Today's question: which one in the photo is Deantini?
Welcome back to campus!
At Convocation last week I spoke
about "Beginner's Mind," a way of engaging the world with eyes and mind
wide open, as if we were seeing everything for the very first time,
without preconceptions that constrain or assumptions that misdirect our
thinking.
Why does that matter so much? As Shunryu Suzuki said in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
: “In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the
expert’s mind there are few.” This way of thinking expands the
possibilities that our minds can envision. It warns us that the
“expertness” that our experiences have produced can limit our
perceptions, our judgments, our understandings, our imaginations.
That I spoke about this at
Convocation might make you think that I did so because Convocation is an
assembly for our new students, who by definition are Columbia
“beginners.” But that is not the reason. In fact, I emphasize the
importance of Beginner's Mind for everyone. The first lecture in all my
chemistry classes describes Beginner's Mind as the most important
thinking in science; it is what drives scientific curiosity. And it is
really the essence of the Core Curriculum — learning to question and
analyze what we know and how we know it, what we believe and why we
believe it, to imagine new knowledge and entertain new beliefs.
But Beginner's Mind is not just
for propelling our academic work; it is also important in guiding our
interactions with one another. It means putting aside our immediate
reactions, automatic interpretations and reflexive assessments of people
we meet, and instead engaging them with interest and curiosity,
acknowledging them as unique and special individuals, wanting to know
more about them. That is how each of you can most profit from the
diversity of perspectives, ideas and understanding that you encounter
among your classmates.
Beginner's Mind helps us develop
other habits that will profit us: humility and empathy in particular.
Beginner's Mind warns us that though we might be entirely convinced of
something, we recognize nonetheless that it is possible that we are
wrong, which is the essence of humility. Beginner's Mind helps us
imagine the possibility of being in someone else's shoes, which is the
fundamental expression of empathy. These are characteristics that are
essential to all of us in the College being a community, for they
emphasize the unique and individual value that every one of us has.
This is easy to get started on,
actually. Try this and see: Go over to someone — a recent
acquaintance, a friend, even a long-time friend — and ask them for a fun
fact about themselves. Something unexpected, something distinctive,
something human, something humble, something to empathize with.
Something that would spark your curiosity about them as an individual.
Something that would lead you to say, “Hmm, I wonder why you told me
that?” It is a good conversation starter. It is also a good life
starter.
Here's what I might say if you asked me for a fun fact today: I failed my driver's license road test. Twice.
I hope you are having a great
start to the academic year, a year filled with new explorations
enhanced by your Beginner’s Mind. I look forward to seeing you
throughout campus.
Roar, Lion(s), Roar!
Deantini
Deantini
James J. Valentini
Dean of Columbia College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education
Beginner's Mind lecture page with versions including of course the original version of that quote: In beginner's mind we have many possibilities, but in expert mind there is not much possibility.
This is lecture 65-11-11 on shunryusuzuki.com - Here's the page for it
Thanks Nathan and Rick Levine and David Silva
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