{"id":257647,"date":"2026-06-06T18:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T18:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/257647\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T18:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T18:18:16","slug":"balancing-act-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/257647\/","title":{"rendered":"Balancing Act – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal to retain the Champions League title last week, soccer fans were joyous or dejected<\/a>, depending on their allegiances. I don\u2019t have a dog in the fight, but I used the win as an excuse to revisit the dramatic P.S.G.-inspired anthem \u201cLe Coeur de Paris<\/a>,\u201d featuring the mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti. I became acquainted with Viotti earlier this year, via a story about her many pursuits and identities<\/a> beyond opera.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think generally people should not do only one thing in their lives,\u201d Viotti told The Times.<\/p>\n

Before Viotti ever studied voice \u2014 never mind became an opera star \u2014 she was a heavy metal singer and received a master\u2019s degree in literature and philosophy. She performed in the opening of the Paris Olympics in 2024, sang at Black Sabbath\u2019s final concert and won a Grammy last year with the band Gojira for best metal performance. Earlier this year, she played the role of Prince Orlofsky in \u201cDie Fledermaus\u201d at the Zurich Opera.<\/p>\n

By the time Viotti was 39, she had co-written a book and produced three albums. She \u201cspeaks an alarming number of languages fluently,\u201d the Times reporter noted. (And here I was worried that I speak an alarmingly low number of languages fluently.) One would be forgiven for feeling slightly inferior when comparing oneself to such a diversely talented multi-hyphenate.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve been thinking about that idea of \u201cdoing only one thing\u201d in one\u2019s life. Even if we\u2019re not opera stars, we have our areas of expertise and, when we reach a level of accomplishment in one arena, it\u2019s easiest to stop starting new things. There are only so many hours in the day, after all. If we\u2019ve achieved some success in our work, or in baking, or knitting, or martial arts, we are now people who do that thing, who define ourselves as bakers or knitters. When we\u2019re young, we might try many things in search of the one or ones that will stick, but in adulthood, it feels more comfortable to be good at things than to take on new ones.<\/p>\n

In his 1953 essay \u201cThe Hedgehog and the Fox,\u201d the philosopher Isaiah Berlin suggested that people can be divided into two groups: hedgehogs, who know one big thing, and foxes, who know many things. Hedgehogs have a unified vision of the world, one central belief that governs their thinking. Foxes are more scattered, pulling from varied sources, changing their thinking as circumstances change. Berlin didn\u2019t assert that one type was better than the other, but put forth his theory to describe writers and thinkers of his day. (Tolstoy, he wrote, was a fox who deeply wanted to be a hedgehog.) The result is a pretty entertaining low-stakes parlor game.<\/p>\n

I read Viotti\u2019s statement as an admonition to do more, to not confine ourselves to our areas of expertise (baking, knitting) but to seek out more and varied interests (why not cross-country skiing? why not painting?). When viewed through Berlin\u2019s lens, Viotti is encouraging us to be more fox than hedgehog. There\u2019s a hedgehogginess in keeping to the stuff we know that we like and that we already do well. If we\u2019re foxier, we\u2019re less inclined to see our identities as fixed, our worlds as established and unchangeable. We\u2019re flexible and curious and seeking out new experiences beyond what we already (think we) know.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m still trying to figure out if I\u2019m a hedgehog or a fox. I think we\u2019re all some combination of both \u2014 a pure hedgehog risks being single-minded, a pure fox might be a dabbler, and people are much more complicated than these designations could ever articulate. But it\u2019s interesting to look at how the hedgehog and fox impulses play out in your own life. If the classification system \u201cis not an aid to serious criticism, neither should it be rejected as being merely superficial or frivolous,\u201d Berlin wrote. \u201cLike all distinctions which embody any degree of truth, it offers a point of view from which to look and compare, a starting-point for genuine investigation.\u201d Let\u2019s investigate.<\/p>\n

THE LATEST NEWS<\/p>\n

Elections<\/p>\n

Blueberry-Ginger Clafoutis<\/p>\n

A purple-spotted take on the classic French dish, Nik Sharma\u2019s blueberry-ginger clafoutis<\/a> is a lovely dessert to make as berry season arrives. His clever technique of pre-baking some of the batter keeps the berries from sinking and burning, and ensures perfect fruit distribution. Grated ginger adds a touch of warmth without overwhelming the berries. And if the available fresh blueberries aren\u2019t quite up to snuff, this works beautifully with frozen fruit, too.<\/p>\n

The Hunt: With about $1.5 million to spend on Manhattan\u2019s Upper West Side, a couple looked for more bedrooms, some office space and an easy commute to school. What did they find? Play our game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What you get for \u2026 $1.3 million in Sweden<\/a>: A 10-bedroom manor from 1806. A 25-acre farm estate near the Baltic Sea. A five-bedroom modern farmhouse.<\/p>\n

For sale, with a dreamy pool: A 1960s compound<\/a> in the Berkshires, a tropical cottage in Miami, a quintessential Hamptons house, and two California retreats.<\/p>\n

Not just networking: Is LinkedIn entering its post-cringe era? Celebrities and influencers are getting more active<\/a> on the business-focused platform.<\/p>\n

A.I. advice: Companies want you to use their chatbots to devise a morning routine<\/a> \u2014 though the advice tends to be things like \u201cdrink coffee\u201d and \u201cget dressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revolutionary journeys: Some of the fiercest battles of the Revolution were fought in South Carolina, but its role is often overlooked. A trip to Charleston revealed history, myths and beauty<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTERHow to make sports look better on TV<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re planning to watch the World Cup this summer from home (or any other sporting event), try motion smoothing<\/a>. Though it has a reputation for making movies look wonky, motion smoothing can enhance sports by making fast action look less blurry. If it\u2019s not already turned on by default, try looking for it in the picture settings menu. And if you\u2019re planning to attend one of the matches in person (lucky you!), our style expert found stadium-friendly clear bags<\/a> that are actually decent looking. You\u2019re welcome. \u2014 Rose Maura Lorre<\/p>\n

GAME OF THE WEEK<\/p>\n

Mirra Andreeva vs. Maja Chwalinska, French Open women\u2019s final: A few weeks ago, The Athletic\u2019s Ava Wallace reported<\/a>, Maja Chwalinska had two goals: to qualify for the French Open, and to be ranked in the top 100 by the end of the year. Mission accomplished, and then some.<\/p>\n

Chwalinska is currently ranked No. 114 in the world, though not for long. She is the lowest-ranked French Open finalist in history. She\u2019s also the first women\u2019s singles player to come through qualifying and reach the final. She has a style \u201cfull of slice and spin,\u201d Ava wrote, \u201cthat utilizes drop shots and forces baseliners to play without rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mirra Andreeva is just 19 years old \u2014 five years Chwalinska\u2019s junior \u2014 but ranked No. 8 in the world. Neither woman has won a Grand Slam tournament before.<\/p>\n

Today at 9 a.m. Eastern on TNT (streaming on HBO Max)<\/p>\n

NOW TIME TO PLAY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal to retain the Champions League title last week, soccer fans were joyous or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9388,100479,73558,9,11,10,100480],"class_list":["post-257647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-berlin","tag-isaiah","tag-marina","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-viotti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}