Ideas On Trial

We often hear that everything in life should be taken in moderation. Indeed, so much of our planning and decisions seem to aim for a perfect balance, whether it's between work and life, in our exercise routine, or our sugar intake.

But is moderation always the best policy? What can that mean? And if there is some good in it, what does it first depend on?

Join  Leopold Ajami and Ricardo Pinto in a wide-ranging conversation about moderation, its appeal in the culture, and why treating it as a virtue or not truly matter.

Speaking up demands having self-clarity about your needs and goals in a conversation. But once you make up your mind, by what method can you then proceed?

Join Leopold Ajami and Ricardo Pinto in this new episode of Ideas on Trial as they discuss ways in which you can build your assertiveness by asking questions, so you can turn an "I don't agree" into an opportunity to express your voice and articulate your reasons.

This is the  program we mentioned:
Supersonic Creativity: an online + mentorship program to help you boost your creative thinking using your conversations. 

Check it out here: https://learn.novelphilosophy.academy/courses/supersonic-creativity

We are offering our friends and listeners 35% OFF. 
Simply use this code upon checkout: NPA35OFF 

Enjoy it :)

>> (In this episode, we announced the launch of our program: Supersonic Creativity: an online + mentorship program to help you boost your creative thinking using your conversations. 
Check it out here: https://learn.novelphilosophy.academy/courses/supersonic-creativity
We are offering our friends and listeners 35% OFF. Simply use this code upon checkout: NPA35OFF) Enjoy it :)


To speak up or not!
Have you ever regretted not speaking up in a critical situation?

We've all been in that resentful place: nobody likes being a coward. This is why today we see a push towards more honest communication, the idea that one should always say something, no matter what.

Both Leopold and Ricardo are somewhat sympathetic to that idea. But is it of any help? Does simply telling yourself you "have to speak up" give you any guidance when your throat is in a lump, and your legs are shaky?

Listen to this episode of Ideas on Trial, where we discuss the ongoing challenges to becoming more assertive, as we try to figure out the first conversation you should be having.

Don't forget to check out our programs here:
https://learn.novelphilosophy.academy

First job interviews are often a terrifying event for the inexperienced--and for many, a source of stress that never goes away. Why is that?

Contrary to popular wisdom, problems with job interviews don't just happen because of an awkward situation or something you say during the interview. The trouble occurs much earlier: in our expectations of what we hope to get out of the interview itself.

Join Leopold Ajami and Ricardo Pinto in an open discussion about this topic to learn about the not-so-obvious ways you can turn a job interview from an interrogation into a conversation.

Some of the techniques discussed are from our online course: Supersonic Creativity. Check it out here: https://learn.novelphilosophy.academy/courses/supersonic-creativity
We are giving our listeners a special coupon code for 35% OFF. Just apply this code upon checkout npa35off

The era of borders is over: today, many of us can realistically plan to (and do) choose the country where to live our best future.

But changing cultures is a whole different matter. We often hear that, for better or worse, your country of origin "marks you" for life. In customs, values, and even the very way you eat, you cannot disengage yourself from your birthplace. Can you really hope to do it?

However, what if you come to realize that there is something fundamentally wrong with your culture? What responsibilities (if any) do you have towards your country, and to what extent is it right to criticize it without doing anything to improve it?

Join this conversation with Leopold Ajami and Ricardo Pinto, both immigrants ambivalent about their countries of origin, as they engage with the topic of leaving your culture and the value of marrying rational conviction with a proper sense of cultural identity.

If you are interested in discovering more about what we do at Novel Philosophy Academy, check out our website: http://novelphilosophy.academy

Why is it so hard to find the right words to connect with someone going through a great loss, such as a death, illness, or losing a job?

In this episode, Leopold and Ricardo address the topic of grief and discuss some of the challenges that many people (including themselves) experience when trying to support someone in pain.

They go on to assess the conventional view on this subject and ask whether empathy really calls for seeking connection through a feeling of sorrow--or whether, instead, we can learn to trade on values.


