The Epic of Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell

 

Stephan Mitchell provides a gripping English version of the Epic of Gilgamesh combining all of the known fragments of this ancient story into a compelling narrative while taking some liberties with the text.  He also offers extensive commentary on the book explaining and offering various interpretations of the text including references to the 2003 Gulf War.   Warning: some sections of the text contain graphic material that is not suitable for children. 

The earliest portions of the text date back more than 4,000 years ago various versions were written or interpreted over a 2000 year period.  The text was discovered in 1853 and translated from the cuneiform logographs. When the section of Gilgamesh that contains a story very similar to a biblical Noah the translator could not contain his enthusiasm.   Update: 20 new lines of the poem describing the Cedar Forest and its destruction have been recently discovered as summarized by Fox News reporter Elizabeth Palermo.

Gilgamesh offers a complex tale of personal discovery and a post modern view of false heroism.  It also is a cautionary tale against the unintended consequence of preemptive strikes against monsters guarding the forest. 

The epic suggest that finding your complementary opposite can make you a better person or it can cause you change into that person.  Gilgamesh the king of Uruk finds this in his friend Enkidu, an uncivilized man created by the gods to distract him from being cruel to the people he rules.

Gilgamesh early on treats death with dismissiveness as nothing to be feared because life is short.  But when confronted with the death of a dear friend he becomes inconsolable, eloquently expressing the agony of loss.  He then sets out on a quest to find the one man who cheated death and learn his secret.

Some references in the Babylonian Epic have references to real people which suggests that this may be in part a fictionalized account of a real king and a real city of Uruk.  I found the text to be thought provoking and emotionally honest.  

Animated version of the story - 11 minutes

This Wikipedia article provide  more information on the blue rock known as lapis lazuli referred to in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Debunked! by Georges Charpak and Henri Broch

 

 

The authors work to demystify magic and coincidence through probability and hard science.  Because something is an unlikely coincidence does not make it a miracle.  In fact, given the several millions of random opportunities for interaction during the course of a year it would be highly improbable if a rare coincidence did not happen. 

 

I found the book to be helpful if a bit short on examples. The author's are at their best when tackling topics not directly related to the books main theme.  They describe the overthrow of colonial governments with even more corrupt and incompetent national governments as a sad commentary on the human condition.  It makes the US revolution seem much more like a rare event than the more typical French Revolution where there is a violent overthrow and the king is replaced by a dictator.

 

The book exposes charlatans, the dowsers, the astrologers, and the fakers using probability to create the illusion of miracles. Mediums offering vague predictions that allow the receiver to fill in the details and create meaning out of very little. 

 

Humans have survived because we are able to see patterns.  This allows us to determine that I felt sick after eating this plant and infer cause and effect.  The rigors of the scientific method require that the effect be repeatable to tease out a random association from actual cause and effect.  The ability to see patterns also allows humans to see deities, pop stars and grade B movie actors in moldy tapestry or clouds.  Fortunately moldy tapestries offer a more lucrative source of revenue than an ephemeral cloud formation.

 

The authors fault TV shows for not thoroughly debunking and investigation situations attempting to make ordinary physical phenomenon appear extraordinary.  The "miracle" of the weeping box can be explained by condensation, rain water, a porous top and a sealed bottom.  News crews with limited scientific background do a cursory investigation and proclaim that science has not come up with an explanation for the phenomenon. 

 





Georges Charpak - the value of scientific experiments in Education

Enchantment - The Biography of Audrey Hepburn by Donald Spoto

I listened to the Audio version of the book by Donald Spoto as I was driving to an from work over a week and a half.  My curiosity about Audrey was raised when Roger Moore gratefully accepted her invitation to work for UNICEF as noted in his autobiography.  As a child dancer growing up in both England and Holland in the late 1930's and 1940's Audrey escaped starvation during the Nazi occupation by eating tulip bulbs.  A relief agency was able to get the family food at a low point in the war.  She fell in love with the smell of diesel trucks and cigarettes as the British troops liberated the family residence in Holland.  During the war Audrey and the other children assisted the local resistance movement in Holland.  She also witnessed Jews being rounded up and trucked off to concentration camps.

