Tag Archives: History

Beware the Ides of March: 3 Surprising Origins of Popular Traditions

Statue of Gaius Julius Caesar, Rome, ItalyThe blog post this week comes out of my personal curiosity with traditions and their origins. It started with the origins of the Ides of March and then snowballed to Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day. I am hoping that you learn something new from my research. If anything, it will arm you with new party conversation topics.

I knew that Caesar was killed by Brutus and Cassius on the fifteenth, or the Ides of March, but I assumed that there was more to it than that. The Roman months were broken up into three parts. The Kalends was the first day of the month, the Nones was thought to be the date of the half moon and the Ides is thought to be the day of the full moon or the “half division” of the month. In 44 BCE, the year of the death of Julius Caesar, the half division fell on March 15, which has been chronicled by historians. This significance would have died out long ago, had it not been for a play by William Shakespeare in which the soothsayer character utters the line “Beware the Ides of March.” It is amazing to think that because of powerful prose, we still think about this event over 2,000 years later.

Mardi Gras

I know enough French to understand that Mardi Gras means “fat Tuesday,” and that it is tied to the beginning of Lent, but who started the whole thing about parties and parades? It turns out that Mardi Gras dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. When the Christian church was established, rather than doing away with traditional pagan rituals, they folded them into their own rites. Thus, Mardi Gras came to be the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent, a time of fasting and reflection. In the days before Lent, households would traditionally eat up all of the meat, eggs, milk, and cheese in the house and prepare themselves for the period where they would eat only fish or fast. The term “Carnival” comes from the ancient word “carnelevarium”—to remove or take away meat. Today, Louisiana is the only US state where Mardi Gras is a legal holiday.

St. Patrick’s Day

Who was this guy and why do we dress in green to celebrate him? St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and is credited with bringing Christianity to the emerald isle. St. Patrick’s day is observed on March 17 to commemorate his death in 461 CE and it always falls on Lent (see Mardi Gras above). The Irish tradition has been to attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon and evening. Lenten prohibitions against eating meat were waved and Irish families feasted on bacon and cabbage. St. Patrick was known to use the shamrock in his teaching, so the Irish began to wear shamrocks and then later dressed in green to celebrate. This legend and tradition spread to America after the Irish potato famine drove many Irish to emigrate. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was actually held in New York and not in Ireland. The next time you celebrate St Patrick’s Day by donning green, think of the Christian missionary who died more than 1,500 years ago.

Thoughts

I hope this excursion has left you with some facts that you did not know. I hope it also leaves you wondering about the origins of other traditions and inspires you to do some of your own research. Asking questions about any tradition is a great way to grow and become smarter about the world around us. I wonder why we… ?

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

The Power of Continuing Education

Computer keyboard with Continuing Education keyMy life has been heavily influenced by continuing education. I forgot to go to college at eighteen like everyone else (OK, it was a conscious choice) but still managed to land a good job early on in the high tech industry. It didn’t take me long to realize that I really did need more education in order to not only remain in my position but also to advance. For a number of years I worked full time while pursuing an undergraduate and and then a graduate degree. In the process, I came to appreciate the value of an ongoing education and made a commitment to myself to continue studying beyond my degrees.

The Next Big Thing

I think that we all need to be ready for the next big thing. The only problem is that we don’t always know what the next big thing is. So, how do you prepare when you don’t know what is coming? This is the power of continuing education. Not only does learning improve your ability to better see into the future but it can also prepare for it. In our fast-paced world, it is not easy to keep up on trends or technologies that can and will benefit our business, but keep up we must.

Courses

When was the last time that you took a class to sharpen your skills or to learn a new skill? In addition to academic studies, over the years I have taken courses in cooking, baking, welding, basket weaving, guitar, and scuba diving, among other things. They were all relaxing in that they did not relate to my career in any way, but they also taught me a new skill and sharpened my learning abilities.

