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As I got to thinking about my first paper, I posted a quote by Antoine de Saint Exupery that reads "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." I used it as a metaphor for how Eben's class makes me yearn for pursuing a legal education and career that means something to me and the world, and for how I would like to build a ship to navigate to that goal. | | | Eben does this in his practice with the free software movement, and in class with us. The first step in building my boat is asking the right question. If you have any suggestions to that end, please comment on my paper page, http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/twiki/bin/view/LawContempSoc/NonaFarahnikFirstPaper. | |
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< | Nona, I find it is often easier to rip things down than to build them up (no value judgment, just an observation). I think this is because in building something, there is usually some kind of goal, which can vary, and which may be difficult to articulate. The same can be said of destruction, though it seems relatively a bit more inclined towards being an end in itself, i.e. destruction for destruction's sake. Though again, I'm sure there are many cases of construction for its own sake. | >
> | Nona, I find it is often easier to rip things down than to build them up (no value judgment, just an observation). I think this is partly because in building something, there is usually some kind of goal, which can vary, and which may be difficult to articulate. The same can be said of destruction, though it seems relatively a bit more inclined towards being an end in itself, i.e. destruction for destruction's sake. Though again, I'm sure there are many cases of construction for its own sake. | | | | |
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< | You've already decided to build (your boat), and your goal seems to be "pursuing a legal education and career that means something to me and the world." My question (as me) is do you expect to build this boat, or like Antoine de Saint Expurey, do want to encourage the building of boats (and perhaps in the process obtain a boat of your own)? | >
> | You've already decided to build (your boat), and your goal seems to be "pursuing a legal education and career that means something to me and the world." My question (as Art) is do you expect to build this boat, or like Antoine de Saint Expurey seems to suggest, do want to encourage the building of boats (and perhaps in the process obtain a boat of your own)? | | | | |
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< | If the latter, the first question I would ask is, why am I encouraging to build? (Simply to build, or for some other reason? Is it to have a ship, or to sail? Do I expect to find something at sea, or am I trying to leave something behind on land? Is it for my men or for "the people", or for me? etc.) Obviously I snuck in several more questions, but the first one is so open, it will inevitably lead to more. You will probably (and maybe should) have several answers. I don't know if these types of questions help or not, but what I'm really saying is that I think a certain amount of awareness about why you are writing will help with how and what to write. Then again, maybe you already have obtained a satisfactory hold of that awareness, in which case you are much closer to your boat than I : ) | >
> | If the latter, the first question I would ask (as you) is, why am I encouraging to build? (Simply to build, or for some other reason? Is it to have a ship, or to sail? Do I expect to find something at sea, or am I trying to leave something behind on land? Is it for my men or for "the people", or for me? etc.) Obviously I snuck in several more questions, but the first one is so open, it will inevitably lead to more. You will probably (and maybe should) have several answers. I don't know if these types of questions help or not, but what I'm really saying is that I think a certain amount of awareness about why you are writing will help with how and what to write. Then again, maybe you already have obtained a satisfactory hold of that awareness, in which case you are much closer to your boat than I : ) | | | \ No newline at end of file |
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