3.1.10-flatiron building

lib and i had lunch together in between her classes yesterday at maoz vegetarian--we've been there before, and it's one of our favorite spots for cheap food. it was really fun seeing her during the day!

i've been reading 'three cups of tea', and was on the home stretch, so i thought i would go finish the book at some nice outside destination. i was close enough to 23rd street, so i thought i'd go sit by the flatiron building.

it was really nice. 'three cups' was a great read: it is pretty similar to the story of paul farmer in many ways, although i think this is a bit more dramatic, and less sophisticated/philosophical. greg mortenson is an incredible guy, and his pursuit to educate girls in pakistan/afghanistan is truly remarkable. the timing for the book was great, since i am waiting back to hear from 'teach for america'--an opportunity to help close a similar gap in achievement/opportunity.

so since i don't have a job, and i spend most of my time alone, i've been subscribing to more podcasts. i think my favorite are 'this american life', 'harvard business ideacast' and 'frontline specials'. i started listening to a frontline special about the digital world yesterday. after listening to a couple of minutes, i stopped and realized libby would love to watch it online with me.

we have only watched the first half hour, but it is pretty compelling. one idea it highlights is that we are so scatter-brained, in an effort to multi-task and always be connected, that the depth of our understanding and the quality of our thoughts goes way down. i've actually come to a similar conclusion in my life. one of my goals for this year is to learn how to do research. not just like clinical or bench research, but how to research and form a well-read, solid opinion, based on evidence and my own thought process. one of the challenges i've found is that it is way too easy to start a new research project, but really distracting and difficult to actually tie the knot and finish the project. i have lots of room for improvement, but from this frontline special i can already see that controlling the different media, and not being distracted or controlled by it, is a key to success.

that's enough for today.