MBA progess etc., Philosophy, Myths and Books

[tcpip]

Finished two more courses of my MBA today with exams for Contemporary People Management and Strategic Management. The latter would be quite amusing for Brendan E; it was entirely dedicated to Nike, whom I discover neither make or sell shoes. Assuming I've passed both of these (a fair assumption) this means I've completed all all the rerequisite units for the qualification with only four elective units to do. I must confess I am rather unsure of what to select from the offerings and will spend some time considering these choices - and for that matter how many I do. I could be enthusiastic and try to get the lot done over summer, the equivalent of a full-time load. In other qualifications did the refresher course for my First Aid Certificate. The trainer wasn't very good; when people didn't understand his questions his strategy was to repeat himself, but louder. He also tried to tell us that a blood glucose level of 12 was normal for diabetics. I think that's a very dangerous thing to teach.

Last Sunday conducted a dual presentation with Rick Barker at the Unitarian Philosophy Forum on Teleology and Free Will. Deriving heavily from Aristotle which follows a somewhat Hellenic-centric approach we've had recently at the Forum, which will be followed up with The Hellenic Origins of Philosophy. Appropriately, I've just picked up the Folio Society edition of Graves' Greek Myths, a set both flawed and beautiful. Actually I should also mention that recently picked up a 1674 edition of Beuvelet's Meditations on the Principles of Truth and a mid-19th century Byron set. I am justly worried that I might be acquiring yet another hobby.

Comments

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

But it's such a worth-while hobby, innit? I feel there's something special about books as artifacts, either as historical ones or artistic ones, that can easily transcend the (not inconsiderable) value of just having those particular texts available in just any old format. The past is a foreign country, separated by countless decades; now you can enjoy a few more tangible things from that strange land, in a form that those people first encountered and handled them in! (If a bit more scruffy around the edges... but that's how it tends to go.)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

You're quite right, there is a great aesthetic to hold something that is hundreds of years old, that has passed through many hands and which has been read by others etc. I've always liked old books for this reason, indeed old things in general really... And as you say, if they are a bit scruffy, that's part of the charm... I'm not too sure I'd want to be the sort of collector who was only interested in mint/near mint copies...