REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE

MAGIC

Dody wrote this book to suggest every American who thinks they have achieved success in life is often mistaken. In today’s world, the President of the United States could learn something from James Dody’s story. On the other hand, is anyone in their 70s likely to change?

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Into the Magic Shop (A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart.)

Author: James R. Doty MD

Narrated By: Dan Woren

James Doty (Author, MD, clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University, director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.)

“Into the Magic Shop” is a nearly unbelievable life story of James Doty written from his recollections of growing up in Lancaster, California. It will change opinions about a number of misconceptions one may have of American opportunity, brain surgery physicians, and the influence a mentor may have on a person’s life.

Doty is obviously blessed with intelligence, a gift to persuade, and a drive to exceed the expectations of lower economic class Americans.

Doty is born into a poor family with a father who is characterized as an alcoholic and a mother with suicidal tendencies. Despite these humble and troubled family circumstances, Doty achieves the remarkable goal of becoming a brain surgeon who is now a professor of neurosurgery at one of America’s leading ivy league universities.

“Into the Magic Shop” shows how important a mentor can be to a person nearing the age of puberty (between 9 and 14).

Doty explains he had an early interest in magic and chooses to visit a magic shop in which there is a woman with a grown son who manages the shop. She is visiting her son and takes a liking to this young boy who stops by the shop to buy a false finger he uses for a magic trick. They strike up a conversation and the mother of the store manager makes a deal with Doty to come by the magic shop to see her for the several weeks she plans to be there before leaving.

Doty tells of a confrontation he has with two bullies that are abusing a smaller student when Doty is on his way to the magic shop.

One infers from Doty’s story that he is tall for his age. Doty tells of a confrontation he has with these two bullies that are abusing a smaller student when Doty is on his way to the magic shop. Because of Doty’s earlier mentor’ discussions with the mother of the magic shop manager, he approaches the bullies while using a breath control exercise to calm himself in a confrontation. Instead of escalating confrontation with the bullies, Doty maintains his composure while talking to the bullies about their poor behavior. Doty is able to walk away unharmed after interrupting the abuse of the smaller boy.

There are a number of life lessons Doty learns from the store manager’s mother.

Dody learns how to relax his body and tame his mind when faced with adversity. She explains how visualizing good things like success from personal effort can shape one’s future. Believing in oneself and focusing on what you want to achieve offers purpose and achievement in life. She explains how understanding one’s emotions and being compassionate allows one to let go of fear and shame which helps him realize his parents are dealing with life in the best way they can. Importantly, these weekly meetings help Doty understand how daily practice with the magic of meditation offers peace and understanding with one’s thoughts about compassion and personal accomplishment. Fully understanding compassion comes later in Dody’s life, but personal accomplishment begins from the first days of his mentor’s teaching. Most importantly, his mentor explains how he can develop a balance between physical well-being, love, and respect for others.

Doty’s family is on the verge of eviction for non-payment of rent.

In following his mentor’s suggestion, he visualizes a better outcome than the embarrassment of an eviction. Serendipitously, a person who owed his father money appeared at the doorway with a repayment that allowed the family to avoid eviction. Doty surmises positive visualization and meditation have the power to change one’s future. He plans to graduate from high school and visualizes going to college to become a doctor. Though he does not have the money for tuition, he applies to a California university and is accepted as a beginning student with financial aid for his education.

“Into the Magic Shop” revises one’s opinion of surgeons in the sense that there are some who see their patients as whole human beings rather than victims of neurological dysfunction.

Secondarily, one realizes where one comes from is not where one is destined to remain. Doty’s young academic career is festooned with family emergencies and lack of funds that challenge his road to education as a surgeon. His father dies before he can reach him, but he has a dream of his father just before his death that praises him for his accomplishments.

Doty’s early life experience with his magic shop mentor taught him mindfulness, visualization, and the power of intention.

In earlier years of his success, he discounts his mentor’s advice about compassion. Mindfulness, visualization and power of intention result in his success in becoming a neurosurgeon. The criteria of academic performance created admission roadblocks that were overcome by this vision and persuasive ability to clearly show his skill as a human being and future physician. He often voiced disagreement with administrative bureaucracies that challenged his authority. He faces many challenges but clear vision of his role as a caring physician overcame much of his supervisors ill will toward him. He gained experience at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while serving 9 years in the U.S. Army. He became chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital in Orange Country, California that led him to complex spine surgery at Stanford.

“Into the Magic Shop” is partly about becoming a surgeon.

But its primary message is that every human being can change the course of their lives by committing to one’s goal in life by clearly focusing on an objective and using innate abilities to achieve it. Those lessons came easily to Doty until he is nearly bankrupted by investments when the dot-com financial crash in the early 2000s wipes out his and many others’ wealth.

