A favorable comparison between Japanese and American schools (in this case, universities)

I found this post by Yumi Nakata to be an interesting opinion from the point of view of a Japanese person studying at an American university.

I was surprised most by the first point:

"I was surprised to find out that it is ok to raise your hand and interrupt your teacher to ask a question. They actually like that because it shows that you are interested in learning the subject. But it’s the complete opposite in Japan. Japanese teachers expect students to stay quiet while they teach and write on the blackboard. I was used to copying whatever my teacher wrote on the board and then anxiously waiting for my teacher to ask me a question."

 My thanks to Charles for posting the link.

Sub-2:03, and a new world record in the men's marathon

Congratulations to Dennis Kimetto on his world-record run this morning in Berlin (2:02:57), and becoming the first man in recorded history to run under 2:03 for the marathon.

A good summary of the race can be read here.

A bright side to poorly timing the market

This was interesting: the hypothetical tale of Bob, "... the world's worst market timer."

His plan was to save $2,000 a year during the 1970s and bump that amount up by $2,000 each decade until he could retire at age 65 by the end of 2013 (so $4,000/year in the 80s, $6,000/year in the 90s then $8,000/year until he retired).

He started out by saving the $2,000 a year in his bank account until he had $6,000 to invest by the end of 1972.

 Bob’s problem as an investor was that he only had the courage to put his money to work in the market after a huge run up...

He never sold a single share...

So how did he do? 

Even though he only bought at the very top of the market, Bob still ended up a millionaire with $1.1 million.

 The fully story can be read here. The blog, "A Wealth of Common Sense," is run by Ben Carlson, and is a new one for me. Looks pretty neat. Nice job, Mr. Carlson.

"The Way of Walking Alone" 独行道

I came across the following, brief text today, and thought it worth sharing.

"The Way of Walking Alone"
By: Miamoto Musashi (1584-1645)

1. Accept everything just the way it is.
2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
5. Be detached from desire your whole life.
6. Do not regret what you have done.
7. Never be jealous.
8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.
10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
11. In all things, have no preferences.
12. Be indifferent to where you live.
13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.
14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
15. Do not act following customary beliefs.
16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
17. Do not fear death.
18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
19. Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.
20. You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honor.
21. Never stray from the way. 

 Drawn from the wikipedia entry. To read more about Musashi, see his entry here.

Taking a trip

Hi guys. The day of departure is here; in about six hours I'll board a plane for Copenhagen (with a stop in Germany along the way). After a long and pleasant night sleep, I'm feeling in good spirits and excited to start.

The weather here is about as nice as one could hope in August, the morning cool and crisp and redolent of Autumn, with dew on the grass and a few wisps of cloud in the sky. Cycling to and from work has been a treat of late, as has our evening walks down to the park and back. For these and many other things I am very grateful.

Whilst riding yesterday afternoon I passed through a cascade of leaves coming down from a nearby tree. It reminded me of many pleasant runs on the perkiomen trail with my old cross country buddies in college, how we would make a game of catching the leaves before they reached the ground. With that image in mind, I reached up and snagged a crisp yellow one from the air--whether by luck or skill that I caught it, I will take it as a good omen for the trip.

Our itinerary for the trip is not firmly established, but at this point the main cities we'll be visiting are Copenhagen, Roskilde, and Aalborg. From the wikipedia entries they all seem like interesting places, and with luck I will have much to report when I return.

Well, that's about it. I'm looking forward to the trip, and the adventure it's bound to entail.  Farewell for now, and happy Friday :)

jc

Assorted Links

1.) First World War: "A war that finance didn't want"

2.) Another positive result if stem-cell research for spinal-cord injuries:

"These findings indicate that intrinsic neuronal mechanisms readily overcome the barriers created by a spinal cord injury to extend many axons over very long distances, and that these capabilities persist even in neurons reprogrammed from very aged human cells."

3.) President Obama talks with Thomas Friedman on foreign policy:

“Our politics are dysfunctional,” said the president, and we should heed the terrible divisions in the Middle East as a “warning to us: societies don’t work if political factions take maximalist positions. And the more diverse the country is, the less it can afford to take maximalist positions.”

