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The Learning Project, Rites of Passage
What's it like to become fully human? In The Learning Project, people of all ages and backgrounds recount lives of ecstasy, tragedy, success, and despair. Welcome your rites of passage, because without them you are unchanged.
The Learning Project is a search for the kind of learning that is most important. It presents 35 in-depth interviews with people of all ages, interests, and walks of life coming from different economic backgrounds, races, cultures, and political perspectives. Each person answers the question of how learning changed their life. The interviews are separated into 11 areas of interest and three stages of life: youth, middle age, or elder.
Those interviewed include artists, athletes, tradesmen, soldiers, scientists, and politicians, some of whom you'll know by name. They range from Nobel Laureate to street vandal, from physician to drug addict. Some have disabilities, many suffered trauma, all are survivors. They speak of learning through schooling, family, struggle, work, and hardship with stories that are personal, frustrating, and sometimes horrific. All are inspiring.
Some of these stories go back 15 years, others go back 150. They are stories of modern rites of passage echoing a mythology that goes back thousands of years. Locked in them is the secret to becoming human. I cannot give you the key, but you can find it.
The Learning Project is a search for the kind of learning that is most important. It presents 35 in-depth interviews with people of all ages, interests, and walks of life coming from different economic backgrounds, races, cultures, and political perspectives. Each person answers the question of how learning changed their life. The interviews are separated into 11 areas of interest and three stages of life: youth, middle age, or elder.
Those interviewed include artists, athletes, tradesmen, soldiers, scientists, and politicians, some of whom you'll know by name. They range from Nobel Laureate to street vandal, from physician to drug addict. Some have disabilities, many suffered trauma, all are survivors. They speak of learning through schooling, family, struggle, work, and hardship with stories that are personal, frustrating, and sometimes horrific. All are inspiring.
Some of these stories go back 15 years, others go back 150. They are stories of modern rites of passage echoing a mythology that goes back thousands of years. Locked in them is the secret to becoming human. I cannot give you the key, but you can find it.
- GenresNonfiction
580 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 30, 2018
13 people are currently reading
633 people want to read
About the author
Lincoln Stoller
17 books32 followersLincoln Stoller grew up around and was mentored directly by the colleagues of Frank Lloyd Wright, Alexander Calder, Bucky Fuller, and Albert Einstein.
As a teenager, he traveled the world climbing mountains and, in the process, fell 1,000 feet off the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, swam across the arctic sea, crashed his airplane, collapsed his horse, stepped in quicksand, was buried in an avalanche, and became a cultural ambassador to families in Central America, Mongolia, and the Caribbean.
During this time he attended seven colleges, got a doctorate in Quantum Mechanics, and founded a software company specializing in business automation.
Building on his interests in physics, neurophysiology, psychology, education, and culture Lincoln is now a therapist and mentor living in British Columbia, Canada, where he works with clients remotely.
He has two wonderful ex-wives, and two wonderful sons. Committed to supporting intuition and the feeling mind, he can be contacted through his web site at mindstrengthbalance.com.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 17, 2019
This is a very interesting and intense book that I personally found quite inspirational. I’ve always had a passion for gaining knowledge from other people, hearing other people’s life stories and learning lessons from them, so this book definitely kept my interest.
In The Learning Project, Rites of Passage over thirty different people of all different ages, histories, and circumstances are interviewed by the author about how their education began, how and what they learned, the decisions they’ve made in life, and how learning has changed them. Some even offer advice. The interviews reveal their personal transformations. What I loved most about the book was seeing how these people reflect on their choices and how they evolved after them, whether good or bad. One of the biggest takeaways from the book is to love yourself.
“There are things to be done, there’s danger, there’s excitement, there are errors, and there are people who get hurt, and there are people who don’t come back. But it’s in those ages that great things are built…” – George Plotkin
I really enjoyed the interview format which was easy to read, of considerable length, but never tedious. I found myself really wanting to delve even deeper into their stories and discover more on some of the interviews, particularly the people in a later stage of life. Who better to learn from than people who have already experienced full lives and learned many lessons along the way?
The interviews in the book that kept my interest most were on the topics of healing the mind, medicine, reading, and writing. Also interviews with those who have suffered greatly with their health or problems from their past. These were the interviews that helped me personally.
It’s obvious much research went into this project as this book is literally a treasure trove of helpful information. I found it fascinating at times and wish I would’ve had this book when I was in my 20s. Even though the book is written with a young audience in mind, I think it’s great for any age. This is definitely a book that I will re-reference in the future and I’d like to thank the author for sharing a copy of the book with me. I won this on a Goodread’s giveaway.