Dody’s financial collapse led him back to studying the notes he took from his long past counseling with his mentor.

In reading those notes, Dody realizes the lesson he had forgotten was to practice compassion for others in his life. He had become a wealthy American and thought he had lost it all. What he had not lost was the magic explained to him by his mentor. He was a surgeon now and what money he lost was just a measure of wealth, not his ability to be a successful physician.

Compassion.

Dody rebuilds his life but now understands how important compassion is to success in life because its reward is not based on wealth but on the contribution one can make to others. He becomes acquainted with the Dali Llama and the magic he had forgotten from his mentor, namely compassion, returns as Dody’s guide to life.

RELATIONSHIP EVOLUTION

Modern marriage expectation has become a way to provide security and freedom with stability and novelty. In Perel’s opinion, these paradoxical expectations were of less concern in the past but of central concern today.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The State of Affairs

Author: Esther Perel

Narrated By: Esther Perel

Esther Perel (Author, Belgian-American psychotherapist.)

Esther Perel has written a difficult book to listen to. It is about human relationship, focusing on love, desire, and sexual behavior. Perel begins with a history of the evolution of marriage in prosperous western nations. Though equality of women is far from accomplished, their entry into the postindustrial world is dramatically changing sexual relationships. The days of men treating women as objects is not over but gradually moving toward sexual equality.

Sexual inequality.

Normal human beings (whatever that means) experience some form of love or desire that elicits sexual behavior. Perel’s book is difficult because she holds a mirror up to every human being that exposes their inner failings as adults and maturing children. The difficulty comes from reviewing one’s own life when listening to her clinical analysis of infidelity, affairs, a victim-villain analysis, and sexual desire that permeates most human lives.

Traditional moral beliefs are zero-sum judgements of sexual desire and experience.

Perel tries to remove judgement by not saying infidelity is not a sin but a psychological and relational failing of human beings. She suggests infidelity is caused by unmet emotional needs, personal identity struggles, and/or a search for eternal vitality. This, in many ways, is no less devastating to one’s relationship even if it is characterized as a sin. Infidelity is a personal failure whether one is judged by a religious person or a psychotherapist who may not believe in divine judgement.

Perel believes humans are constantly seeking meaning in their lives.

We don’t just want to survive. Our cultures and histories have shaped us. We are erotic human beings, searching for security, vitality, imagination, and joy. Perel recognizes people can love their partners and still have a sexual desire for others. Recognizing the lure of sexual desire, Perel notes fidelity becomes a choice that offers an anchor and depth of understanding in a committed relationship. She notes betrayal has consequences while fidelity is a powerful container for sexual pleasure, if not love, and another kind of relationship growth.

Fundamentally, Perel is saying fidelity is important despite a marriage partner’s sexual desire for others.

She gives examples of therapeutic sessions of couples who have extramarital affairs that violate their presumptive marriage covenants. A betrayal can be by either partner, but the loss of trust is often irreparable. Because marriage has become less about economics and social stability, though both are still present, Perel infers married partners are emotionally more devastated by betrayal.

In modern times, Perel argues people marry for love, intimacy and personal growth more than economic security.

She suggests communal structures have weakened and community support is lost when a marriage falls apart. That rings true based on the mobility of people in the modern age. It has become much more common for people to leave the areas in which they were raised. Modern marriage expectation has become a way to provide security and freedom with stability and novelty. In Perel’s opinion, these paradoxical expectations were of less concern in the past but of central concern today.

This listener is inclined to have reservations about Perel’s assessment of present-day marriage and infidelity because of women’s inequality of opportunity, i.e., the same reality that exists for many in America.

WITTGENSTEIN

Wittgenstein’s philosophical belief is that words matter. To Wittenstein, words are not just sounds and symbols–they are the scaffolding of humanity’s shared reality and continuing search for truth.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Wittgenstein

Author: Hans Sluga

Narrated By: Ken Maxon

Hans Sluga (Author, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at U of C.)

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951, considered by some as one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century)

This is a difficult introduction to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. One is unsure of whether it is difficult because of the author’s explanation or the abstruse nature of Wittgenstein’s writing. Sluga notes there is an early Wittgenstein philosophy and a later Wittgenstein philosophy. There is the 1921 “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” published in 1921 and a later “Philosophical Investigations” published in 1953.

In both publications, Wittgenstein’s philosophy is about language and its use to explain reality. The 1921 publication argues what can be said clearly can be said by all and when it cannot be said clearly the speaker should be silent. In 1953, Wittgenstein argues reality only has meaning as language is used to describe it.

The difficulty of grasping Wittgenstein’s later philosophy is knowing whether what one says about reality is true or false.

