F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise.”
Einstein - "A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness,” he wrote in German on a piece of hotel stationery.
“Ouseph believes that Western education and psychology place too much emphasis on sociability, and that this has a detrimental effect on children’s intellectual cultivation and is the reason for the increase in social and emotional problems in children…”
This description alone leads me to want to devour this book. My interest only grows reading the excerpts that follow.
I am an educator, of the youngest children enrolled in US public schools, and the outrageous behavior, inability to concentrate, effectively communicate, innate disrespect, anger, rage, even-is the norm, and growing with each passing year. Sadly, it is more apt to describe children in my school as LOUD, aggressive, violent, careless, and rude, than “responsible, respectful, aware, positive, & peaceful” (which is the school motto). I cannot guide them and they cannot learn in this state of being. I am sure Ouseph’s book has much broader implications; for me, the idea of low culture subverting high culture to the detriment of society as a whole is exactly what I see in microcosm, with a group of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds in a high needs, urban public school. It breaks my heart to use some of the adjectives above, because so many of my young students know nothing else, and (age-appropriately) simply mimic what they encounter in their daily lives.
I was surprised that there are set of wisdoms preserved, somehow missed that part from school history. As well as long Egyptian culture thrived - 2 millennia of purification, crystallisation. I feel with all wars, changes of empires we didn’t have a chance to grow it that deep. And what was before hasn’t been saved
As I mentioned in my reply to Julia Herdman, in the last hundred years many spheres of modern life has undergone a transformation that resembles a shift from high culture to low culture/pop culture.
Two thousand years ago, the temple of Apollo at Delphi was inscribed with the maxim “know thyself.” It was a clarion call for an introspective way of life. But today, this age-old maxim has given way to “express thyself.” Today, even educators seem to be overly obsessed with teaching children to express themselves--perhaps more than teaching them knowledge or character. Myriad aspects of our society, including the education system, are as if they are designed to churn out the kind of unthinking individuals needed to keep the modern consumerist culture afloat. If the values of the flourishing societies of the past sought to cultivate children into refined and thoughtful individuals, modern society and its culture seem intent to bring up children in very different ways.
Thank you so much for this wonderful article. The Wisdom Texts are indeed a rich seam of practical advice and soulful philosophy that are no less valuable to us because they are five thousand years old. In terms of what makes a society sustainable over such a long period, my take on it is that is the stories we tell about ourselves and the ideals we aim to live by that shapes our future and success. The Wisdom Texts have a lot to offer us today, a time when we have replaced the stories dominated by heroes and heroines who fought to overcome evil (isfet or chaos) with negative and nihilistic stories where life is meaningless, and the most fundamental aspects of human existence, like morality, love and compassion have no value. Today, we are told we are either victims or oppressors and that to be successful we must tear-up our past and what we have built becasue it is corrupt and worthless. I I don't think you'll find our civilisation outlasting that of ancient Egypt if we carry on like this.
I believe that human societies are shaped by a tension between high culture and a lower culture of the masses that we often refer to as the popular culture. Modern society in the last century has witnessed a cultural transformation akin to a change from high culture to low culture. In the last hundred years or so, the growing prominence of popular culture and democratizing trends have inadvertently resulted in a diminution or dumbing down of cultural standards in society. In many areas of today's society, there is a trend that resembles a shift away from high culture to low culture. It is evident in music, the arts, education, psychology, and religion. In a way, the restrained and genteel aristocratic culture of the past is being eclipsed by the loud and uninhibited popular culture. Across the world, the traditional values of learning, introspection, gentleness, temperance, and prudence are being eclipsed by a pop culture value system that is loud, herd-like, superficial, sensational, and consumerist in nature.
While high culture emphasizes the best that has been thought and said, pop culture emphasizes things that seem impressive on the surface or useful in the short-term. The values of high culture that we see in Egyptian wisdom texts is not an exception but is actually the norm among the wisdom writings of various cultures, be it of Christians, Jews, Muslims, of Confucianism and other cultures. However, on the other hand, you see the values of popular culture reflected in the attitudes of common people. Perhaps more importantly, as I take great pains to explain in my book, today, you see the latter values reflected in modern psychology as well.
Intriguing, slience, observer,listeners,wisdom they learn without even saying a word,quiet love hold volume... Mania circle a Tornado loud,destructive, only when we calm,quiet ourselves is when we can see,feel the wisdom within the eye... Much love to everyone always and forever dear ones...
