priest?"
Father Barrett finally finished his espresso. "Want to walk back to the school?"
In a few moments they were walking back toward the school...
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Philosophy in Colleges and Novels
As I look tomorrow perhaps to add a page to the novel we all know I'm not going to finish (currently on page 10), I turn to the place of philosophy in a college curriculum.
1. In terms of the cognitive, philosophy stands at the very center of all university education. At first thought you might think, wouldn't it be Bible or theology for a Christian college? (This is, BTW, a philosophical question.) Bible and theology are more important for formation, but you cannot process either without cognition, which is a matter of philosophy.
Philosophy stands alongside every field of knowledge asking, "What are you doing there?" "How do you propose to process that content?" This includes our cognitive processing of theology or the Bible. We can be transformed without cognitive knowledge, but to obtain knowledge we must input it. Our minds must give cognitive organization to it.
From this standpoint, philosophy is the central cognitive discipline. Brute facts are meaningless if they are not organized or put within a context. How are you going to organize it? That's philosophy. Philosophy is the a priori discipline of thinking.
What about presuppositions, Ken? Presuppositions stand in the domain of philosophy. To the extent that the content of the Bible informs presuppositions, we are looking at the Bible from a philosophical viewpoint. The mechanism of processing the Bible's content is hermeneutics, which is the philosophy of meaning. To the extent that theology engages a mechanism of thinking, being, or doing, then we are engaging the philosophical dimensions of theology or the Bible.
Philosophy stands alongside all disciplines because it is the "meta" discipline. Philosophy of science reflects on what science is. Philosophy of art reflects on what art is. Philosophy of religion reflects on what religion is. Philosophy of history reflects on what history is. Psychology was a branch of philosophy before it became experimental. Epistemology asks how it is that we know anything at all. Ethics asks what the value of doing and being is. Ontology asks if any of this is real in the first place.
Our Christian philosophy might tell us than formation is more important than cognition. But as far as cognition goes, there is no field that is more fundamental than philosophy.
2. In the novel, Germany is the primary place for philosophy, although some philosophy is taught at all the locations. In the novel, Germany is primarily a center of phenomenological thinking, steeped in Heidegger, Gadamer, and friends. It emphasizes the situatedness of knowledge. Paris will fit with this as a center of existentialism and postmodernism.
I'm using Italy as a Machiavellian, Nietzschean center of sorts. That leaves Cambridge for Wittgenstein, pragmatism, and analytical philosophy. The protagonist will visit all these places in every novel.
In the first novel, he will spend his first three months in Cambridge. The focus will be science but each center is also selling a philosophy from which he will choose. The philosophy they will try to sell him on is pragmatism, a sense that ideas and language are tools we use to make our way through this world.
Bologna will try to sell a kind of Machiavellian realpolitik, where the end almost always justifies the means. Paris will try to sell him an existentialist outlook. Göttingen will just annoy the protagonist in this regard. :-)
1. In terms of the cognitive, philosophy stands at the very center of all university education. At first thought you might think, wouldn't it be Bible or theology for a Christian college? (This is, BTW, a philosophical question.) Bible and theology are more important for formation, but you cannot process either without cognition, which is a matter of philosophy.
Philosophy stands alongside every field of knowledge asking, "What are you doing there?" "How do you propose to process that content?" This includes our cognitive processing of theology or the Bible. We can be transformed without cognitive knowledge, but to obtain knowledge we must input it. Our minds must give cognitive organization to it.
From this standpoint, philosophy is the central cognitive discipline. Brute facts are meaningless if they are not organized or put within a context. How are you going to organize it? That's philosophy. Philosophy is the a priori discipline of thinking.
What about presuppositions, Ken? Presuppositions stand in the domain of philosophy. To the extent that the content of the Bible informs presuppositions, we are looking at the Bible from a philosophical viewpoint. The mechanism of processing the Bible's content is hermeneutics, which is the philosophy of meaning. To the extent that theology engages a mechanism of thinking, being, or doing, then we are engaging the philosophical dimensions of theology or the Bible.
