Insights for 20 February 2007

I am very pleased with the way the class is going right now. I have realized that although we may not have a textbook and that things have seemed a little crazy, that I have still learned a fair amount (at least, I hope it is a fair amount.) My education usually comes in moments like blogging, where I actually have to cohesively state what I have learned. So, I have found a reason for blooging and writing information down. I learn a great deal by writing because it forces me to think. I suspect that this would apply to everybody.

I came to the conclusion that we will have to rely a great deal on each other. We have multiple committee assignments and obviously won’t be able to be present for all our meetings because we’ll be in different meetings. This will require us to be willing to share knowledge and support each other.

I also believe that we have perhaps turned ourselves into little cliques. It is good for our own group morale, but I think we could have the same feeling throughout the class. I think that we could fix this by making a concerted effort to communicate with people from other groups. As a class, I think we ought to make sure that we are all on the same page, and be open with our information and ideas. Remember, “it is only through the collision of adverse opinions that we have any chance of finding the truth.” –John Stuart Mill

Money. I am a minimalist when it comes to money in business and government. Instead of trying to see how much money we can get, lets try to see how little we can spend and still do a good job. In Elder Eyring’s devotional that we watched, he said that the University will try to do more with less money. President Clark has made similar statements. I think we ought to do our part and minimize the amount of spending we do. Seriously, I have strong emotions (nearing anger) when I see money spent frivolously by companies and governments.