Sunday Supplement #92 (February 12th, 2023)
Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.
I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!
Quote of the Week:
“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.”
– Oscar Wilde
Book of the Week:
Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell is a bestselling author, journalist, staff writer for The New Yorker, and public speaker.
In his New York Times bestselling book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell directs how we often think without thinking during choices that seem to be made instantly.
Blink highlights examples from psychologists who learned to predict whether a marriage will last (I featured one of their books in Sunday Supplement #69), an expert tennis coach who knows when players will double fault, as well as other intriguing cases.
The book addresses why some people are brilliant decision-markers while others end up stumbling into error.
Blink directs how our brains work in different situations and how the best decisions can appear inexplicable at first glance. It’s a fascinating book worth checking out.
Movie of the Week:
The 1997 film Men in Black follows an NYPD officer as he joins a secret organization that polices and monitors extraterrestrial interactions on Earth.
On the surface, Men in Black comes off as an entertaining Science Fiction Action Comedy movie. However, many deeper themes give the film an extra dimension.
The existential questions over what we assume about our world and our unconscious biases about those around us are at the core of the entertaining narrative.
The mentor figure of Tommy Lee Jones and the hero, young officer Will Smith brilliantly bring the movie’s depth to life in an exciting film for a thoughtful popcorn movie night.
Brainfood of the Week:
Experiential Learning: How We All Learn Naturally | Sprouts
Sprouts defines experiential learning as learning through experience or learning through reflection on doing and argues that it is the most natural and powerful form of education.
The video uses the example of learning to walk to show how we start out naturally doing this. It breaks down how our brain reflects on failure to help us understand how to succeed.
Musicians often perform better on most tests, regardless of what the tests measure, because of their experience of not being put off by failure.
The concept of experiential learning is pretty basic, as is the video, but it’s a powerful reminder of how we should embrace failure and see what we can learn from it.
Sprouts is a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers that makes educational videos about psychology, pedagogy, and child development.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“Obstacles do not block the path. They are the path.”
– Zen Proverb
This Zen Proverb reminds me to think of the obstacles in my life from a different perspective.
Usually, when I think of an obstacle, I think of something that blocks a path or prevents someone from moving forward.
The proverb gives me the perspective of viewing obstacles as a chance to learn, deciding how to best move forward, and learning from the experience.
Sometimes obstacles can seem like hindrances, but I think in the end, they help us challenge ourselves and bring out our best.
Think about how an obstacle might be helpful, and have a blessed week ahead!
I love every bit of information you shared in this post. Experience indeed is the best teacher. I’ve been through many failures in my life, but I did learn many life lessons. These lessons have helped me become stronger and more resilient to challenges. Thanks for sharing this informative, thought-provoking, and inspiring post!
I’m glad to hear you take that positive perspective on your experiences 🙂 Thanks for checking out the post!
Another thought-provoking post with so much to reflect upon Drew! It’s been a while since I watched MIB but I should watch it again! Have a wonderful week ahead.
Thanks for checking it out, Jodie 🙂 Hope you enjoy the rewatch of MiB!
I agree on the point about experience being the hardest teacher. It is both good and bad to learn from own experience. Like, there’s no manual to anything, we just make decisions and hope it’s all for the best. It’s a very thought-provoking realisation. The book ‘Blink’ sounds brilliant. I should get my hands on it.
Jeannie x
I agree preparation can only bring us so far. But hopefully, we learn something from our experiences, even if the experiences turn out to be hard ones. Thanks for checking out the post, Jeannie! Hope you enjoy Blink!
Love that quote from Oscar Wilde, it’s SO tru!
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Thanks for stopping by, Jenny!
I love the quote of the week, it definitely speaks about how life is. Blink sounds like a very interesting book.
Thanks for checking out the post, Ali! And hope you enjoy Blink if it finds its way to your reading list!
I love the quote as it can be applied to so many things in life, including work. Nowadays you’re expected to know things about a job before you’ve even worked in that field before, which you could only know if you’ve worked in that field before. But because companies want to pay people less, they expect people with no experience to already have that experience
Yeah, that paradox can be frustrating. I like to think that the companies that engage in that kind of thinking aren’t worth working for anyway.
Great quote from Oscar Wilde!
Definitely 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Chren!
Thanks for sharing these pieces of wisdom. The Zen quote is another great example of how similar it is to Stoicism. And I loved that Oscar Wilde quote. Thank you!
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Thanks for checking out the post, Benny!
Great post! Blink sounds like an interesting read. I also love the quote from Oscar Wilde.
Blink is definitely worth a look. Thanks for giving it a read, Raji!