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.

Ron commented that the quote speaks to him for a different reason, namely, of collaborating with others without using them as a means to an end. Ron micro-manages more than he might like, but only trusts himself to get things done as he would like.

Devin commented that he read the quote as standing for the proposition that motivating people happens best through providing them with a positive vision of what could be rather than criticizing the status quo. He related this to how Dr. King presented his "dream" and to the Marshall "know what you want/know how to get it" creed. Devin related this to his work with environmentalism that might be stymied by the "public perception that the environmental movement is mainly against things, not for things."

Eben moved our conversation to another page since it did not directly correspond to practical suggestions for my paper. For everyone else who is commenting on papers "Use Talk pages when you want to talk, please." Eben then explained that de Saint Exupery (not Exupery, my bad) wrote and illustrated The Little Prince, which is a masterpiece everyone should have the pleasure of reading.

Eben thinks Devin's reading of the quote is possible, but not totally logical since "the positive program, the building of the ship, is a given, and could not be accomplished by criticism." Also, Devin's reading is contrary to de Saint Exupery's recurrent themes.

Eben commented that Ron offered an idea that is implied by the text but has nothing to do with what de Saint Exupery is actually writing about. If you look at the history of this page, you can see what Ron wrote as it might interest the "risk-averse control freaks" that the admissions system targets and are thus over-represented in our school.

Eben's reading of the quote, as informed by his readings and knowledge of de Saint Exupery is that "if you want a practical outcome, a ship, inspire in human beings a deep restless longing for the immensity, for the endless vastness, of the sea. Then they will devise and build with all the energy of their restless longing the engines of their exploration." 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.

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.

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)?

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 : )