Interviewed by Steven Pressfield
Shameless Self-Promotion Department:
In an unusual turn of events, I was the subject of an interview by novelist and historian Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire and The War of Art.
Steve has an interview section on his newly redesigned site and I join a series of bloggers and authors like Instapundit Glenn Reynolds, Tim O’Brien and Seth Godin who have sat down, in a virtual sense, with Steve for a discussion about writing and creativity. Having done such interviews of others in the past, it was a good experience to be on the receiving end of questions, for which I thank Steve:
The Creative Process: Mark Safranski
SP: Mark, what is the ZenPundit philosophy? Howdo you decide which stories or posts (or even guest bloggers) you want to include? What criteria do you use?
MS: Good question. My philosophy is something I also try to impart in my teaching.
Marcus Aurelius said “Look beneath the surface; let not the several qualities of a thing nor its worth escape you.” Most phenomena have many dimensions, multiple causes and second and third order effects. To deal with all of this complexity, we simplify matters by looking at life through an organizing frame, which we might call a worldview, a schema, a paradigm or a discipline. Whatever we call our mental model, we tend to become wedded to it because it “works.” It helps us understand some of what we are looking at-and in getting good at applying our model, advances us professionally and brings prestige or material rewards. So we will defend it to the death, from all challengers!
That’s getting carried away. Our mental model is just a tool or, more precisely, a cognitive lens. We need to be less attached to our habitual and lazy ways of looking at the world, put down our magnifying glass and pick up a telescope. Or, bifocals. Or, a microscope. Stepping back and applying different perspectives to a problem or an issue will give us new information, help us extrapolate, identify unintended consequences or spot connections and opportunities. When I do analytical pieces, I try to take that approach….
Read the rest here.
June 12th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
That’s an exceptional interview by Pressfield. I appreciate your answer to his question about where your ideas originate, delving into the integral role creativity plays. That is just one of the topics you approach on ZP that I would not have given more than a passing consideration to until I read one of your posts about it that piqued my interest. This is truly one of the best aspects of ZP since you can credibly and write well about a broad array of topics that can be beneficial to the audience.
I hope your adjunct teaching experience is worth your time and perhaps even benefits your blog in the long run by adding a few exceptional readers/commenters.
* My humble thanks for the mention in the interview, even as I have not been very helpful in sending links and comments since I’ve been submerged in schoolwork the past two years.
June 12th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Great interview!!! I put out over my network as well. I learn a lot from reading your Blog and appreciate all your efforts. Like the comment above your style and array of topics you write about keeps me thinking, which in my view is the goal. Great work!
June 12th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Zen, I didn’t know you smoked cigars!
June 12th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Zen, Congrats! Been moving, but will be back soon. I owe you a review of KABOOM!
June 13th, 2010 at 2:53 am
I agree that this website is "center-right." Generally, people interested in military affairs tend to be right of center. I find the ZenPundit Blog to be much more informative and educational than National Review, the Weekly Standard, or the Frum Forum when it comes to military or foreign policy analysis. The ZenPundit Blog is "center-right" but its not partisan.
June 13th, 2010 at 3:05 am
[…] others have offered their thoughts on blogging, here’s […]
June 13th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
[…] 3. Zenpundit is interviewed by Steven Pressfield here. This is good: “That’s the getting carried away. Our mental model is just a tool or, more precisely, a cognitive lens. We need to be less attached to our habitual and lazy ways of looking at the world, put down our magnifying glass and pick up a telescope. Or, bifocals. Or, a microscope. Stepping back and applying different perspectives to a problem or an issue will give us new information, help us extrapolate, identify unintended consequences or spot connections and opportunities. When I do analytical pieces, I try to take that approach.” […]
July 28th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Great post man Thank you