Guest Post: On Meritocracy, Happiness, and the Most Important Thing I Learned at MIT

Posted on by
1

Another great guest post from recent MIT grad Michael who was a part of Seek (first as a participant then as a leader).

Michael FuThe notion of a purely meritocratic society is something that is wholly agreeable to most people. In fact, it is woven into the very spirit of the American Dream – the notion that anyone, no matter what the socioeconomic background, can succeed in life through hard work. It is, on the surface, a beautiful notion. Even the poorest migrant worker can attain everything he wants in life, and more, if he has grit and is willing to work hard for it.

great-gatsby-dicaprio-cheers

At MIT, the notion of meritocracy is revered above all else. Continue reading →

Sinai and Synapses / Spirituality and Science

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve applied to participate in the very cool-sounding Sinai and Synapses Fellowship. My answer for one of the application questions felt blog worthy.

Question: Please share a story – either personal or professional – that exemplifies how you grapple with the relationship between religion and science. (300 words max)

Adam’s answer:
Loosely speaking, the enterprise of science seeks to interpret evidence to draw conclusions about the universe. But, of course, “speaking loosely” is not a helpful practice in science. So we must systematize this process of inquiry and interpretation and carefully define what “evidence” is. We make observations of the physical world and count them as evidence if they meet our standards of reproducibility and scientific controls.

Science!Outspoken scientist atheists emphasize that there is no evidence for a divine creator and say that it is misguided to have faith. They’re probably right about the lack of evidence, especially if we’re using scientific standards for what constitutes “evidence”. Continue reading →

Guest Post: What is it like to go through MIT *without* impostor syndrome?

Posted on by
Reply

An answer posted on Quora by good friend Michael who is finishing up his Senior year at MIT:

What is it like to go through MIT without impostor syndrome?

Michael FuI will be perfectly honest here.

My time at MIT was without a doubt the greatest experience of my life up until now, but it certainly wasn’t without its challenges. It’s an odd feeling to come here freshman year and suddenly be immersed in a community of people who have accomplished ridiculously impressive things and many of whom are lightyears smarter than you are. It’s very humbling. Continue reading →

Guest Post: Longing for Grace

Posted on by
Reply

A brief meditation on hope and grace from my amazing friend Cate.

edy&cate-web

My little brother Edy had a big surgery a few months back. I spent a week holding his hand as he recovered at Children’s Hospital. Edy doesn’t speak, so his pain is expressed in whimpers and grimaces. When I try to make him feel better, I am only guessing. This is my sweet Edy’s reality, and mine too. Continue reading →

Just think of me as the Marlboro Man of faith

Posted on by
Reply

I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in an event hosted by MIT’s Addir Fellows Interfaith program. I’m a big big fan of Addir and think MIT is super-fortunate to have this offering.

addir-bridgeThis particular event (and the audio is embedded below) was a panel of four different types of Christian clergy each speaking to how their tradition responds and is responding to social change movements. I was joined by three of my colleagues from MIT’s Board of Chaplains. Specifically: Catholic, Lutheran and Mormon. And, me you ask, what tradition was I representing? Check out the event poster. Continue reading →

The Paper is White

Posted on by
Reply

41Yfhd45TwLHere’s another short talk I gave at “Tuesdays in the Chapel,” a weekly interfaith, non-denominational chapel service hosted by MIT’s Chaplain to the Institute. The topic for this year’s talks is “One thing that is most important.” For whatever reason, this talk ended up being a little bit on the intense side. It opened with a couple of excerpts from The Road by Cormac McCarthy, one of the most intense and haunting–and best–books I have ever read. And that kind of sets the tone for things.

Here’s the audio of the talk or you can read it below.

 

Continue reading →

Repetition is good for the soul

Posted on by
Reply

I recently gave another talk at my church. It’s always a nice feeling to be invited to speak a second time (the previous one is here).

This time I was talking about a little experiment I’ve been engaged in. I’ve been reading the New Testament letter to the Galatians in it’s entirety every day (well most days) for about 3 and half months. Part of the hope with doing such a thing was to put myself in the shoes of the first-century Galatians for whom this letter would be their only written document about what it means to follow Jesus. So it’s almost like this one letter was their entire New Testament.

Anyway, you can listen to it here. And I challenge you to find any other sermon on Galatians that features a Weird Al song! And I hope that I can be forgiven the blasphemy of comparing the Apostle Paul’s intellect to Weird Al’s.

weird_al_tacky