Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: The Essential Value of a Classic Education. JEFFREY BRENZEL, Philosopher, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale University Dean Brenzel argues that not only can reading the great classics like Plato's Republic and Dante's Inferno enrich your education, it can actually make your life better. Pointing out that we can't possibly read all of the books in the world, Brenzel makes a case for reading the right books the right way in order to get the most intellectual bang for your reading buck. Which books qualify as the "right" books is one of the most controversial subjects in academia, and Brenzel outlines the five key characteristics that every great book must fulfill in order to make that coveted list. The Floating University Originally released September 2011. Additional Lectures: Michio Kaku: The Universe in a Nutshell www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NbBjNiw4tk Joel Cohen: An Introduction to Demography (Malthus Miffed: Are People the Problem?) www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vr44C_G0-o Steven Pinker: Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-B_ONJIEcE Leon Botstein: Art Now (Aesthetics Across Music, Painting, Architecture, Movies, and More.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6F-sHhmfrY Tamar Gendler: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Politics and Economics www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm8asJxdcds Nicholas Christakis: The Sociological Science Behind Social Networks and Social Influence www.youtube.com/watch?v=wadBvDPeE4E Paul Bloom: The Psychology of Everything: What Compassion, Racism, and Sex tell us about Human Nature www.youtube.com/watch?v=328wX2x_s5g Saul Levmore: Monopolies as an Introduction to Economics www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK2qHyF-8u8 Lawrence Summers: Decoding the DNA of Education in Search of Actual Knowledge www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6SY6N1iMcU Douglas Melton: Is Biomedical Research Really Close to Curing Anything? www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y95hT-koAC8 William Ackman: Everything You Need to Know About Finance and Investing in Under an Hour www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEDIj9JBTC8

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