4.) Is average over? Overrated? Scott Beaulier thinks so:

"The new normal will be a more jobless normal, but here's the silver lining: new technologies, such as driver-less cars, promise to free up time and bring about significant cost savings. In education, for example, students everywhere will have access to classes taught by some of the best teachers on the planet at a fraction of today's cost. Education in 50 years will look a lot like the journalism business today; more information than ever will be produced by far less people, and the "go-to" sources of opinion or expertise--the stars of the industry--will be doing remarkably well. The fortunes for the rest of Americans, meanwhile, seem sure to stagnate."  

5.) "Why your brand-new plane doesn't have a seat-back tv"

6.) Hiroshima's Genbaku Dome through 69-years of history:

7.) The "Instant-Gratification" Economy: Or how the mass adoption of smart-phones is changing the world

An approaching adventure

At the end of last December I found myself thinking about how I could challenge myself in the new year. This in itself proved something of a challenge, as historically I haven't thought this way. In the past challenges would arise of course, but usually not at my instigation; they just came along as I went about life. They still do, but for this year I decided some would be set to my own terms, or as close to those terms as possible.

As it stands, the last eight months have proven a deal more interesting than I might have expected. Among other things, I started investing, transferred an IRA from one company to another, filed my own taxes for the first time, participated in a track-coach interview, found a new job, started cycling to said job, and took on a 30-day novel challenge. Nothing here is particularly extraordinary, but for me at least they were all firsts, and all began as goals in my mind. That some proved successful and others didn't matters little to me--taking them on was and remains a victory in and of itself.

Now as we enter August a new challenge approaches. It might be the "boldest" one yet by my admittedly low standards, but more than the others I think, this one takes me furthest from my element. The challenge: flying to a foreign country on my own.

Broadly speaking the challenge involves more than the transit, but it begins with the plane-ride. I'm going to Denmark to see an old friend, who has graciously offered to meet me at the airport and play host for the duration. I've wanted to visit this friend for a long time, but always found the prospect of traveling there daunting. Experienced travelers may scoff at my hesitancy, particularly since money or time as rarely been an issue; but nerves are what they are, and as the old saying goes, can make mole-hills seem like mountains. Or something like that.

Anyway with the trip less than two weeks away, I find myself growing both nervous and excited at the prospect. I'm excited because here is an adventure like no other I've attempted, to an interesting country where a very dear friend calls home. Routines--physical and mental--will be disrupted, leaving space to see things in new ways. There is also the prospect of encountering another culture first-hand, with a language, history, and set of traditions all their own. The explorer,writer, and history student in me can hardly wait to get started.

On the other hand, there are always the nerves that go with travel--navigating airports, finding one's gate on time, and accidentally offending or embarrassing people whose customs and expectations might be different from one's own. Strange as it sounds, this last point is the one that worries me most, and naturally, is the one over which I have the least control. In general I dislike offending people, particularly when the offense is unintended. On the other hand, if experience is any guide, some folks can be very prickly about things I would never expect. This holds as much for people from my own country as those from others.

As it is I think this concern, while relevant, looms over-large in my mind. If we become so concerned about stepping on other's toes that we miss all the interesting and nuanced features of their culture--or fail to convey such elements of our own--then I expect no one would benefit from such an encounter. There is perhaps an element of trust involved--trust that if something we do or say isn't "cool" in another country, that someone familiar with such things will politely let us know and see the breech of decorum as the act of ignorance it is, rather than the ill-intent it might seem. To worry extensively over this point may be akin to putting the cart before the horse--that is, worrying about offense given before any offense can possibly be given. Indeed, the discussion is almost absurd, now that it's framed in language. I suspect putting our concerns into writing goes a long way toward alleviating them.

In any case I'm looking forward to the adventure; of seeing my friend, and the country where she grew-up and calls home; and challenging myself to overcome those fears and lack of experience I have in this matter. We'll see how it goes.