Wittgenstein notes problems arise when language is pushed beyond its utility for understanding. Wittgenstein implies there are realities that cannot be meaningfully described by language. He is redefining philosophy as a matter of understanding how language works rather than understanding some objectively understood reality.

If language is the source of reality, how can one know what is true or false based on how one’s language explains it?

The argument is that Wittgenstein is saying there is no reality except that which one can identify through language. Reality and truth exist but it is defined by public, practical, and embedded use of one’s common language. Truth is based on precise language broadly accepted by those who use language to explain reality. The difficulty of that idea is in fundamental science that changes because of newly discovered knowledge.

This later philosophical belief of Wittgenstein’s means truth is no longer absolute but contextual based on words used to describe it through science, law, and ethics of the time in which it is explained.

Wittgenstein’s philosophy is troubling. What is to keep humans from one country creating language that suggests they are a superior species and can destroy cultures other than their own? Wittgenstein’s answer is that languages are not hierarchical so words of another culture or nation have equal weight. His meaning is that reality is based on all public languages, not a private nationalist language. He writes “Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language”. Further, he notes a singular culture cannot weaponize words because words are a universal medium for understanding reality.

AMERICAN LIFE

Governmental and educational institutions are the foundations of Democracy. They must stand and support the right to free speech without committing, allowing, or condoning violence in the exercise of that right. (Of course, this is easy to say but difficult to follow because of the loss of emotional control by protectors of the public and/or protesters.)

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Coddling of the American Mind (How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure)

Author: Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff

Narrated By: Jonathan Haidt

This is an interesting book written by a social psychologist and a free speech advocate. The authors suggest the focus for parents of Generation Z have, in some ways, become overly protective of their children. They argue– Gen Z’ parents are not addressing the mental health issues caused by this technological age. Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff argue society has become more attuned to children’s protection than the reality of living in a world of diversity.

With the societal change that has accompanied the birth and maturation of Generation Z, immersive tech like AR and VR, along with AI and smart devices, is having profound effects on society.

Haidt and Lukianoff suggest parents focus too much on keeping their children safe to the point of stifling their intellectual growth. The example they give is of the mother who is publicly ridiculed for allowing her 8-year-old son to find his way back home from a city market by mass transit. She prepares him for the excursion with a transit schedule, pocket money, a cell phone, and general information he needs to find his way home. The boy successfully finds his way home and allegedly expresses happiness about what he views as an adventure and accomplishment.

Undoubtedly, there is some truth to the authors’ suggestion that parents are too protective of their children. Thinking of a single mother who has to work but has children at home. Many single parents cannot afford a babysitter, so leaving their children during the day is not uncommon. Single parent families do the best they can but if children are old enough to fill a cereal bowl for breakfast, they are expected to take care of themselves.

John Walsh (Became a child protection advocate, producer, and actor after the murder of his son.)

On the other hand, the writers note the horrible tragedy of John Walsh who’s six-year-old son is kidnapped in 1981. The six-year-old is found two weeks later with a severed head. Though child kidnappings rarely end in such a horrific way, one can understand why many parents became highly protective of their children after the 1980s. Haidt and Lukianoff acknowledge the horrific murder of Walsh’s son, but history shows unsupervised children that are harmed is much less than 1 percent of the dependent children population. What the authors suggest is that some of the overprotection of children since the Walsh tragedy in 1981 has been counterproductive.

Allergy immunity.

As an example of over protection, the authors suggest peanut butter allergies have risen because of inordinate fear by the public. They suggest that early life exposure to peanuts would have provided immunity and fear of exposure is the proximate cause for today’s rise in allergic reactions. Putting aside the theory of a human body’s creation of developing an allergy immunity, the frustration one has with monitoring a child’s life experience is in knowing where to draw the line between reasonable supervision and overprotectiveness.

**The authors infer the widespread rise in stress, anxiety, and depression in America is partly due to overprotectiveness.**

Undoubtedly suppression of free inquiry and play diminishes the potential of a child’s development. Haidt and Lukianoff argue overprotection has contributed to a rising anxiety and depression in Generation Z and society in general. The authors cite national surveys that show increased rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm. They note hospitalization and suicide rates are increasing based on self-inflicted injuries among teens with sharper rises among females. They note colleges and universities are reporting higher demand for mental health services.

Whether stress, anxiety, and depression are because of over protection remains a question in this listener’s mind. One suspects that children are cared for in too many different ways for research to conclude that stress, anxiety, and depression increases due to overprotection. It is more likely due to parental inattention because of work that takes them away from home and personal fulfillment in their own lives which are only partly satisfied by being parents.

Rather than parental overprotection, it seems intensified social media and smartphone use accelerates stress, anxiety, and depression in children and society in general.

