Book Review – Breakaway Consciousness

#Book Review: Validity In Interpretation by E.D. Hirsch | #SmartReads

A Concise, Cogent & Comprehensive View Into Literary Interpretation

BreakwayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 28, 2019

Validity In Interpretation by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. exegetes and distills the plethora of issues revolving around literary interpretation.

Hirsch deftly narrows down the truth behind the much confounding premise that truth lies within subjectivity. The author logically shows how objectivity is not only attainable, but should be striven for even when individuals are told otherwise.

Admittedly, as a caveat, this book was quite arduous to read. Its precision in analysis is highly reminiscent of some logic books. The framework undertaken by the author provides him with an ironclad scaffolding for which to base his contention against the vacillating subjectivity of ‘truth’ within psychologism, historicism and more.

Hirsch undertakes the hermeneutic task of showing the reader why the meaning of a certain text and the significance of a text are different. On one hand, the significance of a text changes within whichever context it resides in, while on the other hand the meaning of a text is static and unchanging.

As the author elucidates:

“…when we construe another’s meaning we are not free agents. So long as the meaning of his utterance is our object, we are completely subservient to his will, because the meaning of his utterance is the meaning he wills to convey. Once we have construed his meaning, however, we are quite independent of his will. We do not have to accept any longer the values and assumptions he entertained. We can relate his meaning to anything we want and value it as we please.”[1].

Ultimately, Hirsch confects a sagacious treatise on literary interpretation that is superb and incisive. Those interested in literary interpretation should definitely consider implementing this into their individual repertoire.

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Source & Reference:

[1] E.D. Hirsch, Validity In Interpretation, pg. 142

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Suggested Reading & Watching:

What Is The Difference Between Education & Public Schooling?
The Catastrophic Decline Of Public Education: 21 Facts About Why Public Schooling Performs So Poorly
Logical Fallacies Employed In Every Day Life
Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto
Weapons Of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto
13 Great Reasons To Study Logic
How A Generation Lost Its Culture – by Professor Patrick Deneen
The Vanishing American Adult by Ben Sasse
A Different Kind Of Teacher by John Taylor Gatto
Socratic Logic by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
Philosophy 101 by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
Brave New World & Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley
What Is Education? The Elite Curriculum – John Taylor Gatto
Breakaway Guide To Censorship, Disinformation, Logical Fallacies & More
How To Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
History So It Doesn’t Repeat – The Deliberate Dumbing Down Of America With Charlotte Iserbyt
Classrooms Of The Heart [Documentary] – John Taylor Gatto
Sumerhill School – A New View On Childhood by A.S. Neil
Social Engineering 101
Dialectical Thinking – Zeno, Socrates, Kant, Marx by Tommi Juhani Hanjijarvi Ph.D.
Underground History Of American Education With John Taylor Gatto
The True Purpose Of Modern Schooling
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Open-Source Method: Genius Education – Examples | John Taylor Gatto
The Trivium – The Liberal Arts Of Logic, Grammar & Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph Ph.D.
Cultural Literacy – What Every American Needs To Know by E.D. Hirsch Jr.
A Rulebook For Arguments by Anthony Weston
A Workbook For Arguments by David R. Morrow & Anthony Wesson
Drilling Through The Core – Why Common Core Is Bad For American Education by Sandra Stotsky & Contributors

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If you find value in this information, please share it. This article is free and open source. All individuals have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and BreakawayIndividual.com

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About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is an avid book reviewer, inquirer, an open-minded skeptic, yogi, and freelance writer who aims at empowering individuals while also studying and regularly mirroring subjects like Consciousness, Education, Creativity, The Individual, Ancient History & Ancient Civilizations, Forbidden Archaeology, Big Pharma, Alternative Health, Space, Geoengineering, Social Engineering, Propaganda, and much more.

#Book Review: Oil Pulling Therapy – Detoxifying & Healing The Body Through Oral Cleansing by Dr. Bruce Fife | #Health | #SmartReads

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 21, 2019

As a preamble, oil pulling is putting a spoonful of oil in your mouth and swishing the oil around in your mouth for a few minutes. Once an individual does that, they then proceed to spit out the oil making sure not to swallow it, nor the toxins that were ‘pulled’ from one’s mouth. That last part is integral, because all the toxins that leave your mouth will become part of the swished components that have seeped from your mouth after oil pulling, and nobody wants that that reentering their system.

