Lifelong learning and appreciating the New Yorker for its breadth of coverage, writing, & insights.

1/ First, this is not a paid ad/sponsorship. Second, I am a massive fan of The New Yorker. If you are planning on doing some readings this Thanksgiving weekend, then I recommend the latest New Yorker. In just one edition of the magazine it covered several fascinating topics with strong endings/learnings:

1. Bonsai, apprenticeships, and the relationship between nature vs. nurture. Here’s how this piece ends:

“A bonsai’s beauty, Neil noted, can often be traced to its struggle to stay alive. A young tree tends to be symmetrical, with an upright posture and no scars. “All of a sudden, boulders fall on it, snow crushes it, wind rips its branches off,” Neil said. “The older it gets, the more asymmetrical it gets, because of the random acts and events that the natural environment is imposing on the tree. Humans are virtually no different.””

https://lnkd.in/giWitpPW

2. Dexter Filkins has written one of the best foreign policy and national security essays on China, Taiwan, & the USA. This essay is personally and professionally fascinating given my American Born Chinese Taiwanese background. This piece also has an interesting ending/warning:

“Both sides are caught—seemingly unable to back down without appearing to concede. Ryan Hass, the former diplomat, said, “China has a strategic dilemma. They’re frustrated by the status quo, and they’re probing for ways to change it. But taking big, bold actions would come at an extraordinary cost to them. You can’t eliminate the possibility that they would be willing to pay that cost, and so we have to be prepared for it. But if you accept the proposition that war is inevitable, and we must do everything we possibly can to prepare for it now, then you risk precipitating the very outcome that your strategy is designed to prevent.””

https://lnkd.in/g9MegTUS

3. Hoover and The Price of Power: https://lnkd.in/gasTYXZ2

2/ Bonus read: an article from 2009 that mentions a West Point 2004 classmate: “Earlier this year, Steele travelled to Savannah and gave a speech to the Georgia Farm Bureau about the Army. Rattling off the names of infantrymen he did not bring back, he flushed. “I want to tell you about Lieutenant Dennis Zilinski, and I wish Dennis was here today,” Steele said. “Dennis is an all-American kid. He is from New Jersey.””

https://lnkd.in/gYsaVQzQ

3/ I’m a big fan of having the print edition as it’s nice to be able to read the magazine during a long flight or commute. I hope the New Yorker brings other people as much value, continuing education, and knowledge as it has to me.

#reading #education #natsec #strategy #lifelonglearning #lifelessons #veterans #military

Tim HsiaDecember 1, 2022