Philosophy stands alongside all disciplines because it is the "meta" discipline. Philosophy of science reflects on what science is. Philosophy of art reflects on what art is. Philosophy of religion reflects on what religion is. Philosophy of history reflects on what history is. Psychology was a branch of philosophy before it became experimental. Epistemology asks how it is that we know anything at all. Ethics asks what the value of doing and being is. Ontology asks if any of this is real in the first place.
Our Christian philosophy might tell us than formation is more important than cognition. But as far as cognition goes, there is no field that is more fundamental than philosophy.
2. In the novel, Germany is the primary place for philosophy, although some philosophy is taught at all the locations. In the novel, Germany is primarily a center of phenomenological thinking, steeped in Heidegger, Gadamer, and friends. It emphasizes the situatedness of knowledge. Paris will fit with this as a center of existentialism and postmodernism.
I'm using Italy as a Machiavellian, Nietzschean center of sorts. That leaves Cambridge for Wittgenstein, pragmatism, and analytical philosophy. The protagonist will visit all these places in every novel.
In the first novel, he will spend his first three months in Cambridge. The focus will be science but each center is also selling a philosophy from which he will choose. The philosophy they will try to sell him on is pragmatism, a sense that ideas and language are tools we use to make our way through this world.
Bologna will try to sell a kind of Machiavellian realpolitik, where the end almost always justifies the means. Paris will try to sell him an existentialist outlook. Göttingen will just annoy the protagonist in this regard. :-)
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Math and Science in "My Novel"
So my post earlier today was just helping me think through my most recent novel that I won't finish. In my plan so far, the main character studies math and science primary in the area of Cambridge, although he will do some at the other locations as well. How should the novel approach it?
1. Some of the learning will have a historical flavor. I think Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) will feature as one key historical figure in the novel, so there is a good deal that the main character can learn about basic chemistry and physics by simply visiting sites relating to him in London. Scotland offers James Clerk Maxwell.
In Bologna, there is the legacy of Luigi Galvani (1737-1798), and we might mention other compatriots like Alessandro Volta and Benjamin Franklin on electricity. In Göttingen, there is the rich heritage of Bernhard Reimann, Max Born, David Hilbert and Carl Friedrich Gauss. In Paris there was Lavoisier.
2. Following a pedagogical theme, I anticipate that some scientific and math learning in the novel would be integrated and problem based. So, early in the novel, I anticipate a group parachuting from an airplane in order to verify that the acceleration of gravity near the earth's surface is 9.8 m/s2.
I have a physics textbook from the 80s that I always admired because it had these grey calculus pages interspersed as needed. In other words, you learned calculus in order to solve physics problems, rather than on its own. Given the way my mind works, I think it would be spectacular to have an honors physics and math block where the learning of both was integrated with each other. And while we're at it, chemistry could be integrated a little as well.
In short, I could see the entire introductory physics, calculus, and chemistry curriculum of relevant students reformulated into three integrated semesters or a summer/semester combination. It's just that the academy doesn't think that way. It thinks in silos. (I'd love to design the curriculum for IWU's approaching engineering program, but of course I'm not qualified. ;-)
3. Another approach that I would love to write in a book in my spare time ;-) would start with atoms and build up. So you would start with the intersection of chemistry and physics in the atom. Electricity and gravity are not far from there. Molecules then turn the focus to chemistry again. The physics of motion might come next. Eventually, you build up to biology.
4. In my novel world, there is ultimately a list of math and science competencies the protagonist will need to master in the first novel, a mixture of calculus, finite math, physics, and chemistry. The order is only important when things build. Perhaps surprisingly, however, many concepts in physics and chemistry could equally serve as an entry point. It's just tradition to start with motion because we do it every day.
Some nerdy thoughts for a Saturday morning.
