This 1970’s quote by Joseph Weizenbaum made me uncomfortable: Programming “appeals most to precisely those who do not yet have sufficient maturity to tolerate long delays between an effort to achieve something and the appearance of concrete evidence of success.” Found in The Seventh Sense. Jewish Stars and New York Values – my new favorite […]
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Is intense passion the best motivator for getting stuff done? It seems to be a reasonable enough proposition. When you look at the world’s top [insert-anything-here], they often seem to be driven by their demons. Maybe something happened to them when they were young that propelled them into a frenzy of productivity to prove that […]
As meditation becomes more popular and accepted in the mainstream, many are exposed to it through by apps or drop-in classes. Just as yoga is much more than the physical actions of the Hatha yoga that most studios in the US practice, meditation is more than sitting silently focused on the breath or on a […]
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Mystical Conversations
I just published another the 12th issue of Myth & Matter, here it is in case you haven’t subscribed yet. Derek Sivers has published more of his “directives.” Short, often controversial, statements on how to live. It’s unsourced, unexplained and distilled advice. For example “Do not be the starving artist, working on things that have great personal […]
These book pairings are a couple examples of when 1 + 1 = much more than 2. French on Americans on French – The Discovery of France & Democracy in America. Discovery is a modern book by an American about old France, Democracy is an old book by a Frenchman about modern (for its time) America. The writing […]
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The Melting Pot
A few good links to get your wheels spinning: Onewheel is the only self-balancing wheeled transportation thing that actually looks cool. It avoids the Segway problem of making you look smug while you’re riding it. Bitcoin seems to have stabilized after the steep drop last month, but there are competitors nipping at its heels. If I had to bet […]
In an effort to branch out, I’ve been reading Neurotribes. It starts with a history autism and Aspergers syndrome and their strange parallel development and weaves this through many other realms. Science fiction, computer science, medical science and psychology in Germany, England, America and other places. There’s even great section on John McCarthy and the […]
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Lists & Expeditions
This is cool, the Bionic Bird – a super light drone that you could almost mistake for a bird. I’m not sure how long you could expect it to last with such thin wings, but it’s the first reasonably priced robotic bird I’ve ever seen. The Scoville Scale measures the hotness of chili peppers. I ate a ghost chili […]
Since this is an article entirely focused on one topic, learning languages, I want to start with a non-obvious answer to the question “why would you spend so much time learning a language?” The answer is that it’s often the only thing I have time and/or mental capacity to do. Between working full-time and an active family, there aren’t […]
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A Potpourri of Brain Food
Nobody will like all of these links, everybody will like at least one: If you use Google Photos for your personal pictures, try using search. It is incredible. Search for something like “Volkswagen” or “red shirt” or “acoustic guitar” or pretty much anything else. It just works. It’s also much faster than any other online photo backup […]