Category: Commonplace

The 2023 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Since its founding in 1917, the Pulitzer Prize has recognized excellence in journalism, arts, and literature. The Pulitzer Prize winners for 2023 have been announced, and they represent some of the best and brightest in their respective fields.

Among the winners are journalists who exposed corruption and abuse of power, authors who wrote moving and thought-provoking works of fiction and non-fiction, and musicians who created groundbreaking new compositions. The Pulitzer Prize continues to symbolize the highest achievement in these fields, and the winners serve as inspirations to us all.

You can see the winners in all categories, including 15 Journalism categories, on the Pulitzer website. You can also watch the ceremony in full on YouTube below.

Books

Here are the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winners in the Books categories.

Fiction

“Demon Copperhead,” by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper)

“Trust,” by Hernan Diaz (Riverhead Books)

Finalist:

“The Immortal King Rao,” by Vauhini Vara (W. W. Norton & Company)

History

“Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power,” by Jefferson Cowie (Basic Books)

Finalists:

“Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion, and the Political Economy of Plunder in North America,” by Michael John Witgen (Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture/University of North Carolina Press)

“Watergate: A New History,” by Garrett M. Graff (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster)

Biography

“G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century,” by Beverly Gage (Viking)

Finalists:

“His Name is George Floyd,” by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa (Viking)

“Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century,” by Jennifer Homans (Random House)

Memoir or Autobiography

“Stay True,” by Hua Hsu (Doubleday)

Finalists:

“Easy Beauty: A Memoir,” by Chloé Cooper Jones (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster)

“The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir,” by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Doubleday)

Poetry

“Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007-2020,” by Carl Phillips (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)

Finalists:

“Blood Snow,” by dg nanouk okpik (Wave Books)

“Still Life,” by the late Jay Hopler (McSweeney’s)

General Nonfiction

“His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice,” by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa (Viking)

Finalists:

“Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern,” by Jing Tsu (Riverhead Books)

“Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction,” by David George Haskell (Viking)

“Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation,” by Linda Villarosa (Doubleday)

Midjourney Recreates Ancient Battles

From the “This is wicked cool” department, here are some examples of Midjourney’s take on ancient battles.

I continue to be blown away by the power of AI tools. At the same time, I completely understand many of the concerns about AI replacing working writers, artists, and other creators.

There is a way forward, and I think it lies in using AI as a support tool. The possibilities for students to use AI as a support to their work are many, but we must be judicious in its usage.

The Library is a Safe Place

I had no idea that Wil Wheaton graced my home state with his presence back in March at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest. I can’t tell you how bummed I am that I missed seeing him speak.

Neverminding my failure to stay on top of cool things, Mr. Wheaton was nice enough to post a copy of his remarks on his site. I’m just a few years younger than Wil and not only empathize with his childhood experiences but can say I had my own version of them.

I also totally agree that “the library is a safe place” for everyone.

In order to survive, I disassociated for much of my childhood, but I clearly remember the books. That’s where I found comfort, companionship, inspiration and validation. It’s where the imagination that powers everything I do creatively in my life today was born. And it all started in that library, with that librarian. She was one of the first people I can remember asking me, “What do you like? What’s important to you? What do you want to know more about? How can I help you find it?”

That moment was so special and meaningful, not just then, but for years after. When I got older, I began to learn that so much of what had been presented to me as truth in school wasn’t just false, it was propaganda. I remember the first time I saw a banned books display at a bookstore in the mall when we were on location for Stand By Me. I wanted to read all of them, because I’d figured out that if They didn’t want me to, there must be something pretty great inside.

I read To Kill A Mockingbird, and began thinking about racism and injustice.

I read 1984 and Brave New World, and began thinking about autocrats, and what it meant to be truly free to choose our own destinies.

I read Johnny Got His Gun, and All Quiet on the Western Front, and saw firsthand the horrors of war.

– Wil Wheaton

You can read his full remarks right here.

Would AIs make better professionals than humans?

Doug Johnson posits:

One quality that AI may put to extremely positive use would be objectivity – a lack of personal biases or prejudices. Properly programmed, my financial advisor AI should not be advising me to invest in areas where the advisor would get the biggest fee, but where I would stand to make the biggest return at the lowest risk. Would my AI dentist or doctor only recommend those procedures and medications that have proven rate of effectiveness not the most kickback from pharmaceutical companies? Would an AI intelligence agent be more likely to uncover double-agents in the office?

Of course, the burning question in education is “Would AIs make better teachers than humans?”

We Need Easier EdTech Integrations

I won’t spend my time here griping about the overuse of technology for standardized testing and other “necessary” tests. That fight is for another day.

Today, let’s talk about how frustrating it is to use many testing services. I’ve spent most of the past two weeks getting two grade levels into two different online testing systems.

One system required an SFTP upload of a CSV file. I kept getting errors even using the company’s template and data tool. After trying a few dozen times, I gave up and sent the file to the company. The next day, the data was uploaded and corrected. I still have no clue what was wrong.

The second company uses Clever to sync students and teachers. But not to log students in for the test. No, no, they require a lockdown browser for their exam. Conveniently, they autogenerate usernames and passwords for the students.

Did I mention these elements are 11 characters or so each? And the students using them are in kindergarten?

Yep. Smiles all around.

Mind you, I have a decent amount of experience with all the tools I used to make these data uploads happen. I would venture to say that the person at most schools responsible for this process is NOT as experienced. Just a hunch.

There has to be a better way.

Oppenheimer

The full-length trailer for Christopher Nolan’s next film “Oppenheimer” is now available for viewing. It’s pretty fantastic.

The film focuses on Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist often called the “father of the atomic bomb.” The film draws from the book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.

