Yet having postulated the impossibility of learning from past models, Shang Yang and Han Fei propose an alternative lesson that can be learnt: that changing circumstances may require not a piecemeal but a comprehensive readjustment of the sociopolitical system.
An alternative lesson would be a Constitutional gathering that included individuals other than plantation owners, bankers, and merchants—one that examined issues from the perspective of common farmers, debtors, and people who were enslaved.
Rambling alternative history lessons pull you up sharp before the fact, say, that for 339 years (between 1066 and 1399) the language of the ruling class in England was French.
As an alternative to lessons, I would propose looking for a "study buddy" to help work on practicing a few times a week -- perhaps a college or high school student studying music.
Ben Arnold X-Men: First Class (Matthew Vaughn, 2011), 9pm, Channel 4 Encompassing Nazi Germany, the cold war and the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, this origins-of-the-X-Men prequel is one heck of an alternative history lesson.
One might ask: what is the alternative to gleaning lessons from already successful companies?
Nevertheless, scurrilous and charismatic East End figures -- the fight promoter Jack Solomons, the "fixer" Sidney Stanley -- hover over his life, offering a vital alternative to the lessons contained in the local library or the Whitechapel Art Gallery.
The students Sophie works with are often "a bit institution-phobic", she explains, after being passed from schools to pupil referral units (PRUs) and other alternative provision, so lessons take place wherever they feel at ease.
(800) 466-6784 www.skinorthstar.com DAY AT SKI SCHOOL -- The full-day in the Starkids program for ages 7 to 12 includes a lesson, alternative snow recreation (like snow tubing), lift ticket and rentals for $89.
Where do they live?" Personally, in my teenage years, games were primarily playthings, brief distractions from college essay writing and driving lessons, alternatives to an evening sucking on a bottle in a nearby park with pals when money was tight.