1. Some of the learning will have a historical flavor. I think Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) will feature as one key historical figure in the novel, so there is a good deal that the main character can learn about basic chemistry and physics by simply visiting sites relating to him in London. Scotland offers James Clerk Maxwell.
In Bologna, there is the legacy of Luigi Galvani (1737-1798), and we might mention other compatriots like Alessandro Volta and Benjamin Franklin on electricity. In Göttingen, there is the rich heritage of Bernhard Reimann, Max Born, David Hilbert and Carl Friedrich Gauss. In Paris there was Lavoisier.
2. Following a pedagogical theme, I anticipate that some scientific and math learning in the novel would be integrated and problem based. So, early in the novel, I anticipate a group parachuting from an airplane in order to verify that the acceleration of gravity near the earth's surface is 9.8 m/s2.
I have a physics textbook from the 80s that I always admired because it had these grey calculus pages interspersed as needed. In other words, you learned calculus in order to solve physics problems, rather than on its own. Given the way my mind works, I think it would be spectacular to have an honors physics and math block where the learning of both was integrated with each other. And while we're at it, chemistry could be integrated a little as well.
In short, I could see the entire introductory physics, calculus, and chemistry curriculum of relevant students reformulated into three integrated semesters or a summer/semester combination. It's just that the academy doesn't think that way. It thinks in silos. (I'd love to design the curriculum for IWU's approaching engineering program, but of course I'm not qualified. ;-)
3. Another approach that I would love to write in a book in my spare time ;-) would start with atoms and build up. So you would start with the intersection of chemistry and physics in the atom. Electricity and gravity are not far from there. Molecules then turn the focus to chemistry again. The physics of motion might come next. Eventually, you build up to biology.
4. In my novel world, there is ultimately a list of math and science competencies the protagonist will need to master in the first novel, a mixture of calculus, finite math, physics, and chemistry. The order is only important when things build. Perhaps surprisingly, however, many concepts in physics and chemistry could equally serve as an entry point. It's just tradition to start with motion because we do it every day.
Some nerdy thoughts for a Saturday morning.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Friday novel
Alan stood looking at his father's gravestone. It was a curiously shaped thing, more like a shield than any tombstone he had ever seen. A red cross ran from top to bottom through the center and then from side to side. In the center, where the two lines met, was the same crest that stood over the entrance to the school and in several other places.
"Did you know him well," interrupted a voice over Alan's shoulder in a British accent. It was a tall man in the same scarlet gown he had seen several individuals wearing at the funeral. He looked to be about his father's age.
"Not really. Let's just say my feelings for him were... complex."
The man smiled wryly. "Non miror."
Alan looked at the man. Latin, he guessed. "Non" was easy enough. "Not." Miror was one of those funny words.
"I do not wonder?" Alan asked.
"Something like that. 'I am not surprised.'"
"So what's with the Latin?" Alan finally asked.
"You have time for an espresso?"
"Did you know him well," interrupted a voice over Alan's shoulder in a British accent. It was a tall man in the same scarlet gown he had seen several individuals wearing at the funeral. He looked to be about his father's age.
"Not really. Let's just say my feelings for him were... complex."
The man smiled wryly. "Non miror."
Alan looked at the man. Latin, he guessed. "Non" was easy enough. "Not." Miror was one of those funny words.
"I do not wonder?" Alan asked.
"Something like that. 'I am not surprised.'"
"So what's with the Latin?" Alan finally asked.
"You have time for an espresso?"
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
History in the College Curriculum
I love history. Even those areas of history that I have no interest in studying become interesting to me if I have just a little taste of them.
My son has an excruciatingly boring world history AP textbook for high school right now. To me, it's a sin for history to be boring. People are just too funny, evil, and their antics too bizarre for history to be boring. It's not noble for me to admit that I started this walk with him with little interest in the history of India, China, Japan, and so forth. But even a taste of their history quickly piques my interest.
