Recent content on Nathan Cheever
Note: This was first published in the Stillwater Lokal Life newspaper, issue 6, page 4, on Sept 27 I know you’re tired of seeing political ads and commercials. I understand it’s a touchy subject. But it’s also a deeply fascinating topic once you step out of the stream of current politics and give yourself space to think. And so before you head off to cast your ballot for the presidential election…
While awaiting his execution in prison in 524 AD, Boethius wrote a short work that would become a best-seller for a thousand years: “The Consolation of Philosophy”. In it, he concludes that bad luck is more favorable to humans than good fortune. Why? Fortune (personified as a fickle goddess) is more honest in revealing her ways than good luck, which can easily deceive us into false…
“Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively.” This was said by Socrates, the father of Western philosophy, in his defense before the Athenian jury before being sentenced to death 2,423 years ago. The longer I reflect on that line, the more it opens up. Here are a few ways we could understand…
A thought from a grumpy German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, on our tendency to confuse what is new with what is good. “No greater mistake can be made than to imagine that what has been written latest is always the more correct; that what is written later on is an improvement on what was written previously; and that every change means progress.”
At least 4.6 billion1 people believe they will live on after they die. They believe that somewhere, somehow, their spirit, soul, or essence will persist beyond the grave. However mystical the process, life after death is not a strange idea to them. In fact it is quite familiar and perhaps comforting. But to that same group the idea of reincarnation – of living again in a different human or animal…
I stumbled upon a line when reading the other day that got me thinking. “Error is not just an absence, but a deprivation -— the lack of knowledge that somehow ought to be in me."1 Whether error is an absence or privation isn’t important to me at the moment, but how well this line highlights the difference between absence and deprivation. To illustrate the difference, if I say,…
I’ve picked up reading Blaise Pascal’s Pensées lately and this statement made me wonder: “The greater the intellect one has, the more originality one finds in men. Ordinary persons find no difference between men."1 Do you agree? Intelligence corresponds with an ability to see, perceive, and find things. And not just regular objects, but qualities such as uniqueness, originality,…
The strangest homework assignment I received in college was to go outside after class and burrow into the ground. I did not complete that assignment. The next day my biology professor asked if any of us tried it. Nobody raised their hands. He then explained why. “That’s because you don’t have the right shape for burrowing! But a mole, with their small bodies, their paws and…
Today I want to talk to you about philamping and what to pack for it so you’re prepared. “Phila-what?”, I hear you asking. Yes, I made that word up. I guess that’s the kind of thing that happens when you’re driving across the country in a Uhaul with no radio or smartphone. My mind starts to mash up words. It means philosophical camping. I don’t think this term…
God Is Dead, Friedrich Nietzsche December 1882, Sils-Maria SWITZERLAND Listen along here: [Nietzsche enters stage right, walks to the center of the stage, and stops. He pulls out his glasses] To find everything deep is an inconvenient quality: it makes us more constantly strain our eyes, [puts on his glasses] and in the end we always find more than we wish.1 [Light laughter in the crowd. Nietzsche…
Mark Twain once said: “Philosophy is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime." Actually, the first word he said was ‘Travel”. Read it again with “Travel”…
A year ago, free will was freedom to do what I wish. Eating a bowl of delicious honey nut cherrios now or later. Wearing the button down shirt I wore yesterday that doesn’t smell bad or a fresh one. Also, to decide who I will be, my attitudes, my priorities. To be the captain of my soul. That fullness of ability I often neglect yet that can still inspire me. That was free will.
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”1 The Allure of Correctness My senior year of high school I fell perhaps too much in love with English. I gained a bit of a reputation as a grammar Nazi. I took a sort of pleasure in catching people when they dangled prepositions, failed on their subject-verb agreements, and said who when they should have said whom.