4****
You can also read this review @ www.readrantrockandroll.com
In The Learning Project, Rites of Passage over thirty different people of all different ages, histories, and circumstances are interviewed by the author about how their education began, how and what they learned, the decisions they’ve made in life, and how learning has changed them. Some even offer advice. The interviews reveal their personal transformations. What I loved most about the book was seeing how these people reflect on their choices and how they evolved after them, whether good or bad. One of the biggest takeaways from the book is to love yourself.
“There are things to be done, there’s danger, there’s excitement, there are errors, and there are people who get hurt, and there are people who don’t come back. But it’s in those ages that great things are built…” – George Plotkin
I really enjoyed the interview format which was easy to read, of considerable length, but never tedious. I found myself really wanting to delve even deeper into their stories and discover more on some of the interviews, particularly the people in a later stage of life. Who better to learn from than people who have already experienced full lives and learned many lessons along the way?
The interviews in the book that kept my interest most were on the topics of healing the mind, medicine, reading, and writing. Also interviews with those who have suffered greatly with their health or problems from their past. These were the interviews that helped me personally.
It’s obvious much research went into this project as this book is literally a treasure trove of helpful information. I found it fascinating at times and wish I would’ve had this book when I was in my 20s. Even though the book is written with a young audience in mind, I think it’s great for any age. This is definitely a book that I will re-reference in the future and I’d like to thank the author for sharing a copy of the book with me. I won this on a Goodread’s giveaway.
4****
You can also read this review @ www.readrantrockandroll.com
November 26, 2018
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Learning Project: Rites of Passage by Lincoln Stoller is a thoughtful and well-researched collection of interviews from various people from all aspects of social background.
The author managed to show with this beautiful project that if you want to learn, you must be able to ask and ask the right questions at the right time.
The interviews are separated in some different areas of the human life.
For each theme, you have people of all ages, young middle and older. By doing this, the writer managed to show that as we get older our way or learning, thinking and perspective also shift and change depending on our experiences and mistakes.
If you are a student of human learning, then this book is for you.
Highly recommend it.
The Learning Project: Rites of Passage by Lincoln Stoller is a thoughtful and well-researched collection of interviews from various people from all aspects of social background.
The author managed to show with this beautiful project that if you want to learn, you must be able to ask and ask the right questions at the right time.
The interviews are separated in some different areas of the human life.
For each theme, you have people of all ages, young middle and older. By doing this, the writer managed to show that as we get older our way or learning, thinking and perspective also shift and change depending on our experiences and mistakes.
If you are a student of human learning, then this book is for you.
Highly recommend it.
January 1, 2019
Interesting premise
Stoller's The Learning Project is a very interesting premise, and many of the stories can be inspirational. It brings to light rites of passages that help transform a person, and they can either be better or worse for it. The writing tells a story while bringing in the reader to think of their own rituals and transformations throughout life, and learning. It also sounds like there will be more like this to come, as this could be a never-ending project to uncover. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Stoller's The Learning Project is a very interesting premise, and many of the stories can be inspirational. It brings to light rites of passages that help transform a person, and they can either be better or worse for it. The writing tells a story while bringing in the reader to think of their own rituals and transformations throughout life, and learning. It also sounds like there will be more like this to come, as this could be a never-ending project to uncover. I look forward to reading more by this author.
November 7, 2018
The Learning Project, by Lincoln Stoller, is a most amazing book, a powerhouse of intellectual and humanistic insights from a rare collection of diverse individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Lincoln’s unique format of interviews and conversations makes for fascinating reading. His sensitive questions get the guests to open up their inmost thoughts and feelings, focusing on how they were pursuing their highest potential in life, how they were inspired to develop their unique capabilities and reach for their most fulfilling goals and dreams. This book gives an intimate look at what it means to be human, masterfully captured by a sympathetic and brilliant curator. An amazing book, well worth reading more than once.
January 6, 2019
The Learning Project takes a wide view of the question of personal growth, getting out of framework of a particular age, age group, attitude, or subject. It's not Eastern or Western, liberal or conservative, Buddhist or Christian, Baby Boomer or Millennial.
In it, 35 people of all ages, cultures, and interests explain how they came to be, from the perspective of their own sometimes celebrated and sometimes violent lives. The somewhat surprising and uncorreographed conclusion appears to be that learning rests on whether or not you respect yourself. And the more you respect yourself, in spite of everything, the more you evolve toward wisdom.