Oil pulling itself goes back a few thousand years. In fact, it has its origins in Ayurvedic medicine in India, if not before. Ancient Ayurvedic medical texts outlined this practice, and the practitioners found out that rinsing the mouth with vegetable oil ‘not only cleanses the mouth but restores health to the body. In fact, this process is said to cure a few dozen system diseases.[1]

Because of those facts, Oil Pulling Therapy – Detoxifying & Healing The Body Through Oral Cleansing by Dr. Bruce Fife is a very important, and underrated book.

The reason Oil Pulling Therapy is important is because it gets at the heart of the matter regarding disease: the mouth. Being a mirror to our bodies, if you have dismal mouth and dental health then you are undoubtedly going to experience a kaleidoscope of health problems.

Some of the conditions that are helped by oil pulling are acne, allergies, arthritis, asthma, back pain and neck pain, bad breath, bronchitis, chronic fatigue, colitis, crohn’s disease, constipation, dental cavities, dermatitis, diabetes, eczema, hypertension, hemorrhoids, insomnia, migraine headaches, mucous congestions, peptic ulcers, PMS, periodontal disease, bleeding gums, sinusitis, and tooth abscess.[2]

To continue along the same lines, an incisive passage in the book states that:

“In addition to the above-mentioned conditions, medical studies have indicated that the following can also be directly related to oral health and may respond to oil pulling therapy: Acidosis, Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome [ARDS], Athrosclerosis, Blood Disorders, Brain Abscess, Cancer, Emphysema, Gallbladder Disease, Gout, Heart Disease, Hyperglycemia, Infertility, Kidney Disease, Liver Disease, Meningitis, Nerve Disorders, Osteoporosis, Paget’s Disease, Pneumonia, Preeclampsia, Preterm/Low Birth Weight Babies, Psychotic Episodes, Stroke, Toxic Shock Syndrome, and many types of infectious disease.”[3]

Many people will instantly think, “But how is it possible that oil pulling can help so much?” Excellent question. As alluded to before, the mouth is the gateway to the body, and if the mouth exhibits poor dental health, so will the body. Since the mouth is a breeding ground for all types of germs, it’s easy to see how these germs, if allowed to remain in the mouth, “can migrate to other parts of the body, cause infections, and alter body chemistry, leading the way to any number of infectious and degenerative conditions.”[4]

For me, personally, there have been quite a few benefits of oil pulling. As someone whose oil pulled for nigh 5 years, it’s helped my health quite a bit. Not only do my teeth feel clean, but they are also whiter. Additionally, I don’t experience the pain in my gums that used to happen in the past. Although I can’t prove it, I do believe myself that oil pulling has also helped me tackle issues with Candida that have taken place in the past. Furthermore, my regularly scheduled headaches went away, my gums don’t ache when biting foods and are much firmer and healthier, and also don’t experience allergies as much.

The great part about oil pulling is that it’s not only one of the most simplest methods to aid health, but also has nigh no side effects when compared to prescription drugs, which have many. In fact, properly taken, FDA approved prescription drugs cause over 100,000 deaths yearly. That’s certainly something you’ll never hear of coconut oil! That’s a whole ‘nother can of worms however.

In addition, oil pulling, unlike brushing your teeth, gets into many crevices that the brush won’t get into. This is because “brushing only reaches 60 percent of the surfaces of your teeth, leaving plague in hard-to-reach areas such as in-between teeth.”[5]

Ironically, although benefits of oil pulling go back a few thousand years, it is rarely known to most people. That’s an intriguing conundrum, except when one realizes that modern medicine goes by the adage that for every ill there is a pill, then you start to see why oil pulling goes against the grain as the system pushes for pills, rather than lifestyle changes and as well as dietary changes. These changes, ironically, are on par with what our ancestors did, which is why they were vastly healthier than we are as a ‘modern’ society nowadays.