Here is something I posted on Facebook that everyone here should understand: I saw a comment in a sports story about a player described as a “leader by example” and a “tremendous teammate despite being soft-spoken.”
It seems our culture believes only loudmouths can be leaders and teammates. We need more soft-spoken leaders and teammates. I’m sick of this mindset that louder is better and it makes me want to put in ear plugs.
There is LeBron James, whom some consider to be a voracious reader and a quiet family man. A few years ago, the prominent investment manager Raymond Dalio set out to understand the personalities of people who "shape" the world. Considering his clout he managed to give MBTI Questionnaires to some of the top people in the world. His list included people like Elon musk, Bill Gates, Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore's first prime minister who is credited with creating modern Singapore), Muhammad Yunus (a Nobel prize-winning economist and the leader of Bangladesh's current government), and others. As I remember, Dalio's list was mostly entrepreneurs and politicians. Despite that, more than half of the people on his list turned out to be introverts. Here is Dalio's X post regarding this. https://twitter.com/raydalio/status/1049447954531176448
There is more introverts among high-achieving people than is commonly assumed.
Having two boys, one of each type: one very verbal & quick to speak and one observer who speaks slowly & with more pause, I appreciate the Lakalai dichotomy, which states that both personalities and practices have value.
As Susan mentioned in her post, this is my labor of love. Please consider reading it. As for the dichotomy, the book takes a more nuanced approach than what might appear from excerpt. The book emphasizes thoughtfulness and intellectual cultivation., regardless of innate temperaments like introversion and extraversion. Both personality types can thrive, but both will be greatly benefited by cultivating thoughtfulness and intellect.
This is fascinating and insightful, but I can’t help but think of the widespread slavery utilized in ancient Egypt to build the pyramids and other wonders. That may have been a contributing factor as to why the privilege class was able to have the time and space to devote to calm reflection.
The general consensus among modern Egyptologists is that the pyramids were built by a highly skilled and paid workforce, and not by slaves. Archaeologists have already excavated and studied huge townships around the Giza necropolis that housed and fed the pyramid workers. Based on these evidence and others, archaeologists have come to this conclusion.
While reading your post today, Susan, I had an “aha moment”. As a quiet, introspective, sensitive person, I’ve always had a hard time being near or engaging with an angry person. I have a visceral reaction to angry people, and if that anger is pointed at me, well, it’s total system overload. I’ve always regarded this as a weakness, as a lack of courage or gumption on my part.
But perhaps it’s not the inability to process WHAT the angry person is saying, but an unwillingness to engage in the WAY they are delivering their message. I am open minded and am willing always to hear another’s point of view, and it’s not that I’m afraid of strong emotions (joy, sadness, fear etc…) it’s just the heat and lack of control that anger brings that causes me to shut down. Maybe others can relate? Thank you for the post, Susan, and my AHA moment today. ❤️🙏🏻
Totally relate! Especially to the part about seeing it as a weakness to be overcome. I saw it that way for a long time and have been doing the work to see it as who I am and that there is an entire positive side to it that comes with this piece.
I did the same as Mark, bought the book before finishing the post.
I love how we searched deeply into the confines of Egyptians and found such sound advice and registry of the quiet ones and their value.
It's interesting how they mark the extremes, and how the answer may lie in the polarity of in between: it's neither silent nor heated, but the combination ld both.
Funnily enough, us quiets and introverts can enter into heated more, or passionate mode, when we lead from the heart, a place of conviction, as Susan beautifully says in her Audible.
And so, ancient (sometimes wiser) civilization trusted in the quiets and found value. We should pay further attention to what the silent have to say, as while they may talk little, when they do, it must be meaningful at the least.
It's such a great book. You will definitely enjoy it, as there's a journey from the author and a central topic, sprinkled with really interesting data about creativity and genius. Let me know when you read it! :)
And I always love your valuable insights and posts!
F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise.”
I find this poem very timely and calming today -
Wendell Berry - The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Einstein - "A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness,” he wrote in German on a piece of hotel stationery.
“Ouseph believes that Western education and psychology place too much emphasis on sociability, and that this has a detrimental effect on children’s intellectual cultivation and is the reason for the increase in social and emotional problems in children…”
This description alone leads me to want to devour this book. My interest only grows reading the excerpts that follow.
