We live in distracted times. Your attention is being tracked, monetized, tricked and transformed into power. One may “give” or “pay” attention, but rarely do we save or marshal it. We tend to agree, though, that when we lose attention, things take a turn for the worse. Cal Newport, Georgetown University professor and entrepreneur, credits…
Category: Reviews
Reviews of books, articles, and the like
Unpacking Rural Resentment
Understand Wisconsin politics and understanding American politics becomes possible. The “badger state” is a fascinating mix of people, cultures and economies, from industrial to rural. Democrats, Republicans (the party was started in Wisconsin), progressives, socialists and many other groups from across the political spectrum have won office in Wisconsin. From 2011 to 2019, Scott Walker…
Seeing Each Other
Being human is a social activity. Connections between and among fellow humans are how we make meaning, understanding ourselves, our actions and our world. Interacting with each other keeps us healthy, guides us to happiness, and gives us the tools to deal with the many challenges that life brings. Exploring that theme in the workplace…
Boys to Emotionally Healthier Men
What happens to far too many many emotionally healthy boys when adolescence hits? In a few short years they transform from trusting, caring and loving teens into macho posers, lonely and fronting in attempts to be masculine. The costs are profound, at the individual and societal levels. While many might recognize the changes in teen…
Young Lincoln, Political Operative
“Leadership is situational” It makes sense, for it is mighty difficult to think of leadership outside of a context, a challenge, a before and an after. But if leadership is contingent, dependent upon the who, where, when and what, how do we understand leaders? What makes them, shapes them, and makes them tick? What is…
Best Bet for Retaining Value: Local History
A new resident of the Catskills, I have been learning about the area. There have been lots of trips, explorations and conversations. But a local history done by scholars? Is there a better way to get the bigger picture? Possibly – but for this book nerd, please give me the scholarly history! In 1995, Abraham…
The Dean of New Things Embraced Change
In the past half-century public higher education, like so much of America, has changed dramatically. It’s a vastly different landscape, with millions more attending college as the economy – the world – demands new skills, new knowledge, and new ways of doing business. The City University of New York, one of the largest systems in…