1. Why study history?
For example, one could arrange all learning by history. Twenty years ago, when IWU came up with its four "180" courses, the idea was that students would study history, literature, art/music, and philosophy from a historical perspective. If you had two of these courses at the same time, you would roughly be studying the philosophy of Greece at about the same time you were studying the art of Greece, the literature of Greece, and the history of Greece.
You could of course teach science and math the same way.
It was a grand idea but didn't really work. For one, students didn't take the four courses at the same time. For another, a course like philosophy is really better taught topically than historically.
3. So I'm thinking out loud here. In my proposed novel, I suspect the history would largely be taught from a utilitarian perspective. However, there are going to be different centers of teaching in the novel, so there's room for different perspectives on history and identity at these different centers.
With an emphasis on Spanish and European languages in the first proposed novel, it makes sense that the first year would cover the history of Europe and the Americas. The later three novels would then engage the history of Asia, Africa, and Australia. There's an implicit teaching of geography here you can see as well.
4. I've always thought there was a certain genius to the way the Seminary course called Cultural Contexts of Ministry had a component where students started with their current church and moved backward in American history. Approached backward, the most relevant aspects of the immediate past for the present are brought extremely clearly into view. Then the further you go back, less relevant pieces of the puzzle are automatically de-emphasized.
Of course there are many lessons to be learned by playing history forward as well.
History, in my opinion, can only really be learned accurately in smaller vignettes. Any attempt to systematize long sweeps of history into simple ideological patterns (and this includes biblical narratives) inevitably skews history from a historical perspective. That doesn't mean these grand narratives don't present truths. They're just not accurate or precise with regard to history itself.
But then again, this is my philosophy of all meaning. Truth is best ascertained in small units that are connected to others by similarity and dissimilarity. I think numskull the myriad Platonic thinkers who want to move in the real world from big generals to subsumed particulars. It works fine for ideological systems. For concrete realia, not so much.
5. So my protagonist will spend three months at Cambridge at the beginning of the novel. Fair enough to overview 1000 years of British history including the key intersections with the US (Revolution, WW1 and 2). Then I think he will go to Bologna, Italy for three months, where he will study Roman and Greek history. Next Paris for three months. Napolean features in the early years of the secret society I have in mind, so Napolean and the French Revolution would play a fair role in those three months.
He would then finish the last three months of the first year in Göttingen, where he will finalize his study of WW1 and 2, as well as a study of the Holy Roman Empire from where Roman history left off. The first novel then would end back in Cambridge.
6. These four locations also feature in the other three proposed novels, so all of the history does not need to be learned in the first novel. (Indeed, it all doesn't need to be learned at all.) Concentric circles is the ticket, circling round the same territory first in large and then adding more details each time...
My son has an excruciatingly boring world history AP textbook for high school right now. To me, it's a sin for history to be boring. People are just too funny, evil, and their antics too bizarre for history to be boring. It's not noble for me to admit that I started this walk with him with little interest in the history of India, China, Japan, and so forth. But even a taste of their history quickly piques my interest.
1. Why study history?
- The past provides insights into the present and the future. "Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them." This utilitarian function is the one that promises to sell most people on history. Why study leaders of the past? To avoid their mistakes and imitate as much as possible their successes. Why study military tactics in past wars? To be successful in future wars.
- We regularly use the past to define ourselves and our values. These tellings are highly perspectivized but are a reminder again that the most powerful use of history is in shaping our sense of the present and our decisions for the future. Whether we like to admit it or not, this is far more how Scripture functions for us than as anything like a window on the past.
- History is valid as a study in its own right, truth for truth's sake. But this is a minority report, people like me who love the past.
For example, one could arrange all learning by history. Twenty years ago, when IWU came up with its four "180" courses, the idea was that students would study history, literature, art/music, and philosophy from a historical perspective. If you had two of these courses at the same time, you would roughly be studying the philosophy of Greece at about the same time you were studying the art of Greece, the literature of Greece, and the history of Greece.