I am an educator, of the youngest children enrolled in US public schools, and the outrageous behavior, inability to concentrate, effectively communicate, innate disrespect, anger, rage, even-is the norm, and growing with each passing year. Sadly, it is more apt to describe children in my school as LOUD, aggressive, violent, careless, and rude, than “responsible, respectful, aware, positive, & peaceful” (which is the school motto). I cannot guide them and they cannot learn in this state of being. I am sure Ouseph’s book has much broader implications; for me, the idea of low culture subverting high culture to the detriment of society as a whole is exactly what I see in microcosm, with a group of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds in a high needs, urban public school. It breaks my heart to use some of the adjectives above, because so many of my young students know nothing else, and (age-appropriately) simply mimic what they encounter in their daily lives.
I was surprised that there are set of wisdoms preserved, somehow missed that part from school history. As well as long Egyptian culture thrived - 2 millennia of purification, crystallisation. I feel with all wars, changes of empires we didn’t have a chance to grow it that deep. And what was before hasn’t been saved
As I mentioned in my reply to Julia Herdman, in the last hundred years many spheres of modern life has undergone a transformation that resembles a shift from high culture to low culture/pop culture.
Two thousand years ago, the temple of Apollo at Delphi was inscribed with the maxim “know thyself.” It was a clarion call for an introspective way of life. But today, this age-old maxim has given way to “express thyself.” Today, even educators seem to be overly obsessed with teaching children to express themselves--perhaps more than teaching them knowledge or character. Myriad aspects of our society, including the education system, are as if they are designed to churn out the kind of unthinking individuals needed to keep the modern consumerist culture afloat. If the values of the flourishing societies of the past sought to cultivate children into refined and thoughtful individuals, modern society and its culture seem intent to bring up children in very different ways.
Thank you so much for this wonderful article. The Wisdom Texts are indeed a rich seam of practical advice and soulful philosophy that are no less valuable to us because they are five thousand years old. In terms of what makes a society sustainable over such a long period, my take on it is that is the stories we tell about ourselves and the ideals we aim to live by that shapes our future and success. The Wisdom Texts have a lot to offer us today, a time when we have replaced the stories dominated by heroes and heroines who fought to overcome evil (isfet or chaos) with negative and nihilistic stories where life is meaningless, and the most fundamental aspects of human existence, like morality, love and compassion have no value. Today, we are told we are either victims or oppressors and that to be successful we must tear-up our past and what we have built becasue it is corrupt and worthless. I I don't think you'll find our civilisation outlasting that of ancient Egypt if we carry on like this.
I agree with you.
I believe that human societies are shaped by a tension between high culture and a lower culture of the masses that we often refer to as the popular culture. Modern society in the last century has witnessed a cultural transformation akin to a change from high culture to low culture. In the last hundred years or so, the growing prominence of popular culture and democratizing trends have inadvertently resulted in a diminution or dumbing down of cultural standards in society. In many areas of today's society, there is a trend that resembles a shift away from high culture to low culture. It is evident in music, the arts, education, psychology, and religion. In a way, the restrained and genteel aristocratic culture of the past is being eclipsed by the loud and uninhibited popular culture. Across the world, the traditional values of learning, introspection, gentleness, temperance, and prudence are being eclipsed by a pop culture value system that is loud, herd-like, superficial, sensational, and consumerist in nature.
While high culture emphasizes the best that has been thought and said, pop culture emphasizes things that seem impressive on the surface or useful in the short-term. The values of high culture that we see in Egyptian wisdom texts is not an exception but is actually the norm among the wisdom writings of various cultures, be it of Christians, Jews, Muslims, of Confucianism and other cultures. However, on the other hand, you see the values of popular culture reflected in the attitudes of common people. Perhaps more importantly, as I take great pains to explain in my book, today, you see the latter values reflected in modern psychology as well.
Intriguing, slience, observer,listeners,wisdom they learn without even saying a word,quiet love hold volume... Mania circle a Tornado loud,destructive, only when we calm,quiet ourselves is when we can see,feel the wisdom within the eye... Much love to everyone always and forever dear ones...
Here is something I posted on Facebook that everyone here should understand: I saw a comment in a sports story about a player described as a “leader by example” and a “tremendous teammate despite being soft-spoken.”
