World Affairs Council 60th Annual Conference

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The World Affairs Council of Northern California is having its 60th Annual Conference May 5-7 in the Pacific Grove, CA area on "Global Change: The Balance of Power in 2020." Topics to be discussed include the changing geopolitical situation, the rise of China/India/Brazil, and breakout sessions on globalization, the environment, and international governance.

I will be attending — they’ve generously offered me a scholarship to attend for free as well as room and board. If you are going let me know and we can meet up.

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Merit-Based Scholarships

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Higher education caters to the privileged and the elite.

I remember reading an article on this topic which bolstered its point by revealing a new trend by colleges looking to attract top students: offer merit-based scholarships out of their scholarship money, regardless of whether they’re financial aid candidates.

I’m fortunate not to need financial aid for college. Today a college offered me an annual $5,000 scholarship if I attend based on "potential to make unique and strong contributions to [college name]’s student life."

It’s a very generous offer and will be on the table when I make my decision. But I know that my receiving this money means money not going to other economically disadvantaged applicants.

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I've Been Invited to a Really Cool, Selective Organization

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I was recently invited to join this ultra-selective organization. So selective, it’s even called Selective Service System. Check out this cool invitation I got in the mail. The only thing is, they say they’ll fine me hundreds of thousands of dollars and throw me in jail for up to 5 years if I don’t fill it out. Hmm, not much choice here.

Selectiveservice

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An "Untech" Dinner at Renee's House

Posted inFriends of BenLeave a comment on An "Untech" Dinner at Renee's House

I stopped by Renee Blodgett‘s house last night for an "untech" dinner — no talk of technology allowed. Similar to the Junto, but way more strict! It was a fun couple hours. Good chats with Auren Hoffman, Josh Weinberg, and Mick Malisic, among others. We talked about religion, neoconservatism, nature vs. nurture, politics, education, globalization, urbanization and cities, and many other provocative issues! It’s always interesting to have these discussions, but you have to be careful: too much time talking about important topics at a cocktail hour level, and one becomes reliant on sound bites while deep, critical analysis goes by the wayside.

Here’s a photo of me at Renee’s.

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Overvaluing and Undervaluing Advice

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Interesting research presented in Harvard Business Review on advice. I both ask for and give advice regularly so I found this interesting.

  • People tend to overvalue advice when the problem they’re addressing is hard.
  • People tend to undervalue it when the problem is easy.
  • People to overvalue advice that they pay for.

This is not altogether surprising, but important to keep in mind.

Related Post: What Makes a Good Mentor

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