A Scandal in Chesslandia

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a huge scandal in the world of chess. I’m fascinated by the game even though I’m a terrible player. Maybe I’ll dedicate some time to learn like an athlete and become a more respectable chess player.

I bring up the story of Hans Moke Niemann to talk a bit about the pressure our students put on themselves. Of course, sometimes they’re pressured to achieve by parents or other family members, but many times it’s the student’s inner demons pushing them to do and be more.

I wonder what other instances of cheating we’ll find in the next few years if we can’t find a way to move away from pursuing high-stakes achievement. We’ve already seen a college admissions scandal and now an alleged instance of cheating in the exclusive world of chess.

There has to be a better way.

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Steve Jobs Returns from the Dead

Sort of. While wasting time and avoiding writing a paper for my doctoral studies, I saw John Mayer (yes, I’m a fan, aren’t you?) share a story on Instagram with a link to something called the Steve Jobs Archive.

The site, recently launched, will archive emails, letters, audio & video clips, and more to celebrate the life and impact of the Apple co-founder.

Jobs would have been 65 this year but passed away 11 years ago from pancreatic cancer.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

The site is sparse right now, but I’m sure will grow over time. On the front page, an email Jobs sent himself offers a poetic look at his respect for humanity. Written near the end of his life, I wonder how the contents of that email would differ were it from an earlier time. Jobs was a visionary but certainly was not a shining example of a good human (if you haven’t read Walter Isaacson’s biography, you should).

I wonder what we’ll learn from this new archive and if we’ll gain a better perspective on Jobs.

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