In it, 35 people of all ages, cultures, and interests explain how they came to be, from the perspective of their own sometimes celebrated and sometimes violent lives. The somewhat surprising and uncorreographed conclusion appears to be that learning rests on whether or not you respect yourself. And the more you respect yourself, in spite of everything, the more you evolve toward wisdom.
January 13, 2019
The learning project
Hmmmm
What a strange yet interesting read.
I am not sure how to review as it is more of a book of learning, of experiencing, and observing how others live.
I read a collection of people's choices. How that changed them and the triumphs and failures, the risks they took and their successes.
The book is easy to read and understand BUT not does it make you think. The book's title catsuit all. It is a learning project. It is a rite of passage covering from young to old. But the book does take you for an emotional rollercoaster.
Hmmmm
What a strange yet interesting read.
I am not sure how to review as it is more of a book of learning, of experiencing, and observing how others live.
I read a collection of people's choices. How that changed them and the triumphs and failures, the risks they took and their successes.
The book is easy to read and understand BUT not does it make you think. The book's title catsuit all. It is a learning project. It is a rite of passage covering from young to old. But the book does take you for an emotional rollercoaster.
December 28, 2018
I think this book was complex. It was well done; well researched. I think it's too smart for me. I'm only partially kidding about that. It was a little too long and seemed to drag for me at times. It really makes you stop and think about things. It opens your eyes to things you probably never thought about before. It also made me think that I need to love myself more! I'd like to thank the author for my copy of this book; I won it on Twitter. :)
November 9, 2018
The Learning Project is a massive work, showing many examples of the choices people make in their lives. It focuses on learning, how people have learned what it is they have needed for their very full lives; what comes forth is the way each individual has adjusted to and worked with the conditions of his/her life, while intending to move forward. These are very personal accounts.
One of the most remarkable things about The Learning Project is the sheer diversity that shows up as each person unfolds their story. There are so many more ways to learn than the model our culture currently supports. These stories come from individuals who forged their own trails, each in their own personal way. I am left with a new appreciation for how wonderfully inventive we are, we humans—as well as how our differences become our strength. Message to all: accept yourself as you are, take yourself seriously, and keep going!
One of the most remarkable things about The Learning Project is the sheer diversity that shows up as each person unfolds their story. There are so many more ways to learn than the model our culture currently supports. These stories come from individuals who forged their own trails, each in their own personal way. I am left with a new appreciation for how wonderfully inventive we are, we humans—as well as how our differences become our strength. Message to all: accept yourself as you are, take yourself seriously, and keep going!
Read
March 13, 2020Deciding to write this book was a simple decision: I realized I'd been writing it all my life—almost like a memoir—so all I had to do was finish it.
The question that has nagged me all this time is the question of what sort of reality was I supposed to be seeing? Some people tell you what to think, others act as if they've figured it out for themselves, but the most interesting ones won't give any answer. I was not finding an answer, either, so this book is what happened when I decided to get down to business and analyze the problem.
The best way to do that, I felt, was to ask the right people who had, were, or will be exploring all areas of the question: what do we learn, how do we learn it, and why? Obviously, it's a question whose scope is endless, but I feel I did a pretty good job of containing it. I did that by putting the question in a mythic context and asking people of all ages, interests and backgrounds to give me their deepest reply.
The success of the book likes in its bringing an answer into focus. I didn't know what that answer would be, so there's a measure of objectivity in it. At the same time, I don't want to inject my own prejudice by telling you what that answer is. Find if for yourself. Maybe your answer will be different.
The question that has nagged me all this time is the question of what sort of reality was I supposed to be seeing? Some people tell you what to think, others act as if they've figured it out for themselves, but the most interesting ones won't give any answer. I was not finding an answer, either, so this book is what happened when I decided to get down to business and analyze the problem.
The best way to do that, I felt, was to ask the right people who had, were, or will be exploring all areas of the question: what do we learn, how do we learn it, and why? Obviously, it's a question whose scope is endless, but I feel I did a pretty good job of containing it. I did that by putting the question in a mythic context and asking people of all ages, interests and backgrounds to give me their deepest reply.
The success of the book likes in its bringing an answer into focus. I didn't know what that answer would be, so there's a measure of objectivity in it. At the same time, I don't want to inject my own prejudice by telling you what that answer is. Find if for yourself. Maybe your answer will be different.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews