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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFirst Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you follow my longer posts on here, you might know that I am an academic pursuing my Ph.D. Just 36 hours ago, I defended my dissertation. For those unfamiliar, in the US, a dissertation defense is an event in which a junior scholar, the student, presents their work to a panel of esteemed full professors who then judge it publicly. The student presents for about twenty minutes, is questioned for an hour, and then the student is kicked out of the room and the committee deliberates. If the student succeeds, the major professor, who supervised the student most closely, welcomes them back into the room with \u201ccongratulations, doctor.\u201d It is one of the longest days in an academic\u2019s life, and it welcomes you into an order as exclusive as medieval knights or, more recently, the NFL or NBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my case, one of the committee members made a scheduling error and did not immediately show up. This meant, my major professor, informed me, that I would not be passing today if he did not show up and would likely have to cancel my trip, re-schedule with everyone, and try again. But, I was to simply continue my presentation in the hopes that the absent member would eventually join.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For 45 minutes, I presented and began to take questions from three of four people who could decide my fate knowing full well I might be in for two rounds of ever-harder to-answer questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did eventually show up, and the discussion went on without issue, but for most of it, my mind was racing. I passed. My major professor, emailing me later that night, commended me on a smooth, eloquent presentation that, despite technical difficulties and some critical feedback, exceeded the expectations of the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Second Story <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To celebrate my successful defense, I planned to see my partner on the other side of the country. Being the responsible human being I am, I show up to the airport hours early to, if I have time, finish up some grading for my summer classes and get a head start on some blog writing for my favorite men\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upon sitting down, I get a notification: my flight is delayed and I will be missing my connection. It is 3:45 PM. Thinking quickly, I talk to a gate agent and we go through options. If I can get myself to the next city over in an hour, I have a chance at making another flight that they are willing to put me on that will get me to my connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If, of course, I can navigate rush hour traffic on a Friday and get there in time. Luckily, I did just that and I am, in fact, writing this piece from the air. So far, the past 36 hours have worked out remarkably well, but I do not think this has to do with chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no good English translation of metis: courage gets close, but this isn\u2019t about reacting to fear bravely. Instead, I call it grace under fire. There are some people who, from a mix of experience, knowledge, and a little bit of intuition, simply act in situations where there is no time to sit down and think. It\u2019s metis, I argue, that I have managed to develop in my life thus far, and it serves me exceptionally well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Again, metis isn\u2019t courage. A lot of it is based on knowledge, which is a thing that can be built over time. Having my dissertation presentation well-rehearsed, knowing the room it was in like the back of my hand to troubleshoot technical problems with the projector, and being an expert in my field gave me the mental room to deal with the absence of a committee member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today at the airport, having had the forethought to renew TSA precheck, as well as only having a carry-on bag in case I had to become highly mobile gave me the opportunity to make it to another airport and on to my destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Where knowledge becomes metis in, I think, doing hard things over and over, and seeing each of them, whether success or failure, as an opportunity to learn about yourself, the world, and how to make the two work well together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not a piece about how awesome or special I am. In fact, I am neither of those things. The thing that helped me, and will continue to help me, build something that I hope is metis, is simply the recognition that learning, trying better, and practicing until you can apply knowledge without having to stop and deliberate is a skill that, under crisis circumstances, can solve situations that will leave other people frozen by fear or doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Metis, then, is not some inherent quality, but rather a mode of tactical reasoning that can be learned and deployed to help you when you need it most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Introduction I am of the mind that the most effective way to teach the vast majority of people is through stories. Thus, today I want to share with you two stories from the last week that have me here, on a plane to Seattle, thinking about the importance of learning how to deal with the … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/manlife.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/kristel-hayes-BcnpZHZJx4-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHomer’s Odyssey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you haven\u2019t read the Odyssey as an adult outside of a school context, I recommend it for your summer reading list. In it, important to our story, we see Odysseus face hardships that main, kill, and destroy others with deft skill, relevant knowledge, and what seems like luck to us moderns. But it\u2019s not really luck as we understand it. That thing that got Odysseus home is what Homer and other Ancient thinkers called Metis.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDeveloping MEtis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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