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Review of Blood Stained Tea

February 18, 2018

Blood Stained Tea, by Amy Tasukada, is the first novel of a series called “The Yakuza Path”. As the name implies, the plot of Blood Stained Tea unfolds in modern-day Japan (Kyoto, to be precise). The local Yakuza syndicate, the traditional Japanese organized crime, struggles to maintain control of the city, as a competitor group of Koreans attempt a takeover. Nao, a young tea merchant and a former (sort of) member of the Yakuza, tries to balance between his family loyalty and his feelings for Saehyun, a prominent member of the competitor gang.

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Self-Deception: Psychology and Meaning

February 16, 2018

Philosophy

citizen, ignorance, reason, responsibility, self-deception, society

Until recently, I lived with a certain false assumption: that people would want to know the truth. Furthermore, I used to think that once people discovered the truth (even accidentally) they would never be able to reject it. How can you hold an unjustified false belief, right? But recently, I realized that I was wrong. There are indeed people (who knows, maybe they are a majority) that prefer self-deception over truth.

In other words, such people prefer the beautiful lie instead of an ugly truth. Or, rather, they prefer to beautify the lie so that they don’t have to ponder on the possible qualitative attributes of the truth. Furthermore, I’ve discovered something incredible, which shouldn’t even be possible, according to philosophy and epistemology. Unlike what I mentioned above, there seem to be many people who can hold an unjustified false belief.

In plain English, they are capable of believing something that isn’t supported by evidence and is false (and, the implication is, they know it to be false). In other words, not only are they performing self-deception, but they do so knowingly and willingly.

Let’s take a closer look at this phenomenon – I’ll also throw in a story connecting Jesus and Donald Duck 😛

self-deception — Knowledge is justified true belief

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How to Read Faster: A Practical Guide

February 14, 2018

Criticism

academia, criticism, education, reading

I am what you would call a fast reader. However, the designation is a bit misleading. I am a fast reader if the book is interesting, and a slow reader when it’s not. I’ve finished 900-page books in two days, but I can spend months on something boring. Still, sometimes – boring or not – you must read a book as soon as possible. A student of mine once asked me for tips on how to read faster. I gave her a simple answer: just read more. Today’s article will expand on that short but accurate piece of advice.

I will divide my tips in nonfiction and fiction, as the dynamics are a bit different. But you should read both sections, as the lessons from the one can be partly applicable to the other one as well.

how to read fast — To read fast you need to read more

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