All things considered, oil pulling is one of the cheapest, cost-effective, safe, and efficient ways to take control of one’s health. Individuals of all ages can do this. The question isn’t why SHOULD you do it, the question is, why NOT? But don’t believe me, do your own research, and you will see the effects.
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Sources:

[1] Dr. Bruce Fife, Oil Pulling Therapy – Detoxifying & Healing The Body Through Oral Cleansing, p. 86.
[2] Ibid., p. 12.
[3] Ibid., pp. 11-12.
[4] Ibid., pp. 89-90.
[5] Ibid., p. 18.

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Suggested Reading & Viewing:

A Mind Of Your Own – The Truth About Depression & How Women Can Heal Their Bodies To Reclaim Their Lives by Dr. Kelly Brogan M.D. & Kristin Loberg
Depression: Busting Myths & Finding Answers
Eat To Beat Disease – Food’s Medicinal Qualities by Catherine Frompovich
Your Health, Your Future [Part 1] – How Healthcare Became A Sickness Industry – Dr. Robin Falkov
Your Health, Your Future [Part 2] – How Vibration Science Is Key To Future Health
Toxic Psychiatry by Dr. Peter Breggin M.D.
5-Minute Chi by Sifu William Lee
Healing Chi Meditation by Sifu William Lee
Total Chi Fitness by Sifu William Lee
Dr. Belisa Vranich On The Intricacies Of Breathing [Video]
Fat For Fuel By Dr. Joseph Mercola
The Dark Side Of Food [Video]
Fat For Fuel With Dr. Mercola [Interview]
Cancer Is Serious Business – Burzynski [Documentary]
The World According To Monsanto [Documentary]
Thimerosal – Let The Science Speak – The Evidence Supporting The Immediate Removal Of Mercury – A Known Neurotoxin – From Vaccines by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Food Forensics by Mike Adams
Vaccine Dangers Being Hidden From The Public

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If you find value in this information, you are implored to please share it. This article is free and open source. All individuals have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and BreakawayIndividual.com

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About The Author:

Book Review: Origins of the Sphinx – Celestial Guardian Of Pre-Pharaonic Civilization by Robert M. Schoch Ph.D. and Robert Bauval | #SmartReads | #Egypt | #Sphinx

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 18, 2019

Written in a cogent, easy to follow, and yet daring manner, the renowned scholars, Shoch and Bauval, are at it again. In Origins of the Sphinx the authors challenge Egyptology at its core: at the Great Sphinx.

Methodically, the authors sift through a wide assortment of data, which seeks to ascertain a more precise dating of the ancient monument.

Split up into two parts, the first half of the book covers seven different topics, which includes an epilogue, while the latter half covers nine different appendixes that finalize the last half of the book.

Each of the initial seven parts is written solely by one of the two authors. At first this choice seemed odd, but it probably was best in order to differentiate who’s bringing about what particular commentary and argument.

Sampling a wide data set, the authors take a cursory glance at the architecture, which includes the Valley and Mortuary Temples with multi-ton megalithic blocks, as well as more. A gander is also taken at a few of the visitors and researchers that excavated and sampled the sight, such as Colonel William Howard Vyse and Giovanni Battista Caviglia, who had a penchant for the mysticism, the occult, and more. But the authors don’t stop there. Also covered are issues with the fragments of the beard of the Sphinx, geophysical techniques to view below the surface of the Sphinx enclosure, considerations on water erosion on the Sphinx, as well as an in-depth analysis of the Sphinx’s possible construction date.

Regarding the date, Shoch, after some extended analysis in the chapter Sands Of Time, infers:

“…using a linear “conservative” calibration and assuming a date of 4,500 years ago for the western end (which in my assessment is a minimum date; it could be older), then the original core body of the Sphinx is minimally 2.7 times older than 4,500 years ago, giving a date after rounding of circa 10,000 BCE. All in all, I suspect that the proto-Sphinx was in existence prior to the end of the last ice age (that is, prior to 9700 BCE) and was contemporaneous with other structures, such as the oldest portions of Gobekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey. Put simply, the seismic data are compatible with an initial date of circa 10,000 BCE (or even a bit earlier) for the core body of the Sphinx. There is no doubt in my mind that the seismic data alone, independent of any other evidence – such as the surface weather and erosion, which I discuss in chapter 7 – strongly support the hypothesis that the origins of the Great Sphinx predate dynastic times by many millennia.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added].

