Big Ideas for Curious Minds: An Introduction to Philosophy

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This is a beautifully produced book published by the School of Life (founded by well known philosopher Alain de Botton). It is a very accessible starting point for exploring philosophy and how philosophical ideas can be applied to everyday life, in fact it is very explicit about this.” Ewingel Concisely debunks all kinds of misconceptions about the creative process in a book that’s no-nonsense, fun, and inspiring.”– Mason Currey, author of Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds - Goodreads Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds - Goodreads

Mindfire makes a big title promise - big ideas for curious minds. In my opinion, Scott Berkun falls far short of that promise. A better title would have been: Very Well-Written Essays by Someone Who is Smart and Pretentious. Throughout the book LP and I have read about learning to know yourself, learning to say what’s on your mind, trying to work out what we really want at various times in our life, understanding that you are not always the reason for the way other people are feeling and that often people are not being mean they are purely unhappy. As for the author, being cooped up in that world; he’s out of touch with reality and therefore, affected by his optimism bias. Contrary to his subjective standpoint, the middle ground is where a sound argument should, for the most part, develop.Annoy me with praise! It made me think about how many times I'd seen or read things that mattered to me, yet how rarely I had offered any praise. The tagline of big ideas is spot on, though the fact that this can easily be read on his blog detracts from its value-add somewhat. The notes at the end are a nice read though, to see the behind the scenes work of the essays.

Big Ideas for Curious Minds by The School of Life | Waterstones

Leading means you shape the opinions and decisions around the greater good of the project you are responsible for. This requires sacrificing your own interests and wants in favour of the project's needs, and the people who work on it. Of course it's possible to find ways to match your interests with the needs of the project, but it's the project, and the people on it, that comes first. The value of a leader is their positive effect on the team, not the force or power they have at their disposal. An eye-catching title together with a misleading blurb is, more often than not, a surefire recipe to draw the readers in; however, it’s the walkthrough that decides which book enjoys fame and success and which drives off the cliff. In this case, the “Mindfire” is a bold claim, hollow inside and unable to live up to the expectations it creates.

Confessions of a Public Speaker

Within Big Ideas for Curious Minds, philosophy isn’t useless, boring, or just for grownups; it’s vibrant and full of wisdom for preteens and young teens, too.

Ideas: Short films and videos for curious minds BBC Ideas: Short films and videos for curious minds

The focus of these chapters are incredibly meaningful, some of my favourites include ‘People are unhappy, not mean’, ‘Learn to say what’s on your mind’, ‘Good things are (unexpectedly) hard’ and ‘Politeness matters’. The book has been written by the fantastic School of Life and it is suggested for curious minds aged 9+. I think most adults would also find these ideas incredibly helpful to reflect on; who doesn’t need reminding that when someone is angry, maybe it’s not you who is responsible?” Louise Treherne, Role Models It is entirely possible to offer criticism, commentary and advice without attaching negative energy.Without prompting, they ask some of the largest questions about time, mortality, happiness and the meaning of it all. Yet too often this inborn curiosity is not developed and, with age, the questions fall away. Actually experience life by going to places you don't usually go, spending time with people you don't usually spend time with. Be in the moment and be open to it. When you behave oddly on purpose, others feel more embarrassed than you do. They don't know how to respond, so they'll leave you alone. You'd have to risk all you care about to explore a new belief, which is scary. It's safer to avoid questions, or to pretend and keep your beliefs to yourself. He won me over with the first essay, "The Cult of Busy." It's like this man is in my head! Busy people like to say and believe that they must be more important because they are so busy, but sometimes it actually means they are not very efficient. I see this all the time in the education field! We've got these martyr teachers who stay at work until seven every evening and work on stuff all weekend and all break and all summer and never have enough time and are sooooo busy. I leave every day at 4:00 because I either A.) use my time wisely while I'm at school or B.) determine that some tasks are not important enough to spend my time on. Less busy people are not necessarily doing less and we certainly are not less important. I wish I had a copy of "The Cult of Busy" to hand to every person who ever snidely told me, "I wish I could leave every day at 4:00. Must be nice."