Constant connectivity, online comparison, and cyberbullying are having outsized effects on emotional stability. The authors suggest overprotective parenting compounds the negative consequence of connectivity by depriving children of experience that can build their resistance to anxiety and depression. That may be partly true but not the whole story. Smart phone screen addiction takes one away from day-to-day real-life experience. The idea being that experiencing life’s failures and successes builds resistance to anxiety and depression whereas smart screens are pictures of life not lived by the person who is looking at them. Smart phones open the Pandora’s box of judgement which can either inflate or deflate one’s sense of themselves.

A large part of Haidt’s and Lukianoff’s book addresses the public confrontations occurring on campuses and the streets of America that are becoming violent demonstrations rather than expressions of opinion.

They suggest street demonstrations can be used constructively if participants would commit themselves to open dialogue and diverse viewpoints. Participants need to be taught cognitive behavioral techniques that can mitigate emotional reactions while building on psychological resilience. Rather than reacting emotionally to what one disagrees with, participants should focus on diverse viewpoints that allow for disagreement but do not become physical conflicts. We are all an “us”, i.e. not an “us and them’. Confrontation can be the difference between a white supremacist plowing into a crowd in Charleston, South Carolina and non-violent protest by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. or Václav Havel. People like President Trump see the world as “us vs them” rather than one “blue marble” hoping to find another that can support human civilization.

Peaceful protests are an opportunity to understand human diversity without losing one’s humanity. Race, creed, and ethnicity are who we are and what we believe. Protesters should not be used as an excuse for violence but for understanding. Of course, this is a big ask which is too often unachievable.

The authors believe humanity can do better by allowing children to learn from their experiences while accepting diversity or difference of opinion without violence. Children and adults can be taught by experience and guidance to manage stress. Free play, risk-taking and real-world problem-solving come at every age and they can make a difference in human life. This listener only partially agrees with the author’s belief that “helicopter parenting” is interfering with free play and reasonable levels of risk taking. Democratic cultures need to reaffirm free speech as a mandate; with violence being unacceptable on every side of the aisle.

Anti-Trump demonstration.

EGOTISTICAL UTILITARIAN

“Greenlights” offers a different view of who McConaughey is than what one might think of him based on his public persona.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Greenlights

Author: Matthew McConaughey

Narrated By: Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey (Author, actor born November 4, 1969, in Uvalde, Texas.)

“Greenlights” is a self-narrated autobiography of the famous actor Matthew McConaughey. The picture he creates of himself seems naked and unafraid. His narration gives a sense of a person acting in a movie who tells of the strengths and weaknesses of a person who speeds through the greenlights of life, believing in only God and himself. McConaughey idolizes his deceased father while seemingly acknowledging how much he is who he is because of his mother.

A listener senses they are witnessing a heartfelt theater presentation, where a person earnestly strives to live fully in the moment, embracing the understanding that every experience is a valuable part of life’s journey. This journey, rather than instilling fear, invites acceptance and courage, grounded in the belief that God is at the helm, guiding each step with love and purpose.

The self-confidence McConaughey exhibits borders on arrogance, but his presentation is entertaining and revealing. A listener feels they are experiencing a theater presentation of a person who strives to live in the moment with confidence that everything that happens is a part of life’s journey, not to be feared but embraced because God is in charge. With the dimension of good looks, and self-confidence McConaughey boldly embraces life while searching and reflecting on its meaning. He seems to revel in success and not brood over failure. He believes in discipline, respect, and love even though they often demand more than he can provide.

McConaughey’s biography makes one reflective.

His sense of humor and willingness to live life as it happens are entertaining. On the other hand, there is a sense that his self-confidence can become a threat to others and himself. He writes of his experience as an exchange student in Australia where he lives with a family who demands a behavior with which he disagrees. The result of his opposition is confrontation with the family and a change in his Australian family sponsorship. McConaughey’s side of the story is all one hears but it seems unlikely that a family would not be screened before a foreign student is invited to their home for a year.

“Dazed and Confused” movie.

With a line widely recognized by movie goers, i.e., “Alright, alright, alright”, from “Dazed and Confused”, McConaughey became a recognized actor. The movie was released in 1993. It is about the last day of school in a small Texas town. After that movie, McConaughey makes a good living as an actor. He proves himself as a talented actor in “A Time to Kill”. He plays a lawyer in a racially charged courtroom drama.

Camila Alves (Brazilian American model.)

McConaughey’s bon vivant life changes when he meets his future wife, Camila Alves.

Alves is a Brazilian American model and entrepreneur who McConaughey meets in the early 2000s. They become committed to each other soon after their meeting and have their first child in 2008. McConaughey explains how they call his mother in the middle of the night to give her the great news. McConaughey is surprised when his mother is outraged by having a child with a woman to whom he is not married. A listener/reader recognizes how important and influential McConaughey’s mother is to his growth from boyhood to adulthood.