If such an assertion is true, it leaves a lot for rumination.

Be that as it may, another salient component of this mystery discussed by Bauval is whether Khafre couples with the Sphinx as conventional Egyptology dictates, or whether some other theory might make more sense. Also discussed is what took place with the Dream Stela, the inscription of the Great Limestone Stela of Amenhotep II, the Edfu Temple Texts, and much more.

This book really features a lot more intriguing information than is mentioned. The authors are not only erudite in their research, but make the information accessible for the lay person. Even with all that, we also haven’t begun to delve into the nine appendices, which also give a deeper glance that’s a bit technical, but helps shed light onto the situation. Each of the appendices is essentially its own article, and yet couple to the rest of the book rather seamlessly.

If you’re looking for an open-minded foray into the mystery of the Sphinx, that’s meticulously researched while also offering the tools for incisive individuals to come to their own conclusions, hesitate no longer. The approach taken by the authors, although unorthodox, should be considered at length, for if what they say is true, then the history that we’ve been brought up with is drastically different than what we’re being told. Time will ultimately tell, but my bet’s that the authors are pulling on a thread that goes a lot deeper than merely the Sphinx.

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Footnotes:

[1] Robert M. Schoch Ph.D. and Robert Bauval, Origins of the Sphinx – Celestial Guardian Of Pre-Pharaonic Civilization, pp.78-79.

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#Book Review: Quiet – The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain | #Introvert | #Thoughts | #Reflection

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 17, 2019

Quiet – The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain is masterful read into the inner workings of the reflective introverts that populate society.

This book by Susan Cain delves into the paradigm that has been glossed over in the “Culture Of Personality”.

Cain begins the book outlining the fact that we as a society have transitioned from a Culture Of Character to a Culture of Personality, which thus left us facing myriad issues from which society still faces today.

The book even elucidates that the world personality was not part of our vocabulary until the 18th century and that “the idea of “having a good personality” was not widespread until the twentieth.” This goes to show that the notion of ‘personality’ is quite modern indeed.

Throughout the entirety of the book the author also enumerates countless examples of research and studies that have taken place which shows the notable differences between introverts and extroverts. Its quite intriguing considering how wrong western culture has been about introverts over the last many decades, if not longer.

Even the school system has been tailored to fit the ‘culture of personality’ rather than the ‘culture of character’. That has done a great disservice to many folks, because as the book mentions, between a third to a half of all people are introverts, and yet school is not only geared to push the personality paradigm, but people that are introverts get run over by the system due to people thinking there’s something “wrong” with just wanting to do work by yourself, or perhaps in a less noisy environment that fosters greater inner growth for such individuals.

In fact, the book names a few examples where parents, or people, thought something was “wrong” with a particular individual, when that was just their nature. Not only that, but introverts, in many facets, outdo extroverts due to their inherent nature. That’s not something that you will hear the modern media expound upon. It’s not that there are inherently smarter than them, its that their process of critical thought is more efficient in many ways, not unlike two people each having a Ferrari to drive, but one isn’t capable of handling the vehicle at much higher speeds.

Ironically enough, Cain mentions how “we perceive talkers as smarter than quiet types – even though grade-point averages and SAT intelligence scores reveal this perception to be inaccurate.”

Cain also covers the interesting topic of the “Bus to Abilene,” which shows people’s penchant for following others who carry out actions – any actions. These circumstances are the staple of extroverts by and large.

The author also covers the topic of The New Groupthink, which is given a cursory glance.

Within her thoughts, she gives her concerns for the system, which is constantly giving precedence for group work – “team work” – all at the expense of the individual, as it claims that ‘creativity and intellectual achievement’ only come via teamwork. Nothing could be further from the truth. The author covers facts that tackle this rather incisively.

