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Peter Boghossian

@peterboghossian

Feb 9

A few quick thoughts on my #BJJ journey from #purpletobrown.

My gym in #Budapest has a culture of leg hunting, esp in no gi. They frequently catch me with knee bars and even heel hooks. (The latter are forbidden at most gyms until brown as they are *incredibly* dangerous.)

I’ve had to change up my game and be incredibly mindful of where I place my feet. This is good, but I find myself defending my legs at the expense of trying to take top. I’ve not yet figured out a way to balance leg defense from relentless leg hunters while trying to guard pass.

On another note. I finally figured out why I kept vomiting after my workouts. I couldn’t find just filtered water so I’ve been drinking mineral water. It was literally making me sick.

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Peter Boghossian

@peterboghossian

Jan 16

Here are a few things I have learned from over a quarter of a century of teaching. My advice to new teacher and professors:

1) Make sure there are clear learning outcomes at the beginning of each class. Write them on the board so they can be seen for the entire class.

2) Review the learning outcomes at the end of each class. *Ask* students to connect the content to the outcomes. (Don’t tell, ask.) That is, “Can anyone connect the learning outcome [say outcome] to what we did today?”

If nobody says anything, you can either make a joke like, “Not everybody at once,” or prod them by mentioning content and asking which learning objective it relates to.

No matter what the first student says, respond with something positive, like “good,” or even “thanks.”

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Peter Boghossian

@peterboghossian

Dec 19, 2021

In one of my “impossible conversations” today, someone told me that in ten years they want to become more certain of their beliefs. I was struck by this as it’s a completely different paradigm from how I think about my belief life. 1

We want to have the maximum number of true beliefs & the minimum number of false beliefs. But these are often in conflict, as we can’t believe everything (as we’d have more false beliefs) or not believe anything (as this is both impossible and we’d not have any true beliefs) 2

The goal of becoming more certain in one’s beliefs is motivated by morality. It’s tied to issues of personal identity and reinforced by community—both of which preceded the belief. The problem is that the belief cluster in which one wants to deepen one’s certainty may be false. 3

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Peter Boghossian

@peterboghossian

Dec 10, 2021

I’m almost finished with a writing retreat. I’m taking a quick break to offer a few writing hints. I hope you’ll find them helpful.

1) One of the main reasons writers—particularly younger writers—don’t improve is because they look at their writing as their baby. That is, they can’t take it being criticized. To improve in anything, esp writing, you must not only be able to accept but appreciate criticism.

2) If you’re writing nonfiction, do not wait until your piece is finished to turn your attention to the references. Work on them simultaneously. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make when writing their first nonfiction book.

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Peter Boghossian

@peterboghossian

Nov 5, 2021

This official document is from the Oregon Department of Education:“Communicating about Racial Equity in a Charged Environment”

It teaches educators how to speak about CRT and racial equity.

Here are a few things to think about as you read it…

1) The entire document is rooted in equity and how to speak to people about equity, yet equity is not defined.

Moreover, it’s assumed that equity is an intrinsic good, and offers no argument or evidence for equity-based education.

2) Notice the stance toward CRT.

It tells educators *how* to deal with objections, but there’s nothing substantive in the responses. It suggests a listening stance (with platitudes) devoid of argument or engaging meaningful objections.

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Peter Boghossian

@peterboghossian

Nov 3, 2021

It's interesting to note the ideological slants in Trip Gabriel’s NYT piece about Glenn Youngkin. I know, I know, everyone will say “Duh, Boghossian, obviously.” But it’s useful to look at just two sentences to clarify the bias:

nytimes.com/2021/11/03/us/…

1) "conservatives’ belief that classwork has become overly conscious of racial differences"

2) "Mr. Youngkin’s best known pledge is to ban critical race theory in schools on Day 1, even though that graduate-school thesis about the role of racism in American institutions has little impact on K-12 classrooms, educators say."

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