McConaughey and Alves marry four years after the birth of their son and a daughter.

Now, in his early 40s, he changes the course of his life. He had made a good living as an actor, i.e. making a number of forgettable romantic comedies after proving his acting ability. After making millions, McConaughey and his growing family leave the business of only making money to buy a property in Austin, Texas. They have a third child. He refuses to make any more romcom movies. He disappears from the limelight for nearly two years when he receives offers to make three movies that make him the mega-star he becomes.

A McConaughey’ mega hit shows how committed he is to the art of acting by losing 50 pounds of his muscular body to play the part of an HIV victim.

With the release of “Dallas Buyers Club” in 2013, McConaughey’s shows how he had grown professionally. He received an academy award for his performance. At this point in his life, he and his wife have three children under the age of six. Movie rewards, a beautiful wife, and three young children make McConaughey feel he is a better actor because they sharpen his sense of purpose in life. The complexity of his life is translated in the way he expresses himself in the mini-series True Detective, and movies like Lincoln Lawyer, and Mud. The characters he plays are introspective and layered. He recognizes hardship is a part of life that makes one grow as a human being.

“Greenlights” offers a different view of who McConaughey is than what one might think of him based on his public persona.

EQUALITY

Discrimination is certainly based on the color of one’s skin but also on gender, ethnicity, and income inequality. Those nations that embrace equality of opportunity for all will be the leaders of the future in the age of technology

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Caste (The Origins of Our Discontent)

Author: Isabel Wilkerson

Narrated By: Robin Miles

Isabel Wilkerson (Author, American journalist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in journalism in 1994 while serving as the Chicago Bureau Chief for the NYTimes.)

Isabel Wilkerson has written a provocative book about what she characterizes as a rigid social hierarchy in America that undermines the ideals of democracy. Wilkerson weaves her personal life and the history of black experience with the sociological failings in America’s treatment of race. She notes the past and present truth of white America’s unequal treatment of its citizens based on race. However, her characterization of America’s discrimination as a caste system and its comparison to India’s and Nazi Germany’s governments is hyperbolic. Nevertheless, it creates a sense of urgency for those who believe in the ideal of human equality. It is difficult, if not impossible, to compare other nation’s inequality with America’s effort and present-day failure to fulfill the ideals of democracy.

The timeliness of Wilkerson’s book seems appropriate in relation to the backward steps being taken by Donald Trump.

Some Americans feel threatened by demographic change that will make white citizens less than 50% of America’s population by 2045. In theory, no one should care if all people are treated equally. What history shows is that the ideals of equality have never been achieved in America or in any other country with a dominant race and/or ethnicity.

Trump’s effort to return America to its past is interpreted by some as a return to industrial production.

America’s return to industrialization is a false flag that will not make America Great. Reindustrialization and keeping America white is a fool’s errand based on demography and the age of technology. Trump’s desire for power, adulation, and loyalty have little to do with prejudice but everything to do with appealing to the worst fears of middle-class America. Trump is willing to use whatever dog whistle is required to satisfy his desire for power and prestige. He understands the fears of the middle class and where American power lays. Power and money are the driving forces of capitalism. Middle class American’s buying power has stagnated or fallen since the 1970s despite the increasing wealth of the top 10% of American citizens. The middle class of America is something Trump appealed to in his re-election for a second term because of their disproportionate loss of income and the rising wealth of America’s business leaders. The irony is that Trump is one of the beneficiaries of that income gap between the very rich and the working-class.

Income disparity trend in the U.S. through 2015.

Wilkerson is right in the sense that America’s real objective should be to ensure equality of all. She is arguing we should have a greater sense of urgency in achieving equality. Equal treatment for all is a formula that can maintain America’s position as an economic, military, and political hegemon. American industrial hegemony is yesterday’s goal. Technological advancement is today’s goal. To achieve today’s goals, equal treatment of all becomes essential in technology because intelligence, innovation, and persistence does not lie in any one race, sex, or creed.

America is class conscious but not in the same way as either India’s or Nazi Germany’s histories.

Wilkerson notes a caste system can be built around ethnicity, religion, language, or gender but race discrimination is what she has personally experienced and underlays much of her comparisons of American history with India and Nazi Germany. Equality of opportunity is key to continued growth of human beings and national economies in the age of technology. In the short term, one may see an autocratic country like China become an economic and military hegemon, but maintenance of that success is dependent on equality of opportunity for all, not just those in power.

One can sympathize with the author’s view of discrimination but her comparison of America to India and Nazi Germany misses too much of what unequal treatment in America is based upon.