This has taken place because America has wholly shifted en masse unfortunately to teachings that reflect the business community, rather than what’s best for the individual and culture as a whole. What’s worse, Common Core will only further these agendas in order to make sure everyone’s ready to help corporations make even more profits at the expense of true learning. Let’s digress however.

Another example of how introverts shine is how top performers are often the ones that have the solitude that they require that isn’t available in many working environments. When freedom of interruption is available, these people overwhelmingly perform better than in environments where excessive stimulation takes place, which hinders production/learning.

Other notions examined are the one of Deliberate Practice, which can only be accomplished by being alone. This notion is discussed at length in Talent Is Overrated – What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everybody Else, by Geoff Colvin.

Deliberate practice is not only when individuals identify tasks to be done, but when individuals push beyond comfort and traditional boundaries to raise their performance level, whilst monitoring their progress and adjusting accordingly in order to be able to achieve what needs to be done.

This not only requires deep motivation, but can lead to incredible mastery of subjects. It does, however, require a great commitment in many cases if one wants to achieve true expertise.

The book also covers how many extroverts were behind what took place in the 2009 economic downturn, and how introverts wouldn’t have been as careless with money. It also covers how people tend to link velocity of speech with knowledge, but how that is a big mistake.

Group brainstorming electronically is also delved into, as well as the fear of public humiliation and how large of a role that plays a role in interactions between introverts and extroverts, how important temperament is, as well as the intricate subject of highly reactive children. Also the topic of pseudo-extroverts is also covered. This is important, because many people who seem rather extroverted, are in fact incredibly introverted.

If you’re a teacher, a leader, a manager, or any person that needs to know the inner workings of how introverts and extroverts interact on a daily basis, and how to take advantage of each of their strengthen, then this book is definitely for you.

I absolutely love this book and reference it quite often, and I hope that any of you who end up getting it get as much value yourselves. It really is well worth the read.
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Suggested Reading:

Talent Is Overrated – What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everyone Else by Geoff Colvin

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About The Author:

#Book Review: Cultural Literacy – What Every American Needs To Know by E.D. Hirsch, Jr | #SmartReads | #Culture | #Education

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 17, 2019

Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch is a sobering look into some of the reasons why public schooling in America has been spiraling downwards for the last few decades. At the vanguard of these issues, Hirsch narrows down this intellectual death spiral to the loss of cultural literacy among the masses. This loss of cultural literacy has exacerbated the significant decline in public schooling in America.

Moreover, Hirsch makes it a point to show that cultural literacy is not just knowing about significant facts, or information as some would undoubtedly think. Certainly, these are at times important, but more precisely, the author homes-in on the fact that cultural literacy is information shared by individuals within a particular social strata that makes their communications more efficient and enjoyable, thus allowing for a more cohesive social strata – creating a stronger culture.

With a critical eye, Hirsch notes:

“….literacy requires the early and continued transmission of specific information…Only by accumulating shared symbols, and the shared information that the symbols represent, can we learn to communicate effectively with one another in our national community.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added].

Employing copious amounts of research, Hirsch shows there should be a significant cause for concern about the poor quality of education, as well as other salient problems.

With deep concern, Hirsch soberingly warns:

“If we not achieve a literate society, the technicians, with their arcane specialties, will not be able to communicate with us nor we with them. That would contradict the basic principles of democracy and must not be allowed to happen.”[2][Bold Emphasis Added].

Such an instance would fracture the populace, something that would only feed the divide and conquer left-right paradigm.

A sound and versatile education is impossible without a robust and culturally literate repertoire. This deliberate shattering of an individual’s foundational education principles is causing the current catastrophic decline in education . This is why the information touched upon by Hirsch is so pivotal and should be ruminated upon.

To home in on the point of deteriorating education, let’s take a gander at what two-time award winning teacher, researcher and writer, John Taylor Gatto stated in A Different Kind Of Teacher:

““Schools were designed by Horace Mann, E.L. Thorndike, and others to be instruments of scientific management of a mass population. Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled. To a very great extent, schools succeed in doing this.”[3][Bold Emphasis Added]

Lowering cultural literacy, among other things, would undoubtedly be part of this process. This is because culturally literate individuals will be familiar with the scaffolding of history and many of its nuances; such individuals are magnitudes harder to control, which is why public schooling through the Common Core system seeks to conform everyone through standardized testing and more.