You could of course teach science and math the same way.
It was a grand idea but didn't really work. For one, students didn't take the four courses at the same time. For another, a course like philosophy is really better taught topically than historically.
3. So I'm thinking out loud here. In my proposed novel, I suspect the history would largely be taught from a utilitarian perspective. However, there are going to be different centers of teaching in the novel, so there's room for different perspectives on history and identity at these different centers.
With an emphasis on Spanish and European languages in the first proposed novel, it makes sense that the first year would cover the history of Europe and the Americas. The later three novels would then engage the history of Asia, Africa, and Australia. There's an implicit teaching of geography here you can see as well.
4. I've always thought there was a certain genius to the way the Seminary course called Cultural Contexts of Ministry had a component where students started with their current church and moved backward in American history. Approached backward, the most relevant aspects of the immediate past for the present are brought extremely clearly into view. Then the further you go back, less relevant pieces of the puzzle are automatically de-emphasized.
Of course there are many lessons to be learned by playing history forward as well.
History, in my opinion, can only really be learned accurately in smaller vignettes. Any attempt to systematize long sweeps of history into simple ideological patterns (and this includes biblical narratives) inevitably skews history from a historical perspective. That doesn't mean these grand narratives don't present truths. They're just not accurate or precise with regard to history itself.
But then again, this is my philosophy of all meaning. Truth is best ascertained in small units that are connected to others by similarity and dissimilarity. I think numskull the myriad Platonic thinkers who want to move in the real world from big generals to subsumed particulars. It works fine for ideological systems. For concrete realia, not so much.
5. So my protagonist will spend three months at Cambridge at the beginning of the novel. Fair enough to overview 1000 years of British history including the key intersections with the US (Revolution, WW1 and 2). Then I think he will go to Bologna, Italy for three months, where he will study Roman and Greek history. Next Paris for three months. Napolean features in the early years of the secret society I have in mind, so Napolean and the French Revolution would play a fair role in those three months.
He would then finish the last three months of the first year in Göttingen, where he will finalize his study of WW1 and 2, as well as a study of the Holy Roman Empire from where Roman history left off. The first novel then would end back in Cambridge.
6. These four locations also feature in the other three proposed novels, so all of the history does not need to be learned in the first novel. (Indeed, it all doesn't need to be learned at all.) Concentric circles is the ticket, circling round the same territory first in large and then adding more details each time...
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
World Languages
Started another novel Friday (that makes over 50 I've started). We'll see how many Fridays keep me writing. I only want to give glimpses, but the idea is a four novel sequence that stretches over the most fantastical college education a nerd destined to be a world leader could dream up. The idea is to dream up an astounding college education that would actually be possible to design and implement in a dream world.
So students in this secret society have to learn operational bits in many languages, but I identify five as key: English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese. Each of the four novels in the series would focus on one of the last four. And some of the action in each novel relates to the regions that speak each language.
If I continue to write on Fridays, you'll learn that the first novel is set heavily in Europe, and Spanish is the language the protagonist learns in the first novel. The society uses Latin as its base language, and there are key settings of learning in Bologna, Paris, and Göttingen, as well as Cambridge. Because of these settings, the protagonist will also learn operational bits of Italian, French, and German in the first novel.
The next snippet on Friday... maybe...
So students in this secret society have to learn operational bits in many languages, but I identify five as key: English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese. Each of the four novels in the series would focus on one of the last four. And some of the action in each novel relates to the regions that speak each language.
If I continue to write on Fridays, you'll learn that the first novel is set heavily in Europe, and Spanish is the language the protagonist learns in the first novel. The society uses Latin as its base language, and there are key settings of learning in Bologna, Paris, and Göttingen, as well as Cambridge. Because of these settings, the protagonist will also learn operational bits of Italian, French, and German in the first novel.
The next snippet on Friday... maybe...
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