LANGUAGE

Spinney makes some interesting points that may or may not be the principal origin and evolution of language difference. Her ideas seem plausible, just as Newton’s physics seemed entirely correct until Einstein proved otherwise.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Proto (How One Language Went Global)

Author: Laura Spinney

Narrated By: Emma Spurgin-Hussey

Laura Spinney (British science journalist, novelist, and non-fiction writer.)

Laura Spinney has written a challenging book for non-linguistic learners. Her book, “Proto”, focuses on a single ancient language she calls Proto-Indo European (PIE) that is said to have spread across the world to form half of the world’s spoken languages. She is not suggesting a new origin theory but argues languages around the world are synthesized by language structure and use. She suggests genetics, human cooperative effort, and recurring mythological beliefs are the basis of adopted languages.

A contrast between the way Spinney’s theory of the spread of a language and others is that it is based on wide use of peoples’ words in daily activity rather than a dictation by leaders who exercise control over a gathered group of people.

Spinney’s historical view for language development is in a people’s events of the day, repeated word use, and changing mythological stories that cultivate and spread a language. The language grows, changes, and spreads based on wider adoption by those who are communicating daily experiences to others. As inventions like horseback riding and wheeled transport show their value to an individual, its descriptions spread new words to one person that grows to many in that culture who communicate its value to others.

As one reads/listens to Spinney’s story, the reasons for differences in language appear based on the timing of ancient cultures growth when one area of the world is populated longer than another.

Every populated area creates their own mythologies. Mythologies are different because they are created by local events, burial rituals, and the desire to explain the “not understood” to others. Additionally, people live in environmentally different areas of the world. A native American has no reason to precisely or creatively describe snow whereas an Eskimo who deals with snow on a daily basis uses more precise and creative words to describe snow’s characteristics and its effect on their lives.

Whether true or not, this is an interesting hypothesis on the growth of language.

PIE, of course, is only one family of languages but her idea of its spread seems applicable to other equally important languages. As in all stories of ancient cultures, there is misrepresentation or misunderstanding because of not being there as languages are formed. Spinney acknowledges the fragmentary evidence of her theory which makes her conclusions tentative, if not suspect. Human nature is to relate facts that make sense of one’s own beliefs and may not accurately recall or report actual experience because of research bias. Power of leaders is diminished or discounted by Spinney’s theory of the spread of language.

Spinney believes PIE originated among the Yamnaya people, north of the Black Sea in what is now eastern Ukraine and southern Russia.

From there it spread westward into Europe, southward into Antolia, eastward into Central and South Asia, and into the Tarim Basin in western China. She believes PIE expansion is primarily because of technological innovations like the wheel and domestication of horses. This is interesting because it suggests the spread of language did not come from conflicts among warring regions but the utility of new technological discoveries.

Will today’s technology bring nations together or reinforce the silos of our differences?

EDUCATION’S BOUNTY

Ibram Kendi’s book is about Malcolm X’s transformation from a poorly educated Black youth to man of erudition and importance–a remarkable tribute to the equality of all human beings.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Malcolm Lives! (The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Listeners)

Author: Ibram X. Kendi

Narrated By: Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi (Author, American professor and historian of race at State University of New York.)

Though Kendi’s book does not have the erudition of Manning Marable’s “Malcolm X”, his book reveals much more about Malcolm Littles’ challenging childhood and his pilgrimage to Pano-Africanism, global human rights, and belief in Sunni Islamism. The Sunni belief in community and the scholarship of study, along with the rough early experience of Malcolm Little’s life, changes him and, to a degree, America’s racist belief in human inequality.

Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, 1925-1965, human rights activist.)

Kendi's book is about Malcolm's transformation from an uneducated Black youth to man of erudition and importance is a remarkable tribute to the equality of all human beings.

Kendi explains how Malcolm Little was an uneducated hoodlum when young. Manning Marable shows how insightful and intelligent Malcolm became as a man. A listener/reader of “Malcolm Lives!” gives listener/readers a glimpse of how great they can be if they put their minds and hearts into a life that can make a difference in flawed society. Little becomes self-educated by reading and adopting a belief in something greater than himself.

In some ways, Malcolm is aided by his innate ability to separate the kindness of people he knew from the ignorance of their prejudice.

Interestingly, it is a helpful teacher that changes the direction of Malcolm’s life by encouraging him to be a part of society. On the other hand, this early teacher discourages Malcolm from becoming a Lawyer because he believed the color of Malcolm’s skin would get in his way. Malcolm learned lessons of self-reliance and independence that diminished his regard for the help of a teacher he formally admired. Kendi explains this is just the beginning of Malcolm’s life that evolves from hoodlumism to caring about society that is riven with inequality, but capable of change. Kendi explains how Malcolm’s life exemplifies that capability.