We are at a turning point in history, and we either stop the descent into cultural nescience, individually, and as a nation, or we continue into the swamp of ignorance.

Irrespective of the circumstances, one thing is certain: there is still time to make significant changes if individuals choose to. It is really up to individuals and their families to educate themselves, because the way the system is constructed, a well-rounded and complete education cannot take place within the system. This is one of many reasons why self-directed learning is growing at an immense rate, and will continue to do so. Don’t allow yourself, or those you know to fall by the wayside merely because the system is corrupt and cares not for true education but rather to instead create cogs for the machine.

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Sources:

[1] E.D. Hirsch, Jr., What Every American Needs To Know, p. xvii.
[2] Ibid., p. 2.
[3] John Taylor Gatto, A Different Kind Of Teacher, p. 16.

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Suggested Reading & Watching:

What Is The Difference Between Education & Public Schooling?
Logical Fallacies Employed In Every Day Life
13 Great Reasons To Study Logic
How A Generation Lost Its Culture – by Professor Patrick Deneen
A Different Kind Of Teacher by John Taylor Gatto
Socratic Logic by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
Philosophy 101 by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
What Is Education? The Elite Curriculum – John Taylor Gatto
Breakaway Guide To Censorship, Disinformation, Logical Fallacies & More
How To Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
Classrooms Of The Heart [Documentary] – John Taylor Gatto
Social Engineering 101
The True Purpose Of Modern Schooling
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Open-Source Method: Genius Education – Examples | John Taylor Gatto
The Trivium – The Liberal Arts Of Logic, Grammar & Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph Ph.D.
A Rulebook For Arguments by Anthony Weston
A Workbook For Arguments by David R. Morrow & Anthony Wesson
Drilling Through The Core – Why Common Core Is Bad For American Education by Sandra Stotsky & Contributors

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About The Author:

#Book Review: Talent Is Overrated – What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin | #SmartReads

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 16, 2019

Talent Is Overrated – What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin is a discerning book that aims to home in on the salient differences between the very top tiers of individuals in a variety of fields and the rest. With a rather unorthodox approach, the author poses a new theory about why so many individuals are great, and what got them there.

Colvin delves into why Ben Franklin, Tiger Woods, The Polgar Sisters, Jerry Rice, and many others rose to become the crème of the crop. Employing lessons from them, the author also shows how individuals can finetune their personal repertoire to gain insights and learn to practice in similar fashion.

In his quest for answers within this abstruse subject, the author samples various disciplines in society in his effort to get to the bottom of what ‘talent’ really means given all the talk about it.

Colvin does an reasonable job of arguing the case for deliberate practice and other ideas. Be that as it may, the book could have used some more scientific evidence or studies referenced just to bolster the argument and bring more fuel to the fire.

Irrespective of that, though, the matter of talent might boil down to the individual and their inherent mental faculties and the beliefs they themselves hold.

As the author ponders in his own words:

“What do you believe? Do you believe that you have a choice in the matter? Do you believe that if you do the work, properly designed, with intense focus for hours a day and years on end, your performance will grow dramatically better and eventually reach the highest levels? If you believe that, then there’s at least a chance you will do the work and achieve great performance.

“But if you believe that your performance is forever limited by your lack of a specific innate gift, or by a lack of general abilities at the level that you think must be necessary, then there’s no chance at all that you will do the work.

“That’s why this belief is tragically constraining. Everyone who achieved exceptional performance has encountered terrible difficulties along the way. There are no exceptions. If you believe that doing the right kind of work can overcome the problems, then you have at least chance of moving on to ever better performance. “[1][Bold & Underline Emphasis Added].

That’s what most people want, a chance, an opportunity. And why wouldn’t that opportunity be there for the taking? It’s merely a choice.