In the early 1940s, World War II was raging, and the US government had just launched the top-secret Manhattan Project. Its goal? To create the first atomic bomb. Enter Robert Oppenheimer, a genius with deep knowledge of theoretical physics. He was tasked with leading the scientific team at Los Alamos, New Mexico, to develop this deadly weapon.

Oppenheimer was known for his charisma and ability to bring together some of the brightest minds, like Enrico Fermi and Richard Feynman, to collaborate on this massive undertaking. The pressure was immense, as the project was a race against time and other countries to harness the power of nuclear fission.

Despite the challenges, Oppenheimer’s team succeeded, and on July 16, 1945, they witnessed the first atomic explosion in history – the Trinity Test. This changed everything; it was a game-changer in warfare, but it also weighed heavily on Oppenheimer’s conscience. He famously quoted from the Bhagavad Gita, saying, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Not long after, the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II. But the ethical implications of these bombings were profound, and Oppenheimer struggled with the guilt of having played a key role in their development.

“American Prometheus” dives deep into the life and inner turmoil of Robert Oppenheimer, showing his brilliance, patriotism, and the painful consequences of his work. It’s a compelling story that makes us question the responsibility of scientists and governments in the pursuit of knowledge and power.

I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite a while because I find the story fascinating. The actions portrayed here still affect us today. Some lines I caught in the trailer speak to the haunting memory of these events…

“Our work here will ensure a peace mankind has never seen.”

“Until someone builds a bigger bomb.”

“You are the man who gave them the power to destroy themselves, and the world is not prepared.”

Oppenheimer releases on 21 July 2023.

Enter the Zettelkasten: Note Taking, Making, and Organizing

This week, while I’m on a bit of a break between doctoral classes, I’m taking some time to better organize my personal knowledge management system. It’s what I and others refer to as a “second brain.”

Why do I need this second brain? There are several answers to that question, but let’s start with this one: the human brain was not designed to be a storage container. It was designed to make connections between concepts and draw conclusions. In other words, our brains were made to think, not to be an all-powerful, Trivial Pursuit winning, treasure trove of information.

To be sure, I play a mean game of Trivial Pursuit, but not because I’m trying to learn random facts. That happens to me with no focus. It’s a sickness I and many others have that, at the end of the day, isn’t useful for much. Although my wife refuses to play against me in any trivia game…

For me to get the most out of what I read, watch, or listen to, I need a way to make notes and organize them. But perhaps most importantly, I need a way to connect those notes and ideas to create something new.

As lifelong learners, we constantly search for ways to optimize our learning experiences and retain valuable information. In the world of personal knowledge management, there are numerous techniques designed to help us do just that. One such method is the Zettelkasten method, a unique and powerful approach that has gained considerable traction in recent years. My first encounter with the Zettelkasten method—albeit a revised version—was learning how Ryan Holiday writes his books using index cards. A commonplace book also works as a sort of Zettelkasten but with a severe lack of organization.

Let’s dive into the core principles and benefits of the Zettelkasten method, and explore how you can use it to unlock your full learning potential.

What is the Zettelkasten Method?

The Zettelkasten method is a personal knowledge management system that German sociologist Niklas Luhmann created with the intention of improving how we process, store, and connect information. Luhmann used this method to produce an astonishing 70 books and over 400 articles throughout his career. The word “Zettelkasten” translates to “slip box” or “note box,” which refers to the physical or digital space where notes are stored and organized.

Core Principles of the Zettelkasten Method

  1. Atomic Notes: Each note should focus on a single idea or concept, making it easier to digest and connect with other notes. This principle encourages clarity and brevity, preventing information overload.
  2. Unique Identifiers: Assign a unique identifier to each note, typically a combination of numbers or letters. This allows you to quickly locate specific notes and create meaningful connections between them.
  3. Linking Notes: Establish connections between related notes by linking them together using their unique identifiers. This forms a web of interconnected ideas, fostering creative thinking and deep understanding.
  4. Continual Expansion: Continuously add new notes and connections to your Zettelkasten, allowing it to grow and evolve over time. This ongoing process promotes active learning and reflection.

Benefits of the Zettelkasten Method

  1. Enhanced Knowledge Retention: By focusing on single ideas and forging connections between them, the Zettelkasten method encourages deeper understanding and long-term retention of information.
  2. Improved Creativity: The process of linking related notes stimulates creative thinking and helps you discover novel connections between seemingly unrelated concepts.
  3. Efficient Organization: The unique identifiers and linking system make it easy to navigate through your notes, reducing the time spent searching for information.
  4. Personalized Learning: The Zettelkasten method adapts to your individual needs and interests, allowing you to develop a customized knowledge base that reflects your unique learning journey.

How to Get Started with the Zettelkasten Method

  1. Choose a platform: Decide whether you prefer a physical or digital Zettelkasten. Physical options include index cards and notebooks, while digital platforms such as Evernote, Notion (my preferred platform, more to come on that topic soon), or specialized Zettelkasten software like Zettlr or Obsidian offers more advanced features.
  2. Create your first note: Write a brief, focused note on a topic of interest. Remember to assign it a unique identifier.
  3. Expand your Zettelkasten: As you continue to learn, add new notes to your collection, ensuring they follow the atomic note principle.
  4. Link all related notes: Use the unique identifiers to create connections between relevant notes, promoting a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Conclusion

Of course, this isn’t a complete look at the Zettelkasten method. The more you learn and implement the system yourself, the more you’ll develop your own “style” that works for you. The beauty of the system is its simplicity and adaptability.

The Zettelkasten method offers a powerful approach to personal knowledge management, fostering creativity, deep understanding, and efficient organization. By implementing this method in your learning journey, you can unlock your full potential and become a more effective, lifelong learner.

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