General ramblings and stuff that doesn’t fit into the other categories.
Why do I write articles and never post them? I have about 10 posts that I have written, half-written and just notes on thoughts that have taken my fancy.
I guess this is probably the same for all bloggers but it does make we wonder what is in other people’s draft folder.
TLDR: People have used stories to teach and learn and pass on information for the length of human history. Why are we moving this?
Everybody likes a good story. That’s why history is full of them. Not because things actually happened that way but because it’s a better story than the truth.
Also, and I realise people learn in different ways, stories are better teachers than almost everything else. There is a reason the bible is essentially a collection of stories. It’s not a manual, a to-do list or a set of instructions – it’s a collection of stories that each teach us something. Whether you believe the stories are real or not is the subject of million other blogs and not something I’m going to cover here.
This leads me to my frustration with teaching in today’s society – we don’t teach stories anymore. Stories are seen as something for children and leisure. They’re not used as a tool for teaching and the only time they’re found in a classroom is when they’re being picked apart.
As previously discussed I listen to a lot of podcasts and the thing I love about them is that they tell a story. Sometimes the point of story is explicit in it’s telling, sometimes it’s down to the listener to take what they will from it, but it’s story telling – and I’m learning loads. Now my friends and family will say it’s not teaching me anything useful but that’s not my point. It’s teaching.
We need to get back using a story and all that it contains as a teaching method. For example don’t just teach people about the latest technology but teach them the story. There are loads of choices: the people who invented it, the evolution of the product, how it is built and where the components come from, etc. This not only gives them the end product of what the product is but so much more. It could give them roll models, a bigger view of the world and more.
We all have a story to tell and in most people’s case many, many stories. There stories may seem boring, mundane and not worth telling to you but to someone else they could be inspiring and thought provoking.
Stories engage us, they teach us and best of all we it’s something we all enjoy. Even if it’s a game, a movie or a book they are all stories.
Let’s tell more stories (though my friends will often say I need to tell less stories but that’s another post).
If you need a push to reading more I’d recommend this article or start with some podcasts.
Enjoy,
I’ve always been told to think before you speak and I’d like to think I’m pretty good at it. However it seems that the world is against me in this matter. There are a bunch of phrases out there that don’t make sense.
1. You can’t have your cake and eat it.
When I first heard this I wanted to ask a couple of questions. Are there lots of people out there who have cake but don’t eat it? And does the fact that when I have cake I eat it make me a bad person?
2. There is an exception to every rule.
This doesn’t make sense. If there was an exception to every rule then there would be an exception to this rule, meaning that there is a rule without an exception meaning that this rule isn’t true.
I know I’m over thinking this, I know it doesn’t matter as much as I’m making out but they still annoy me. However while writing this I google ‘phrase’ and ended up on the Wikipedia page. It’s amazing reading the technical aspects behind a phrase and definitely worth a read.
Enjoy,
Sounds like a Fisher Price toy doesn’t it… a really boring, really lame toy.
I dread to think how many times in the past I have tried to write a blog. Ultimately I get caught up in how it looks, how it reads, what does it say about me, etc and then I don’t bother writing for it. Until now that is. In the past I have been too wrapped up in consuming content, whether that be books, articles, videos, etc, but recently I have been reading more and more that says you get more out of creating rather than consuming so here goes.
I am hoping to cover off topics I like, stories I have found interesting and generally just creating a place where I can create something, that hopefully someone, someday will read.
Enjoy,