For those that might wonder if people are really born with talent, Colvin elucidates:

“…a hundred years later, abundant evidence showed clearly that people can keep getting better long after they should have reached their “rigidly determinate” natural limits. The examples were not just great writers, artists, business people, inventors, and other eminences producing their best work three or four decades into their careers. By the late nineteenth century, scientific research was showing repeatedly that ordinary people in various lines of work could keep getting better even after their performance had apparently plateau. Typists, telegraph operators, typesetters – highly experienced workers in all these jobs, whose performance hadn’t improved in years, suddenly got markedly better when they were offered incentives or given new kinds of training. This evidence was obviously a big problem for the you’ve-got-it-or-you-don’t point of view.”[2][Bold & Underline Emphasis Added]

Such data is actually quite refreshing, because it shows that this is not merely an issue of being born with talent. On the flip side, it is also not as simple as merely working hard, because most people work hard. The main takeaway is that as long as proper practice is designed and undertaken, progress and growth can be developed in countless professions.

Given all the data collated that shows how certain individuals became extraordinary, the information presented by the author is worth ruminating upon at length. And seeing as Colvin also gave individuals a jump-off point, the book does hold a lot of significance one way or another.

If you wish to read a book that offers value, ideas to ruminate upon which might just change your life, and also want to know what separates the top tier from all the rest, get this book.

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Sources:

[1] Geoff Colvin, Talent Is Overrated – What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everybody Else, p. 205.
[2] Ibid., p. 63.

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About The Author:

#Book Review: J.R.R. Tolkien – A Biography by Humphrey Carter | #SmartReads

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
April 14, 2019

With his high fantasy literature, J.R.R. Tolkien has provided the tinder that stokes the imagination of millions. His books are known around the world, and for great reason, for they resonate the journey of the individual.

In that sense, J.R.R. Tolkien – A Biography by Humphrey Carter provides some illumination into the underlying reasons that drove Tolkien to write what he wrote and create what he did.

The biography is split up into 8 parts, some of which are more interesting than others. Admittedly, autobiographies can run quite dry many times, but this still did a reasonable job of showing us Tolkien in his most authentic form and that’s the most important thing.

Tolkien’s growth, his early years, his friendship with C.S. Lewis, and even his penchant for countless revisions are all catalogued within the book. It was particularly interesting to see what a perfectionist Tolkien was. In a sense, this allowed Tolkien to fine tune his writing process while at the same time expanding his Legendarium.

The Legendarium was created by Tolkien to serve as the fictional mythology about Earth’s remote past, and is composed by The Simarillion, The Hobbit, Lord Of The Rings, The History Of The Middle-Earth and more. This however, is not discussed in the book. I only mention it to supply the fervent reader for additional avenues to explore Tolkien’s unbounded work.

My favorite parts of the autobiography were about the creation of his books. Be that as it may, Tolkien’s skill in poetry, in conjunction with his relentless passion as a philologist to pursue the roots of language and learn everything about it was also highly intriguing.

In fact, regarding his penchant for writing Lord Of The Rings and linguistics, Tolkien had this to say:

“One writes such a story not out of the leaves of trees still to be observed, nor by means of botany and soil-science; but it grows like a seed in the dark out of the leaf-mould of the mind: out of all that has been seen or thought or read, that has long ago been forgotten, descending into the deeps. No doubt there is much selection, as with a gardener: what one throws on one’s personal compost-heap; and my mould is evidently made largely of linguistic matter.”[1][Bold Emphasis Added]

In its entirety, the book provides ample latitude of background while still providing enough fascinating components of Tolkien’s life. Each reader will undoubtedly gain myriad insights, but regardless, it’s intriguing to note that Tolkien himself was not an avid fan of biographies ironically enough.

Tolkien believed that biographies wouldn’t provide the truest nature of the person, and perhaps he was right. Just like movies, which are based on books, provide merely a facsimile of the depth which is entirely superficial of what great books provide, autobiographies will likewise never capture in full breadth and scope the life of an individual. Still, readers are lucky that Tolkien wrote phenomenal fiction because it allows us to see Tolkien’s soul as it is infused within pages.

And there’s no more authentic biography than a writer’s words.

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Source:

[1] Humphrey Carter, J.R.R. Tolkien – A Biography, p. 131.

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