Pessimism comes naturally to me. Choosing between optimism and pessimism is like asking whether I would rather be disappointed or pleasantly surprised; it just sounds safer to choose the latter. But over time, pessimism takes its toll on my mood and health, and I’ve been advised many times to be more hopeful. Until recently, I’ve had … More How to hope
This year at Carleton I’ve gotten to teach one of my favorite parts of multivariable calculus, the multivariable chain rule. Despite its scary-sounding name, the multivariable chain rule seems to capture a fundamental principle about how the world works, a principle I call “narratives add.” I’ll walk you through how the multivariable chain rule works … More Narratives Add
I’ve often found great comfort in the idea that work is never wasted: even if a project doesn’t go the way I hoped, I will still have learned something from the attempt, and I’ll carry that knowledge and experience forward with me. However, it recently occurred to me that work done is not the same … More Effort spent procrastinating is wasted
We recently organized our freezer with a shelf riser and a couple of storage baskets from the Container Store and learned two things: I had been buying bag after bag of frozen chicken thighs because I kept thinking we were out. I think there were four bags in total, two opened. Once we had the … More Organization takes space
Elizabeth Zimmerman, titan of modern knitting, remarks on the fact that knitters who would never join two strands of yarn with a knot often accept the knots that come in the skein: …But one thing is certain—never knit a knot. No matter how careful you are to keep it on the wrong side, it usually … More Break the wool at the knot
I often get frustrated by things I feel like I should be able to do, but don’t. For example, I should be able to get myself out of bed in the morning without agonizing over whether to reset the alarm for later. Every night I think to myself, “Tomorrow I will just stand up and … More Don’t hold back
Growing up in my family, my sister and I took turns with the chore of washing dishes every evening. This was not a job I liked, and there were many ways I tried to get out of it: Before dinner, I would do some other extra chore, so that when the calendar was checked to … More Soak the nut
I love yarn. I love blank journals. I love new boxes of crayons. But when it comes time to cast on for a knitting project, put pen to page, or make the first waxy mark on a clean sheet of paper, I hesitate, vacillate, and procrastinate. Why? These objects embody creative potential. That yarn could … More To create is to commit
Owen Biesel 