Malcom Little’s life begins in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. This is a time in America when the Ku Klux Klan is at its greatest strength.

Malcolm is in the eighth grade experiencing disillusionment from a teacher he respected. He drops out of school and learns how to live off the land by working minimum wage jobs. The work is at night clubs and pool halls that feed his hunger for excitement while growing angrier and angrier about a world of injustice. He covets a white girlfriend who is seduced by his charm but lets him down when she rats him out for house robberies while she and two girlfriends are parties to the crimes. Little is sentenced to eight years in prison for the crime. The lesson he learns from that experience is that friendliness is no protection from the ignorance of prejudice.

John Elton Bembry (aka Bimbi, an inmate who befriended Malcolm and encouraged him to read and educate himself while serving his sentence.)

The irony of Little’s imprisonment is that the teacher he needed when young came in the guise of a fellow prisoner who is recognized by others as someone who commanded respect because of his book learning, intellect, and eloquence. His name was John Elton Bembry, aka “Bimbi”. Bimbi’s leadership by example and eloquence led Little back to what was seen by his early teacher, the capability of a young man willing to work hard to better himself. Little began re-educating himself by reading books from the prison library. Soon after, one of Little’s brothers introduces him to the Nation of Islam.

Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975, American religious leader and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah)

Kendi reveals the spotty history of the founding of NOI, which ultimately leads to Little’s break with NOI and his adoption of the Sunni faith. Though religion means nothing to some, Little’s adoption of Sunni beliefs and his self-education through reading and travel (when released from prison) changes his life. NOI gave Malcom purpose and discipline while in prison because it reinforced his belief in Black pride and self-reliance. However, the rigidity of its teaching of Black separatism and the personal conduct of its leader, Elijah Muhammad, who fathered children out of wedlock, alienated Little. In 1964, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He found Muslims of all races praying together. The universality of Sunni Islam showed the narrowness of NOI’s view of society.

This is the capture of the NOI follower who is convicted of Malcolm X’s assassination. He is paroled after serving 45 years in a prison cell.

In the last chapters of Kendi’s book there is mention of the establishment of the nation of Israel and the resistance of Palestinian’ Muslim followers to the taking of land for the formation of Israel. The land that became Israel and Gaza were occupied by an early ethnic group known as the Canaanites. Many Palestinians and Israelites descended from the Canaanites. What some may argue is that people of the Jewish faith were first to create a religious force and formal government in the holy lands of Jerusalem. In Malcolm X’s opinion, the rights of the Palestinian people were being violated in the same way as Blacks in America. Whether that is fair judgement remains a question.

Without hegemonic control by the Palestinian leadership of disputed holy lands, no Palestinian State could be created. Today–Jews, Palestinians, and the world are paying a price for that disagreement.

An argument can be made that in ancient times Jews chose to create a form of government in Jerusalem while Palestinians did not. The same is true today. Yassa Arafat and his followers refused an opportunity to create a separate Palestinian State. Arafat would not agree because of conflicts over full sovereignty over holy lands that were disputed by both Jews and Palestinians.

Kendi ends his book with a story about NOI and Malcom X’s assassination. Malcolm had split from NOI and formed his own movement. The fact that members of NOI were involved in the murder of Malcolm X seems damning. However, Kendi’s book is about Malcolm X’s transformation from a poorly educated Black youth to man of erudition and importance–a remarkable tribute to the equality of all human beings.

FEAR & TREMBLING

America made many mistakes after the 9/11 terrorist attack. One hope’s Israel does not make the same mistakes after the 10/7/23 atrocity. Most Americans’ hearts go out to Israel despite fear and trembling for the world’s future.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

On Democracies and Death Cults (Israel and the Future of Civilization)

Author: Douglas Murray

Narrated By: Douglas Murray

Douglas Murray (Author, Bristish political commentator, cultural critic, and journalist.)

“On Democracies…” is an important book because it offers perspective on what happened in Gaza on October 7, 2023, and the aftermath that leads to the bombing of Iran by Israel. In that October day, over 1,200 Israelis were killed including civilians, children, and elderly people. At least 251 hostages were taken. Photos of the aftermath show multiple signs of sexual assault. A woman survivor reports seeing Hamas fighters gang rape a woman before the last of her attackers shoots her in the head. The terror and destruction of the attack is as horrible as one can imagine. It reminds one of men and women jumping out of windows at the New York World Trade Center on 9/11.

As one listens to Murray’s book, one begins to understand why Israel is responding to the October 7th atrocity by attacking Gaza and bombing Iran.

Murray explains the idea of a proportional “tit for tat” response is absurd. Does a rational person expect Israel would respond to the Gaza atrocity by killing and/or raping 1,200 men, women, and children. What is not understood by many is that Israel recognizes October 7th as an attack on its existence as a nation. It is the same concern Ukrainians have in their war with Russia. The fundamental issue is sovereignty, not revenge.

