Archive for the ‘Ideas’ Category
Just Watch This
You’re Not As Special As You Think You Are
In a few months I will complete my master’s degree. Clearly I have learned little since, instead of getting a job and making money, I have decided to begin a Ph.D program next year. But one of the genuine insights from graduate school–and I strongly believe that you learn this lesson only in situ–is that I’m not as special as I thought I once was. Smart? The world is full of intelligent people. Hard-working? I sleep, which makes me comparatively lazy. Ambitious? Observe a faculty member. Well-traveled? Yeah, yeah, you can’t get into school anymore unless you speak Bantu and have crossed the Empty Quarter. Alone.
Theories and Solutions
Last spring I received a gift card to an ‘eMall’. The card could be used at several different retailers accessible through the eMall’s portal. These retailers offered the usual fare–electronics, books, clothes, CDs–but instead of simply directing traffic to Amazon.com or Best Buy, the mall’s designer contracted firms that were either obscure or in business solely to support the eMall. Money is money, though, so I selected several books from ‘DirectBooksOutlet.com’ (hereafter referred to as DBO) and checked-out.