Do you need to pick up a certification to be current in your job and in your career? There are classes, both onsite and online that can help you learn that new skill. Perhaps you are thinking of starting a new degree program? That takes a big commitment in terms of time and resources but can open doors that were previously closed to you. If you’re on the threshold, I would encourage you to jump in. It can be a very rewarding experience and lead to future possibilities you had never considered.

Reading

How often do you pick up a book or an e-book? When was the last time you read one? I always have a current book that I am reading, either in preparation for a course or something tied to my other interests. I have always enjoyed reading and I count on the ideas that I glean from this activity to keep me mentally awake and sharpen my critical thinking skills. Be it career-related material or in another field of interest, it is an excellent form of continuous education. If you dropped the habit of reading after your formal education, you should pick up a book and try it again. You will be surprised what you will learn.

Audio

I am in the process of re-listening to a lecture series called “The Great Ideas of Philosophy.” I occasionally get distracted, especially while driving, and I need to listen multiple times. I am fascinated by the history of philosophy and how each set of ideas builds on the thoughts that came before. I can sometimes see and recognize threads of previous thinkers in today’s modern philosophies. I have even thought of pursuing a degree in philosophy so that I can discover that one critical thought that preceded all the others. Although philosophy is a hobby, listening to the lectures helps keep me sharp and open to ideas and new ways of thinking.

Teaching

Do you have a skill that you are willing to teach others? Teaching is a great way to keep learning. In order to teach, you need to make sure you know your topic and continually stay on top of your skills. Plus, the teacher can often learn something from the students. If you are open to new ideas, those inspirations can come when you are not expecting them. If you have the opportunity to teach a skill, even on a volunteer basis, do it. It can be very rewarding and a good way to polish your subject and teaching skills. Two for one!

Thoughts

What do you do to stay current and learn or practice skills? Give me some feedback and inspire me to learn even more.

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

 

The Second Machine Age?

Steel robotic android hands holding blue digital earth I have been reading a book recently called The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies by MIT researchers Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee. In this book, the authors project a future where mankind will work alongside increasingly sophisticated computers and machinery to create a better world. They tell a compelling story about the history of the industrial age leading up to the current technological age and describe our current time as the second machine age.

Others, however, are not so optimistic about our technological trajectory and where it is leading us economically. In 2003, economist Tyler Cowen wrote a book titled Average Is Over: Powering America Beyond the Age of the Great Stagnation in which he argues that technology has been and will continue dividing workers into two classes. Those workers that are proficient with such technology as computers and robotics will thrive, but those who are not will find themselves unemployed or underemployed. In the author’s defense, he does lay out strategies that can help the latter class to join in the prosperity.

My purpose for this blog post is to start a dialogue and hear your thoughts on the pace of technology changes and how they will affect our future and our economic system. Will technology lead us into a bright future or drive us into perennial unemployment?

The Second Half of the Chessboard

In their book, Brynjolfsson and McAfee refer to another publication, The Age of Spiritual Machines. The author, Ray Kurzweil, draws an analogy between the old story of the emperor and the inventor, and our current technology advancement. In the story, the inventor of chess negotiates with the emperor for payment for this new marvel. He asks only one grain of rice that doubles on each square of the chessboard. The emperor readily agrees, thinking that the inventor is indeed a humble man. By the time they reach thirty-two squares, he is up to 4 billion grains of rice. After that, they reach the second half of the chessboard where things get really interesting and will eventually reach 64 quintillion grains of rice.

This story is based on exponential increase, and the analogy is that we are just now entering the second half of the chessboard. If you thought that the pace of technology advancement was furious in the past, hang on for a wild ride in the future.

Thoughts

The questions still remain—will we benefit from technology or will we be run over by it? Will we be driving the bus or be passengers? I believe that it is up to us and how prepared we are. It is going to take work and constant learning to be in the driver’s seat. What do you think? Are you optimistic or are you worried? Can you keep up? Let me know your thoughts by replying to this post. I hope that we can start a conversation and figure this out together.

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.