Introduction Sometimes it’s useful to call up a meeting with your personal board of directors when faced with difficult decisions. In this article, I’ll call in a few of mine to see what I can learn about the interplay of commitment and flexibility. Tolstoy’s Young Man with a Big Problem Nikolai Rostov was a young man with a major dilemma. He was betrothed to his cousin Sonya but…
Introduction Recently, I picked up an old college textbook I’d saved, thinking someday I’d peruse its pages and maybe get interested in Biology again. Well, the other day I finally did. While reading the introduction, two mental models stood out to me: the mental models of Orienteering and Topographic Thinking. In this piece, I’m going to relate these two models as my professor…
Technology offers an interesting set of verbs almost daily: “Upgrade”, “Sign in”, “Create Account”, “Buy”, “Activate”, and “Download” to name a few off the top of my head. There is always another version. Always more features, fixes and stuff on the digital horizon. We’re supposed to be excited, as with the release of a…
Sam Harris debunked traditional morality in favor of science in a 2010 TED talk entitled “Science can answer moral questions”. I disagree with Sam Harris that science can answer moral questions. But first a small preface. My goal is not to criticize unfairly, but attempt to tackle the core of his argument head on, not sidestep to arguments that, though they may be valid, don’t hit his main points.…
“It’s all relative”. – A relative. Demolition brings a draft Five years ago, I decided it was time for spiritual and intellectual remodeling. I was more excited for the demolition than the rebuilding. My faiths and philosophies were flimsy and distorted. And they needed to go. So I picked up my proverbial wrecking bar and went to town. It was my life and I was determined to…
Preface There is a veritable plethora of videos and articles on how to setup a digital Zettlekästen. There are tons of blogs and forums about Niklas Luhmann’s practice, his prolific publishing record. So why add another one? Frankly most of them aren’t that helpful. I learn by seeing how something is actually done, especially an analog process. And more importantly, I want it to be…
Not often, but sometimes, you stumble upon a question that is so profound to you that you would almost be sad to find the answer. It keeps you searching yourself, calling upon something deeper than rote learning or textbook memorization. Perhaps we can call these “floating questions.” They evade scientific explanation. Floating questions demand an answer from your life. They can generate enormous…
One golden afternoon last October, while taking a walk, I wrote a thought down: “Eventually, my life will just be as good as my days. So I need to enjoy my days if I am going to enjoy my life." Embedded in there is the idea that no one state or achievement will likely “make” my life. Instead of some grandiose event, life’s quality is subject to more prosaic influences like…
There is a terrible temptation (I know I’ve fallen into many times) to value yourself by your productivity. The meritocracy culture says monetary accumulation is the gateway to everything we desire: respect, independence, even happiness. Hearing rhetoric like: “with the internet, not being a millionaire is a choice” for people like me who’ve accomplished very little according to the rules of the…
Welcome! There I was, a programmer and data scientist, who, though I enjoyed code and working with data (and making money) had repressed a passion for reading and learning about history and philosophy for over a decade. I just landed my first data science job and bought a home. Friends and family told me “you’ve made it” but I still felt an intellectual hunger inside I…
My Top Books How To Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren. The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis The Abolition of Man changed my life. After searching for years for solid ground for truth, I finally have a footing thanks to this small book. Lewis shows that there IS objective value; that there is truth and our humanity…
The Vertical Thinking Podcast
Article #13: Is there any value in the Past? Objection 1: It seems there is little value to the past because opportunity for action lies in the present. Since we cannot act in the past, and our purpose is to act rightly in this world, our focus should be on the present. The past holds lessons and data from which we may draw as required to meet our current needs, but the value of the past is…
There are special times in life to go all out. Last year, I went all out on a 50-mile hike alone, completing it in 19 hours. I learned some invaluable lessons like Don’t trust Google maps over mountains (I got lost) Always pack an extra almond poppyseed muffin. Stopping to rest only makes your legs hurt more. More importantly, I learned that after being alone and exhausted for hours, all the…
Almost 2400 years ago, one of the greatest revolutions the western world has ever known set off. It was a relatively quiet explosion, not a famous battle or the overthrow of an empire. It was a young man watching his hero, teacher, and mentor put on trial and condemned to death. His teacher had dedicated his life to questioning others, for, as he put it, “the unexamined life is not worth…
As an introvert, small talk has never come easy for me. I enjoy watching the occasional football or basketball game. Still, I can’t talk at length about the recent trades or injuries. And the latest on TV or streaming shows? Nope, I’m lost. I don’t say this to boast, for if anything, it’s hindered me in quickly finding common ground in the break room. Last year, I caught a…
Last October I was walking to lunch with a friend. The Vice-Presidential debate happened the night before, and I glibly remarked about my hopes for the election outcome. Until that moment, I didn’t realize that my friend felt differently. After about 30 minutes of awkward but polite conversation, it was clear that we disagreed. I tried to mute my sarcasm, but it slipped out once when I said,…