Her father left her when she was young and her mother was very formal showing her love by supporting her efforts to learn to be a dancer but not through affection.  This left Audrey with a need to give and accept affection in her life and infrequent bouts of depression.  This resulted in two failed marriages and several short lived on the set romances.  Her two son's were the loves of her life and took precedence over other relationships.

Audrey did not intend to become and actress but fell into it as a result of failing to become an elite dancer.  The hiatus from dance lessons during WWII kept her from achieving that goal.  She never felt fully secure as an actor and felt after doing GiGi on Broadway for over a year that she was just beginning to understand the part. The exposure to both English and Dutch during her formative years left her with an accent that was unique helped her stand out as unique.

She found her life changed and she became a different person after researching and acting in the movie the Nun's Story.  While researching the part she went to the African missions personally witnessing both successful and unsuccessful medical operations.  She got to know the author and subject of the book and became lifelong friends with the women. 

In the last decade of her life, Audrey focused her energies on improving the living conditions of children in the most politically unstable locations on the planet.  She donated her salary from a PBS series on gardening to UNICEF.

Review of the book - 5 minutes

Numerati by Stephen Baker

Stephen Baker provides a glimpse into the complexities of numerically attempting to describe human behavior.  How do you use a computer algorithm to find a potential future spouse?  Mr. Baker and his wife attempt to see if they are a match for each other through an online dating service.

Mr. Baker describes the difficulty of finding terrorists when compared to designing a more targeted marketing campaign.  Marketers are happy if they improve their targeting from 5% to 25%.  That level of inaccuracy is not acceptable when targeting terrorists.  Those of us online have long digital signatures that give a rough description of who we are. 

Stephen Baker - The Hunt for Us - 8 minutes



Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon follows up his successful book Steal Like an Artist with Show Your Work.   This book deals with the interaction of the artist and the audience.  Discover ways to allow the audience to get under the hood of the creative process by sharing information.  

Austin Kleon - Ten principles to showing work and getting work - 8 min.

The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark

Ron Clark provides an entertaining and helpful book describing some of the best practices at the Ron Clark Academy school in Georgia.  The book is broken up into sections

1. RCA Core principles and Values
2. The Role of a Parent in the Success of a Child
3. Creating the Right Culture and Climate
4. Reaching Out Beyond the Classroom

Ron describes successes and failures with students.  He describes a misunderstanding with one of his students at the Japanese memorial for Hiroshima.  One of the students didn't smile in a group photo and Ron took him to task for checking out.  Ron later learned from the student that he was empathizing with the people's suffering and did not feel like smiling in the photo. 

Ron worked personally with one student who kept refusing to read in the classroom.  Ron read with the student and found he could not pronounce the words.  Ron then spent extra time outside normal class hours helping the student to pronounce the words and then understand the meaning of the words by using colors that the student felt represented the feeling or meanings of the words.  The student also drew pictures of some words to improve comprehension.  Ron then called on the student in class when they came upon the paragraph a few days later.  The student was able to read it with confidence and his classmates were impressed with his ability. The student worked to continue to improve his skills.

Ron asks students to answer a question and will wait in silence for an answer.  The other members of the class are not allowed to raise their hands but can offer encouragement.  If the student struggles after a 10 seconds then hints are offered or the whole class works the problem together with the student to get the answer.  Ron does not allow his students to check out. 

Ron offers parents some great advice interacting with students, teachers and parents.  Don't rescue your kid.  They need to learn from failure and take responsibility for their actions.  Some people will be rewarded for excellent work.  Do not use this as an excuse to check out.  Use this as motivation to do better. 

Ron also describes the Hogwarts style initiation into four groups in the school.  The groups are not limited by grade.  It helps promote a family style support network in the school.

I appreciate Ron's enthusiasm for teaching and doing what it takes to get excellent performance out of students even if it means standing on top of his desk and teaching about the Inca civilization.  Classroom time is precious.  Don't waste it.  Keep moving and keep the students engaged.

I noted that several variations of the ideas in the book were used at the SAMS school attended by my daughter.  Teachers pop into other classes to observe techniques and then work to apply them to improve their own teaching.  The teachers use songs that help students learn techniques to solve problems. Applying these techniques improves the educational experience for students, parents, teachers and administrators.

Raise the level of expectations - 13 minutes



Using Chants to facilitate learning - 5 minutes