Sorry for the slow restart. It’s not because I haven’t been eager to get back into it, it’s just a matter of re-finding the routine. Daily m-f from now on.

It’s nice to be back. New York’s weather right now is excellent and I’m unusually cheery. I went to a museum over the weekend and was blown away by a spacial-audio installation, had a great philosophy class Monday night on one my favorite philosopers, Paulo Freire (“Pedagogy of the Oppressed” is one of the most important books you can read in your life), gave a lecture on social science simulations at a local college yesterday afternoon, and raced back for another class last night. LG.

Feeling stronger, my back is at about 95% health. There were some stiff days on the trip, particularly after long treks, but nothing too bad. Going down steep hills was pretty hard after a while, but survivable. My trip journal will be up soon.

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An ethics question: what do you think about an educational process in which the teacher prearranging and manipulates a situation for a person or group of persons without their knowledge, in order to teach them something?

In Rousseau’s “Emile”, he runs young Emile’s life as if it were a project, carefully crafting and planning and paying incredible attention to every happening, in order to create (nearly literally) a kind of superiorly happy and capable person.

Though many believe that a particular god does the same thing in our own lives (all things happen for a reason, etc.) to create a kind of “learning world” for another that is construed and crafted without the participant’s knowledge would seem awfully powerful. What are the possible unintended negative consequences of a project like that?