Securing Thought

Welcome to Securing Thought. This has been a long time in the works and finally I have decided that it needs to come into fruition. 

My objective is more than just a blog. I am hoping to create a space where ideas can be discussed and we can open our minds to rational, respectful dialogue on a variety of topics. While we've witnessed a paradigm shift in the past decade from optimism about the internet toward pessimism manifested through toxic fake news, click-bait, and hatred promoting forums, I want to shift the pendulum back toward optimism. My aim is modest; I hope I can give even a small fraction of optimism by respectfully promoting ideas grounded in evidence and diligence.

This is where the name Securing Thought comes from. My intention is not to give a stern, regimented tone which the name may suggest. However, I do believe that being able to secure thinking through a medium that allows us to test our ideas, formulate arguments, and discuss them rationally with each other is tremendously important. Therefore, Securing Thought is more than a stern title, it is a call to action toward rationality that is in response to this critical moment in our history whereby we can improve how we see ourselves or we can suffer from an increasingly chaotic world. Promoting thinking works hand-in-hand with securing thought so that we as humans can continue to progress, improve, and  think for ourselves.

Now, and briefly, a bit about myself: I am currently a master's student in history. Many people ask why history? What are you going to do with it? I've chosen this path for a number of reasons. First, history allows one to apply methods and understanding from the past to the present and the future. While the claim is often to learn about the past so we don't repeat our mistakes, sometimes history is limited to merely understanding how current events carry patterns from the past. In that regard history repeats itself. Being able to understand that through tangible examples allows us to overcome our current struggles through better planning and more accurate foresight.

​Second, history is a discipline that applies critical thinking, the ability to formulate an argument, and the need to analyze vast quantities of data. These skills will always be useful.

Third, the past is interesting. Unfortunately for many people their experience with history is limited to the high school classroom with limitations in the ability and time of teachers to effectively convey an interest in the discipline. History is so much more than what is taught in a textbook. I hope to translate this concept to people who may have little interest or knowledge in the discipline.

Fourth, I get to read a lot of books (sometimes too many). To me that is a wonderful thing. Books contain so much information in such little space. That is truly profound (it's the little things that count in life). My interests aren't limited to history. In fact, I think there's a lot of benefit of meshing disciplines together, and weaving methodology and topics together to generate new knowledge and ways to understand information. While this blog/podcast will likely have a heavy historical focus and analysis, it is my goal to integrate other disciplines and ideas into it so stick with me even if you don't think you're interested in history.

So there you have it. My first official blog post posted right on New Years Day in the beginning of the new decade. I am optimistic that together we can improve the world in so many ways these next ten years and beyond. I hope you will join me in this task. Regardless, thank you for checking out my website and my podcast. If you like what you see or hear feel free to share.