I like to learn.
As a child, my concept of a great time was being within the hammock within the yard of my home in Dallas, Texas, studying a guide. My dad and mom supported this, letting me learn something I needed from their bookshelves (I learn The Drifters at a lot too younger an age). I beloved shopping for books, and immediately, I’ve an infinite variety of unread books on my Kindle. I fluctuate my studying weight loss program and log all of it in Goodreads (ignore the celebrities).
One in every of my “guide heroes” is Ryan Vacation. We met at a dinner at SXSW in 2007 or 2008, and I’ve been a fanboy ever since. I’ve learn all his books, fortunately get his month-to-month studying publication (which motivates me to purchase a guide or two he recommends every month), and am impressed by his Painted Porch Bookshop.
His op-ed within the New York Instances on April 19, 2025, titled The Naval Academy Canceled My Lecture on Knowledge stopped me in my tracks. Nothing a lot is shocking me every day anymore (per my long-time philosophy about my enterprise life, that now applies to a much wider vary of issues, that I wrote about in One thing New Is Fucked Up In My World Each Day.)
The primary guide I keep in mind studying about censorship was Fahrenheit 451. I keep in mind being repulsed by the concept that a authorities would ban (and burn) books. I used to be younger (most likely lower than ten) and adopted it rapidly with 1984. Yeah, I learn plenty of dystopian sci-fi as a child.
Thoughtcrimes, Newspeak, and Doublespeak had been grotesque concepts to me. I hated the concept of the Reminiscence Gap. I grew up feeling prefer it was necessary to learn all the things, even when I didn’t prefer it or disagreed with it.
I nonetheless attempt to try this in immediately’s world, however I restrict it to studying. I don’t apply the identical idea to watching movies or TV. I don’t study verbally and have hassle synthesizing data when visually stimulated. Whereas my retention from listening is ok, I don’t successfully incorporate concepts except I learn or write one thing about them. I’ve tried to handle this by taking notes when listening to a video or a lecture, however that doesn’t work for me, so I’d reasonably simply learn the transcript.
Ryan described a narrative about James Stockdale, which he would have mentioned in his canceled Naval Academy speak on Knowledge. The story aligns exceptionally nicely with the meta-level of his speak’s cancellation and features a nice ending.
“Compromises pile up while you’re in a stress state of affairs within the arms of a talented extortionist,” Mr. Stockdale reminded us. I felt I couldn’t, in good conscience, lecture these future leaders and warriors on the advantage of braveness and doing the proper factor, as I did in 2023 and 2024, and fold when requested to not point out such an egregious and basically anti-wisdom plan of action.