It seems our culture believes only loudmouths can be leaders and teammates. We need more soft-spoken leaders and teammates. I’m sick of this mindset that louder is better and it makes me want to put in ear plugs.
There is LeBron James, whom some consider to be a voracious reader and a quiet family man. A few years ago, the prominent investment manager Raymond Dalio set out to understand the personalities of people who "shape" the world. Considering his clout he managed to give MBTI Questionnaires to some of the top people in the world. His list included people like Elon musk, Bill Gates, Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore's first prime minister who is credited with creating modern Singapore), Muhammad Yunus (a Nobel prize-winning economist and the leader of Bangladesh's current government), and others. As I remember, Dalio's list was mostly entrepreneurs and politicians. Despite that, more than half of the people on his list turned out to be introverts. Here is Dalio's X post regarding this. https://twitter.com/raydalio/status/1049447954531176448
There is more introverts among high-achieving people than is commonly assumed.
Having two boys, one of each type: one very verbal & quick to speak and one observer who speaks slowly & with more pause, I appreciate the Lakalai dichotomy, which states that both personalities and practices have value.
Thank you Ouseph, for sharing this study and lens with us.
As Susan mentioned in her post, this is my labor of love. Please consider reading it. As for the dichotomy, the book takes a more nuanced approach than what might appear from excerpt. The book emphasizes thoughtfulness and intellectual cultivation., regardless of innate temperaments like introversion and extraversion. Both personality types can thrive, but both will be greatly benefited by cultivating thoughtfulness and intellect.
This is fascinating and insightful, but I can’t help but think of the widespread slavery utilized in ancient Egypt to build the pyramids and other wonders. That may have been a contributing factor as to why the privilege class was able to have the time and space to devote to calm reflection.
The general consensus among modern Egyptologists is that the pyramids were built by a highly skilled and paid workforce, and not by slaves. Archaeologists have already excavated and studied huge townships around the Giza necropolis that housed and fed the pyramid workers. Based on these evidence and others, archaeologists have come to this conclusion.
Bravo on your new book Ouseph! I look forward to reading it:)
Thank you.
Thank you so much for sharing this book, I am starting to read and feel so inspired already
Thank you Palmira. Please do not forget to share your thoughts here after reading it.
While reading your post today, Susan, I had an “aha moment”. As a quiet, introspective, sensitive person, I’ve always had a hard time being near or engaging with an angry person. I have a visceral reaction to angry people, and if that anger is pointed at me, well, it’s total system overload. I’ve always regarded this as a weakness, as a lack of courage or gumption on my part.
But perhaps it’s not the inability to process WHAT the angry person is saying, but an unwillingness to engage in the WAY they are delivering their message. I am open minded and am willing always to hear another’s point of view, and it’s not that I’m afraid of strong emotions (joy, sadness, fear etc…) it’s just the heat and lack of control that anger brings that causes me to shut down. Maybe others can relate? Thank you for the post, Susan, and my AHA moment today. ❤️🙏🏻
Totally relate! Especially to the part about seeing it as a weakness to be overcome. I saw it that way for a long time and have been doing the work to see it as who I am and that there is an entire positive side to it that comes with this piece.
I so so so relate!
I just came across your site. I’m looking forward to reading and reflecting on these writings. Is this why most social gatherings bore me?
probably!!
I did the same as Mark, bought the book before finishing the post.
I love how we searched deeply into the confines of Egyptians and found such sound advice and registry of the quiet ones and their value.
It's interesting how they mark the extremes, and how the answer may lie in the polarity of in between: it's neither silent nor heated, but the combination ld both.
Funnily enough, us quiets and introverts can enter into heated more, or passionate mode, when we lead from the heart, a place of conviction, as Susan beautifully says in her Audible.
And so, ancient (sometimes wiser) civilization trusted in the quiets and found value. We should pay further attention to what the silent have to say, as while they may talk little, when they do, it must be meaningful at the least.
Thank you. I would love to hear from you once you finish the book. I think you will also like the section on ancient Mesopotamia.
You bet, Ouseph! I'll get back as soon as I read it.
BTW, have you read The Geography lf Genius from Eric Weiner? I think you will like that one, based on this very book you wrote.
I haven't read it. After checking out its description on Amazon, I think I will like it. I am adding it to my reading list.
It's such a great book. You will definitely enjoy it, as there's a journey from the author and a central topic, sprinkled with really interesting data about creativity and genius. Let me know when you read it! :)