MANTIS - Discovery is learning

11/01/2022

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them. - Mark Twain

The book is a work of genius. Every book, irrespective of its quality, contains the conclusions and views of the author and many other books and many persons.

10/01/2022

The three most harmful addictions are he**in, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary. — Nasim Taleb

Good night!

28/10/2021

How to create genius ... in only three steps.

'Your genius is not the actions you take as response to conditioning, not the ‘socially acceptable’ way of acting, not the norms and standards of your culture and society.'

'One of the ways genius is expressed is through ideas. Many want to steward our brilliance through gifts we create in the world.'

https://www.edgeofbeing.org/genius/

20/02/2020

Care: this content below is not mine. But this question is: how well do you listen when someone is speaking to you?

"Listening is difficult because it involves suppressing your ego long enough to consider what is being said before you respond. In a world where few people listen, good listeners stand out. So what is it so hard?

When someone starts talking, our minds listen for:
1. Reasonably guess what they are going to say. (E.g., "I know what you are going to say.")
2. Identify a pattern. (E.g., "I know where you are going with this.")
3. Som**hing we disagree with (E.g., "That's wrong.")

When one of those things happens, we stop listening and our mind starts preparing our response. At the moment, the conversation becomes about us. When the other person does the same, gold becomes lead.

Instead of making the conversation about you, work to understand the other person's perspective as well as they do. You don't have to agree. You do have an obligation to understand. A conversation is not a race to make a point, but rather an exploration of someone's mind."

Source: Shane, Farnam Street. Today.

01/01/2020

THINK.

If you ask enough questions, it doesn't make sense, sometimes.

If it doesn't make sense, it doesn't matter.☹️

So, why are we agitated?🤔

Happy New Year 2020. ☘️🍀🍁

31/10/2019

“Curiosity is the preserve of all forms of genius. It is curiosity that accounts for the progress of mankind. Let us remember Einstein’s self-description : “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

~ R Gopalakrishnan, ex-HUL and Tata Sons

Be assured that whatever you are curious about today will shape and drive your thinking, character and actions, tomorrow.👍🏼🌸

14/12/2018

Inspirations change us. They describe persistence despite adversity. And we feel emotionally charged to fight our fears and cope with our losses.

Here is one below that you may like. Source: an email.

"Gabriel Cordell wanted to be an actor, but on the way to his first professional audition, he was struck by a car. The impact ejected him from his car into a telephone pole. As a result, he was paralyzed from the waist down.

Cordell still managed to land roles on a few television shows, but he never attained the success he hoped for. An addictive personality by nature, he turned to co***ne and crystal m**h for solace.

His health declined and doctors told him his drug abuse would eventually kill him. Then one day, he woke up and decided to turn his life around. He quit the drugs, joined the YMCA and began swimming. Slowly, he built back his strength.

He read about other paraplegics who had wheeled across great distances in specially designed wheelchairs. But, no one had ever crossed the United States in an everyday wheelchair.

Cordell decided to become the first person to attempt to wheel his everyday wheelchair across the United States, from Santa Monica, California to his hometown in West Hempstead, New York. (Almost 5,000 kms!)

Cordell ran a Kickstarter campaign and raised enough funds to cover the gas, food and lodging for his trip. Then he assembled a ragtag road crew of characters, some dealing with their own issues of drug abuse and PTSD.

Cordell's entire journey was chronicled in an excellent Netflix documentary titled, "Roll With Me." In it, we watch Cordell as he spends over 100 days rolling over 3,100 miles through thirteen states. He endures 100 degree days, high humidity, several falls and severe shoulder pain.

We see the many forgotten towns of America, and the goodwill of locals who cheer him on. There is a group of kids in a summer camp who encourage him, and many police officers who es**rt him. We watch as a young cerebral palsy boy tightly hugs his hero, Cordell.

Cordell becomes a symbol of inspiration and hope to both disabled and able- bodied people everywhere. At the end of the documentary, his parents and throngs of locals in his hometown come out to greet him as he reaches the finish line."

04/11/2018

Design a game only for yourself.

Go ahead! You can't lose if you are the only player in your game.

Don't forget: you own it, and therefore, you make the rules, too.

29/10/2018

The small is more powerful than the big.

Start small. Do you have a problem? Attack any of its features (of your choice) in small steps, and soon, it will wither away and die.

Remember this poem (Possible source: "Little Things" by Julia A. F. Carney) from your school days?
"Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land."

Do you have a opportunity? Are you not sure what to do next? A small experiment, investment, or move could do wonders. Small actions give you better control, rare failures, and low costs - and more ideas of how to do it better and bigger.

Try applying the small approach to the VUCA (Volatility-Uncertainty-Complexity-Ambiguity) model, whether in gardening, trying out a new restaurant, or choosing a career.

21/07/2018

More than a Thousand Words: kids in action.

As you watch this video, some oohs and aahs will emerge. As humans, we are fascinated to see that the ducklings follow their mother without any apparent guidance from her. (Maybe, they are ducklings with an army education!)

Please join me as I see the tale from different angles.

How should teachers and trainers get their students to learn from action? Coax them, threaten them, or ignore (as Ma Duck did)? Probably, one wise answer would be to let the students emulate you. When you do that, they would see that it's so easy that they follow you. But the lasting approach would be to leave them alone, and let them find their solutions. Did you notice that Ma Duck did not do any head-count?

A parent is also a teacher, except that she often deals with one child, not many like the teacher does often. She must also persuade her child into action, unless she can manage a little rebellion. What if that action were to be scary and unpleasant (e.g. arithmetic)? Should she turn into a Tiger Mom, as in China? To kill such resistance, they would need to learn in groups. A group is a small closed society where the children could face their fears, make mistakes, fail, and learn without embarrassment. Isn't the classroom such a simple yet wonderful society to do this for children, every day for their 14 years at schooling?

Often, the leader is both teacher and parent. In the adult world and in the animal kingdom, to cajole another into action may be outdated. It's easier to show and tell. It does leave the learners without apparent support, but challenges them to fight their fears, however big, and learn from unguided action.

Are you a student? Yes? Me, too! Who isn't? The obedient ducklings jumped in to follow their mother, while others learnt from the early jumpers: different ways of learning. And the last bunch (back benchers?) waited a little before they too made it. Learners as pioneers, investors, followers: there must be many more learning categories.

So, what's your persuasive style? Line them up, and ask them to follow you? Keep tabs on what they do? Run, and expect them to follow you? Or...?

So, what's your learning style? Do you jump in? Or emulate others? Or wait for the others?

A picture is worth a thousand words; a video like this one, much more.

[Source of the video: Whatsapp. My thanks to three senders.]

15/02/2018

The student role can be either treated as a collection of expectations to be met, or as a goal of excellence to be surpassed or won. Both approaches will be different and more powerful than our conventional view where we see the student as one who listens to a lecture, and remembers her textbook contents to pass tests and examinations so as to earn marks and grades.

It hurts to read comments like ‘Students don’t want to learn, they only want a degree’! Especially because, once upon a time, all of us have been

24/10/2017

Welcome to ISAGA (International Simulation and Gaming Association), 49th Annual Conference, Thailand, 9-13 July 2018.

Come and meet some of the world's finest game designers, researchers, and practitioners. At ISAGA 2018, you will also see some of the finest, oldest, and exciting games in action and on display.

Thailand is one of the world's friendliest and most economical countries for travel, food, and stay. It's a tourist and foodie paradise.

Welcome to fun, games, and discovery learning!