Welcome to Reckoning.
Reckoning explores the crucibles of life, those unavoidable and often unexpected circumstances of adversity that are inextricably part of the human experience.
In maritime navigation, sailors employ what is called “dead reckoning” as one method of knowing their ship’s location. Because it involves estimating one’s current position based upon one’s last known position, it’s tricky and not foolproof.
The same is true of navigating life, especially in its hardest moments. We can, however, use ideas and insights—be they ancient, modern, or newly emerging—to chart a path forward.
Why subscribe?
Currently, all subscriptions are free. I might create a paid option in the future. Subscribers will typically receive one article per week; sometimes it’s a bit less frequent than that. As a subscriber, you will also get:
An e-mail whenever a new article posts
Access to the complete archives, so you can always read old articles
The opportunity to engage with a community of people who share your interests in the comments sections and on the open threads
Who am I?
I’m Ben Baran. I’m a social scientist. I earned a Ph.D. in organizational science from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and for many years, I’ve been interested in how people, groups, and organizations deal with adversity. I’m an associate professor of management at Cleveland State University. I’m also a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, with service in its active and reserve components since 2002 (all views presented here are mine alone and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Defense or its components). I’m Catholic. I’m happily married, and we have four wonderful living children. One of our sons, Vincent, tragically died in 2020. He was 7 years old. My writing draws upon these many aspects of who I am, often implicitly and sometimes explicitly. There’s more about me here.