Like Osama bin Laden on his 9/11/01 attack on America, Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar, organized the massacre of 10/7/23. Both men were stateless terrorists who believed the U. S. and Isreal had no right to exist. Neither terrorist had an interest in the hard work of creating their own nation but only in destroying another. In the early days of the establishment of Israel, there was a drive to create an independent Palestinian state. Both Palestinian leaders and Arab states rejected proposals for a Palestinian state. In contrast, Israel chose to accept an opportunity to become an independent state in 1948. With the leadership of David Ben-Gurion, Israel declared independence and began the hard work of creating a nation. With a beginning population of 806,000, Israel grew to a prosperous nation of 9.7 million with over 73% being Jewish and the remainder being Arab or other nationalities. One must ask oneself, why have the Palestinians not taken the same path as Israel?

Murray makes one understand Israel is fighting for their lives to remain an independent nation.

It is the same fight Ukraine is waging. The bombing of Iran is based on Israel’s belief that Iran has supported Hamas throughout their terrorist war against Israel. Without honest recognition of Israel’s right to be an independent nation, there can be no peace. The continuing massacre in Gaza is a terrible consequence of the destructive intent of Hamas leadership that wishes to destroy Israel.

The sad realization coming from Murray’s book is that Palestinians and their supporters are not willing to do the hard work of creating an independent nation. The time may be past for that to ever occur because Israel is unlikely to agree to another neighboring nation being hostile to Israel’s existence.

INNOVATION

Steven Johnson notes how innovations and societal change does not come from a singular genius. Innovation and social change come from a confluence of geniuses, managers, and consumers.

Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

How We Got to Now (Six Innovations That Made the Modern World)

Author: Steven Johnson

Narrated By: George Newbern

Steven Johnson (Author, journalist)

Steven Johnson has written a moderately interesting book about innovation. He writes of six discoveries that came from the experience of everyday life. Glass, temperature, sound, health, time, and light are taken for granted in the 21st century. What Johnson explains is how these six elements were the basis of extraordinary human innovation and change in society.

Barovier Art Deco Murano glass pendant.

Glass has been around for centuries with the earliest found in Ancient Egypt. The heat of desert sands created glass in the form of beads that became jewelry in pre-Christian times. As the world industrialized, glass gathered new uses. Glass became mirrors to reflect human images, lenses for glasses, windows, and structural components of buildings. From the art of 15th-century to Leeuwenhoek’s creation of microscopes to Galileo’s telescopes to strengthening and lightening of high-rise construction materials to invention of fiber-optic cables, glass changed society.

Willis Carrier (1876-1950, designed the first modern air conditioning system in 1902.)

The benefit of cold temperatures helped preserve food and led to wider exploration of the world to avoid the cold. In warmer climates, experience of food preservation and human shelter from heat incentivized society to invent refrigeration for food and air conditioning for buildings. Public health and food safety improved with refrigeration. The cold preserved blood for future medical use and food for later consumption. The value of extreme cold led to cryogenics that aided fertility treatments by freezing sperm, eggs, and embryos for long term biological storage.

Heddy Lamarr (1914-2000, Hollywood star who patented a radio signal device that could change frequencies for secret messages during WWII.)

Johnson explains how sound innovation led to everything from the phonograph to sonar to coded messages during the war years. During WWII, secret communications between military strategists were critical. The often-recalled code breaking story of Alan Turing and the Enigma machine was a breakthrough for Allies to read German secrets. Interestingly, the famous actress, Heddy Lamarr patented a radio signal device for Allied powers’ secret communications.

As cities formed and people congregated in closer proximity, innovations in sanitation, water, and air purification grew to improve public health.

Johnson notes how light innovation grew from candles to light bulbs to lasers that changed the way humans can communicate and live after dark. Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb required the management skill of many to spread light around the world.

Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

An innovator’s timing makes a difference because the lack of a consumer can delay change like it did with Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace in their 1837 concept of a general-purpose computer.

Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Bryon, becomes the first computer software programmer in history. This was nearly 100 years before computer programing became important.

To improve human productivity, time became important. Precise timekeeping improved productivity, navigation, industrialization, and global coordination.

Johnson notes how innovations and societal change does not come from a singular genius. Innovation and social change come from a confluence of geniuses, managers, and consumers. He suggests Barovier, Leeuwenhoek, Galilei, Tudor, Carrier, and Lamarr were geniuses in their innovative ideas about glass, cold, and sound but it is a confluence of ideas, accidents, collaborations, and market desire that made them successful. The same may be said of Edison with light, Jobs with computers, and Musk with electric vehicles.

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