Goertz Thoughts

Last night I was listening to Fresh Air on NPR. They were interviewing the writers of the new movie The Big Sick (it looks interesting. I'll probably watch it). Anyway, they were talking about the differences of growing up in America vs. Pakistan and Kumail Nanjiani said that he didn't really understand movies with rebellious teenagers. He especially gave the example of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. His wife and co-writer, Emily, sort of scoffed at him for not enjoying a classic piece of American teenage cinema. I hear you Kumail. I've never understood the appeal of that movie. It is still on the list of movies that I dislike the most. Ferris's behavior throughout the movie is atrocious. He lies to his parents. He lies to the school. He mistreats Sloane. He bullies Cameron to the point where it seems (to me anyway) that he almost commits suicide. This is not a movie about teen rebelliousness. This is a movie about a jerk. Disclaimers: Maybe I am just too critical be...

I've been busy this summer working at UT to get a new class ready for next Fall, so I haven't had a lot of time to write. However, I thought that I would take just a few minutes to write about something that I was thinking of randomly. I can't remember where I read it(probably an educational psychology book), but the author posited that the classic Aesop story of the "Tortoise and the Hare" doesn't really have the message that we think it does. To recap the story: the tortoise and the hare are in a race to see who is truly fastest. Everyone bets of the hare because he is clearly fastest. The hare of course takes an early lead. Then, confident that he will win, the hare stops to take a nap. He oversleeps and the tortoise beats him. Slow but steady wins the race! It is better to be resolute than quick. Let's really take a look at this though. Would the tortoise have won if the hare wasn't overconfident? Not even close. The tortoise didn't have ...