Analysis: What the ‘beginner’s mind’ can teach us about politics — and life

When I read Tom Vanderbilt's "Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning," I found myself underlining and dog-earring stats, notes and quotes on virtually every page. The conceit is simple: Vanderbilt decides, in his mid-40s, to try his hand at a lot of things he had always been interested in but never really pursued -- from singing in a choir to surfing to making a wedding ring.