Advice from the Old Sarge
The sergeant’s advice. He didn’t have a degree but he knew how to lead.
stories
Philosophy, The Cosmos, and Terry Brown
Another story about wisdom not found in books By Oliver W. Cummings In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, universities around the world are rethinking how to best provide the university experience going forward. We saw basically everything go online in the second half of the spring 2020 semester. I think many schools will move…
Mr. Favor and the Mule
Not all wisdom is found in books
The 9 Things That Actually Made America Great (Part 2)
Part 2: Improve Your Thinking, Change Your World As mentioned in Part 1, America “became” great in the 60 years following the signing of the Constitution in 1787. During those years the size of our economy expanded by a factor of almost 20. Pretty great, huh? An interesting list of factors contributed to American’s incredible…
The 9 Things That Actually Made America Great (Part 1)
Part 1: Prepare For The Future By Learning From The Past Many aspects of the “great America” that Donald Trump invokes in his speeches and campaigns took shape when he was just a young boy in the 1950s. During the post-war economic boom in American industry, the “American Dream” became a reality, providing secure jobs…
Death by GPS (Story, Question, Story, Warning, Advice)
STORY: Thirty-five years ago, on August 31, 1983, a Korean Airlines flight left Anchorage for Seoul. After take-off, the pilots engaged the autopilot and settled in for the flight. Unfortunately, there was a wrong setting and hours later the plane was 100s of miles off course and in Soviet airspace. The Soviets launched military aircraft…
The Detective says to Inspector Dalgliesh
So, the detective says to Inspector Dalgliesh, “Don’t worry sir, I’ll keep an open mind.” Dalgliesh says to himself “No he won’t, he’s already made up his mind.” The little scene for one of P.D. James’ crime novels has been on my mind. What does it mean to have an open mind and why is…
Clark Stanley’s Snake Oil Liniment
We can look back about 100 years or so and see simple people looking for simple solutions to complex problems. What fools they were! Take for example, the 1916 advertisement for Clark Stanley’s Snake Oil Liniment. It advertised itself as “Is good for everything a liniment out to be good for.” It then listed some…