If you want to learn more about what we do at Novel Philosophy Academy, go ahead and check our website:  https://learn.novelphilosophy.academy


Referenced in this episode:
Jean Moroney's "What is empathy?" https://www.thinkingdirections.com/faq-what-is-empathy/

You’ve heard the notion that creative people are crazy—that creativity is touched by madness. Have you asked yourself why?

Then, who cares? 
Creative people tend to be flamboyant anyway and the worlds they recreate come close enough to being crazy. Let yourself go and add a little craziness to your work. 

Or so we think. But is this a fair description of the creative process? And what’s more important, don’t we risk detaching ourselves from our creative goals when declaring that all we need is to be more crazy?

Join Leopold Ajami and Ricardo Pinto  in bringing sanity and reason to this episode, "Here's to the (Non-)Crazy ones!"  as they explore the connection between creativity and madness.

You’ve heard it said: Consistency is the key to success. Or at least, that's what hundreds of thought leaders claim, particularly Simon Sinek. 

He's persuasively argued for consistency as the fundamental factor separating success stories from their counterparts, going so far as to say that intensity, while valued by most, is overrated.

(check out this short animated clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5OV3RmXhbg&t=94s) 

But what if we misconceived the whole subject? What if we are trapped in the middle of a false alternative that may ultimately undermine our success? 
Join Leopold Ajami and Ricardo Pinto in putting the idea of consistency on trial as they try to make sense of the creation of consistent habits while looking for best practices to live with intense focus and passion.

In tough times when things don't seem to go our way, many thought leaders, influencers, and business gurus advise us to reflect on those little things we can be grateful for.

Every day, we come across inspirational social media posts that invite us to "always look on the bright side of life" and "count our blessings." But beyond the fuzzy, warm feeling that these ideas are meant to cause in us, have you ever stopped to reflect on whether this push for gratitude rests on a solid, rational foundation?

In this episode, we put the current trends of gratitude on trial, going beyond the metaphorical to evaluate the merits and low points of the "attitude of gratitude." 
We explore those aspects of gratitude that appeal most to people, the real-life value of being grateful to others, and most crucially,  the hidden benefactors that the gratitude movement tends to leave forgotten and unrecognized.

Episode #002: Honesty is one of those virtues that everyone pays lip service to. From childhood, we are taught to tell the truth no matter what, as we are warned about the bad consequences of being caught lying.

Despite this, we've all fantasized at least once about the possible benefits of getting away with a lie. What's the worst that could happen by tweaking things a bit on your resume? Why not tell a white lie if that way you can avoid hurting others?

But is truth-telling all there is to honesty? 
In this episode, we survey common attitudes towards honesty and explore why lying seems so tempting from time to time. The core of our discussion centers on how we understand honesty as such: what does it really mean to be honest,  and what if everything we've been told about it is just wrong?

Episode #001: "Stop being so judgmental!" "Who are you to judge?"

We launch our first episode by challenging a tenet that has been taught to us since we were kids: the notion that one should not judge other people's lives.

We explore the meaning of this idea to untangle some of the major confusions around this topic. We draw out the key (but often blurred) distinctions between being judgmental and making an objective moral judgment. And finally, we close the discussion with a central question: Why should I morally evaluate other people, and what is at stake for me?

If you'd like to learn more about this topic or suggest ideas for future episodes, head to:

http://ideasontrial.live/

Welcome the undisputed champions of the world. They won their battles a thousand years ago; then they shut down the championship. 
How come?

Well, you see, these are particular kinds of fighters. They are not merely people; they are ideas — undisputed ideas that claimed victory over our minds without a fight. They are values taken for granted that they come in fashion now and then in a new robe even after reigning for centuries. They are concepts we live by yet declare “immoral” anyone who dares to challenge their livelihood. 

Their claim over our minds has been uncontested for far too long. 

But, what if we changed the rules? What if we pick a fight, not in the ring, rather an intellectual one that can help us become better at forming our philosophy of life?

Join Leopold Ajami and Ricardo Pinto from Novel Philosophy Academy in their quest to explore and challenge undisputed ideas by putting them and themselves on trial.