Comments on: A Greek Philosopher Tackles Student Activities http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/ Demystifying Sustainable Success Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:12:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Ed http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7134 Ed Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:00:06 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7134 Great Post Here is something from Bob Sutton site that kind of ties in: Wisdom From Steve Jobs: The Importance of Killing Good Ideas basically says that if you are not killing a lot of good ideas, you are focusing on too many things and not getting any one thing done well. <a href="http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/wisdom-from-steve-jobs-the-importance-of-killing-good-ideas.html" rel="nofollow"> Great Post

Here is something from Bob Sutton site that kind of ties in:

Wisdom From Steve Jobs: The Importance of Killing Good Ideas

basically says that if you are not killing a lot of good ideas, you are focusing on too many things and not getting any one thing done well.

]]> By: apricot http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7125 apricot Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:51:45 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7125 i thought that it is only through exposing yourself to different areas that the mind learns to be creative when it starts drawing links between the various disciplines of study, helping you to develop fresh perspectives and to really stand out from the crowd. isn't that one of the supposed advantage of a liberal arts education? i thought that it is only through exposing yourself to different areas that the mind learns to be creative when it starts drawing links between the various disciplines of study, helping you to develop fresh perspectives and to really stand out from the crowd. isn’t that one of the supposed advantage of a liberal arts education?

]]> By: Study Hacks http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7110 Study Hacks Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:28:15 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7110 <blockquote>A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions. Marcus Aurelius my point is simple, the words ambitions is used, implying multiple pursuits rather than a few. Lets not forget that this is the man who is considered the stoic of the ancient world.</blockquote> Let's not also forget that Marcus learned his stoicism from Epictetus, who was his tutor. Though David would know more about this than me, my understanding is that the Meditations of Aurelius are considered to be the direct result of Epictetus's influence.

A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions.
Marcus Aurelius

my point is simple, the words ambitions is used, implying multiple pursuits rather than a few. Lets not forget that this is the man who is considered the stoic of the ancient world.

Let’s not also forget that Marcus learned his stoicism from Epictetus, who was his tutor. Though David would know more about this than me, my understanding is that the Meditations of Aurelius are considered to be the direct result of Epictetus’s influence.

]]> By: Sesil http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7107 Sesil Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:21:19 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7107 A man's worth is no greater than his ambitions. Marcus Aurelius my point is simple, the words ambitions is used, implying multiple pursuits rather than a few. Lets not forget that this is the man who is considered the stoic of the ancient world. A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions.
Marcus Aurelius

my point is simple, the words ambitions is used, implying multiple pursuits rather than a few. Lets not forget that this is the man who is considered the stoic of the ancient world.

]]> By: Study Hacks http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7103 Study Hacks Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:36:35 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7103 <blockquote>I’m currently pursuing a PhD in Immunology and I know that if I didn’t spend so much time on other ‘projects’ (for example, web design) I would be much further ahead. However, the time I spend learning other subjects is fun, new, and exciting. At this point, I really can’t say which is better.</blockquote> Figuring this out is crucial. One way to approach it is to first make sure you have more than enough time for your PhD work. (The "more" is crucial.) Then add in some regular time for the extra stuff. Only do what you can fit into that extra time. (Which can be a lot.)

I’m currently pursuing a PhD in Immunology and I know that if I didn’t spend so much time on other ‘projects’ (for example, web design) I would be much further ahead. However, the time I spend learning other subjects is fun, new, and exciting. At this point, I really can’t say which is better.

Figuring this out is crucial. One way to approach it is to first make sure you have more than enough time for your PhD work. (The “more” is crucial.) Then add in some regular time for the extra stuff. Only do what you can fit into that extra time. (Which can be a lot.)

]]> By: Nuruddeen Lewis http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7081 Nuruddeen Lewis Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:06:45 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7081 I really enjoyed reading this article and the comments. This topic is something I think about often, as I am interested in several different fields that are quite unrelated to one another. I'm currently pursuing a PhD in Immunology and I know that if I didn't spend so much time on other 'projects' (for example, web design) I would be much further ahead. However, the time I spend learning other subjects is fun, new, and exciting. At this point, I really can't say which is better. I really enjoyed reading this article and the comments. This topic is something I think about often, as I am interested in several different fields that are quite unrelated to one another. I’m currently pursuing a PhD in Immunology and I know that if I didn’t spend so much time on other ‘projects’ (for example, web design) I would be much further ahead. However, the time I spend learning other subjects is fun, new, and exciting. At this point, I really can’t say which is better.

]]> By: Nate http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7079 Nate Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:25:28 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7079 Great post. I wouldn't mind seeing more posts similar to this one with a focus on applying classical ideas to modern situations. Great post. I wouldn’t mind seeing more posts similar to this one with a focus on applying classical ideas to modern situations.

]]> By: Dorothea http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7077 Dorothea Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:07:03 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7077 I am also of the opinion of getting balance between focus and getting the big picture. Focus and specialize on one thing, but don't forget the rest of the world, or you won't be able to connect the dots properly. There are some cases where the big picture is more important than the specialization. In medicine for example, seeing as that's been mentioned, a general practitioner needs to be aware of the whole spectrum of illness, even and especially the 1 in a million things, because they are the ones that get missed. Once it's identified, you can hand it to a specialist, but it needs to be recognized first. I am also of the opinion of getting balance between focus and getting the big picture. Focus and specialize on one thing, but don’t forget the rest of the world, or you won’t be able to connect the dots properly. There are some cases where the big picture is more important than the specialization. In medicine for example, seeing as that’s been mentioned, a general practitioner needs to be aware of the whole spectrum of illness, even and especially the 1 in a million things, because they are the ones that get missed. Once it’s identified, you can hand it to a specialist, but it needs to be recognized first.

]]> By: andres jimenez http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7075 andres jimenez Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:31:02 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7075 great share, I ignored all of this. also thank you to all people that comment here, is very useful to read such opinions great share, I ignored all of this.
also thank you to all people that comment here, is very useful to read such opinions

]]> By: Study Hacks http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7074 Study Hacks Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:29:17 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/22/a-greek-philosopher-tackles-student-activities/#comment-7074 <blockquote>However, I wouldn’t want to let things go much farther than this. The more I focus on medicine, the better practitioner I become, the more I can help people.</blockquote> This is the challenge I can't quite solve. How do you identify that balance between not straying to widely, but still introducing some randomness into the equation. Maybe it's one of those things that's unique to each person; a sort of, "you know it when you see it" situation.

However, I wouldn’t want to let things go much farther than this. The more I focus on medicine, the better practitioner I become, the more I can help people.

This is the challenge I can’t quite solve. How do you identify that balance between not straying to widely, but still introducing some randomness into the equation. Maybe it’s one of those things that’s unique to each person; a sort of, “you know it when you see it” situation.

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