Just Another Day in Studville...

Book Review, one that I can identify with

Last week I stopped by the town library since I had a little time to kill before picking up one of my daughters from her soccer practice. As is my custom I made my way over to the new releases section and began looking through the nonfiction books. Nonfiction is the way to go. Anyway, I didn't see anything good in the sports section (796. on your Dewey Decimal dial) nor were there any appealing history books. So I looked around a bit more in other categories when suddenly something caught my eye. This one particular book nearly jumped out at me and screamed "Read me!" The title is: Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters
Folks, I am living proof.
As a father of 3 children that are all girls, I can clearly identify with this. This just prooves what I've been saying for years - my wife and I are beautiful. Now there is no argument.
Feel free to infer that if you can't produce many daughters you are ugly.
The two evolutionary psychologists, Alan Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa, that wrote the book explain why we do what we do. The book is a good read and provides a background to human history and facets of our human nature. In a nutshell, what they are saying is that since mankind spent millions of years living on the plains of Africa we are fundamentally a product of that lifestyle. Although we began living an agriculturally-based lifestyle about 10,000 years ago, we have retained many facets of that longer period of our development. The "Savanna Principle" that is proposed states that our brain has difficulty comprehending and dealing with situations that did not exist in the ancestral environment. And it also explores some of our choices, such as who we pick as a mate, jealousy, spatial recognition, and how we interact with others.
Although I'm only a quarter of the way through it, I find the book to be interesting and provide insight into why we humans are the way we are and do the things we do. Besides, its title and what they propose is spot on as far as I am concerned.

Book review about a real race

Although there has been an increase in the number of ultra marathons available over the last several decades, so too has the number of events catering to walkers grown. I'm sure you share my disdain over these walking events but if I go on about this then the editor of this blog will come down hard on me. Because in this day and age we aren't allowed to offend anyone. We're asked to be all welcoming and touchy-feely. Frankly, it makes me sick.
Anyway, I'm going to share with you a story about the ultimate ultra marathon. I'm currently reading the book C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America. Let's hope in our time machine and travel back 80 years. The race was nicknamed the "Bunion Derby" because back in those days shoes sucked and it was commonplace for corns and bunions to grow wild on one's feet. Reading about those times makes one grateful for the modern advancements in running shoes.
Getting back to the race, it was a fantastically promoted event that offered $25,000 to the fastest person to run 3,422 miles from Los Angeles to New York. Americans were lapping up these spectacles of amazing feats back in the Roaring Twenties and this challenge and huge amount of money was hard to resist. About 200 runners from the US, Europe and Africa dropped what they were doing to participate in the stage race that ended up lasting 84 days. They cames from all walks of life. Some were world-class runners while most others were unfit for the task at hand but had some faith they could do it. The participants ran and walked and average of 40 miles a day. The longest single day stage was over 74 miles.
If you're looking for inspiration then I recommend the book. Its 300 easy-to-read pages of history and suspense. You can also check out this website (caution: spoiler!) about the race.
3,422 miles over 84 days in shoddy shoes with inadequate food and drink. Such an endeavor required grit. That defines a true runner.

K-Law Book Review: Socrates Cafe

I don't think Sattler does much recreational reading due to a lack of free time, especially with tax season quickly approaching.  But it appears that Ricky is a fellow bookworm, so I thought it would be neat for us to offer up a book review once in a while, as we finish off books. 

I am just about finished with a book by Christopher Phllips called Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy.  It's a relatively small book and it's a gem!  Although it has no direct relationship to distance running, we all know that our best philosophizing takes place on the road where there are few distractions and the endorphins are bouncing around inside our brains!

Phillips is a philosopher who goes around the country holding what he calls "Socrates Cafes", which are informal forums where laypeople gather to kick around philosophical questions, such as "Is there a God?", "How do you define 'home'?", "What is a friend?", "What does is mean to be old?" and, that ageless question, "Who am I?".  The locations include coffee houses, senior centers and senior residential communities, churches, prisons and elementary schools (the author claims that elementary school students are unrivaled philosophers!). 

Phillips acts as the moderator in these discussions and, in keeping with the spirit of Socrates, he prompts the group's dialogue with thoughtful questions.  The premise of these discussions is that there are no universal right or wrong answers to these big questions, and the group rarely, if ever, arrive at any kind of consensus.  Instead, by employing reflective questioning, each participant arrives at his/her own personal answers to these questions.  Participants put their own "inner philosopher" to work, so to speak.  This results in absolutely fascinating and eye-opening discourse.

Phillips' overall goal is to bring philosophy down from the ivory tower and help people realize the benefits of taking a philosophical approach to life.  He bemoans the materialism that has pervaded American culture since the 80's and how things like ethics and morality have been largely brushed aside.  The average person never seriously struggles with the question of who they are or why they exist, and Phillips has set out to change that.

Overall, it's a great little book that can really change your perspective on life.  It has certainly inspired me to put morephilosophy books on the 2008 reading list!