When you encounter someone you find difficult to understand, you label him/her as 'being irrational' and everything easily makes sense. Kids will be kids. Boys will be boys. Kim Jong Un is a fat dictating king Putin is an evil dictator Trump is an unwitting salesman While we may settle for this kind of easy explanation in daily life, that will not get us far in the road to truthseeking (AKA graudating from grad school). Neither does it give us good dissertation topics. Long story short, we must be extra prudent before dismissing someone as 'irrational.' 'Irrational' may result from either of the two scenarios: 1) one is misguided and misinformed(unintentional) 2) one chooses to look irrational(intentional). Often times, we assume the first scenario and neglect the possibility of the second. For instance, for President Trump, As far as he is promoting a profit-based world order in lieu of a norms-based order, whacko image works. Redesigning trad...
If there is ever a universal topic for everyone around the world to have common ground, that topic is life and death. That is probably why conflicting or divided people can come together when mourning for the dead, and passersby break into a smile when running into a newborn in the street. To the universality of the topic, added is the uniqueness of one man, a father, neurosurgeon, and a lung cancer patient. Reading into Paul's narrative--on his scholastic and career ambitions, his dear relationship with his wife Lucy, choice to have a life rather than life support--is as though we get to know a friend. To someone who aspires to take the scholastic path, Paul's command of the English language and his academic success in areas on both science and humanity stand out, serving as a model and a guide. As the pages of the book are turned by the hands of its readers, the finite, fleeting account of Paul's life is reanimated. (image from the Telegraph ) But it is ...