Category: Books
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More People Should Know about JCM
James Clerk Maxwell is one of my heroes. It seems to me that more people should know about his amazing contributions to physics and see him as a true hero. This is why I’m writing a screenplay about his life. It’s why I hope to make a movie about his extraordinary accomplishments. I’m in the…
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Not for Me
Today, I found myself thinking of the song But Not for Me. “They’re writing songs of love, but not for me,A lucky star’s above, but not for me…” — George Gershwin Here’s the context. I enjoy taking lots of online classes. Like many, I don’t get through all of the material in each class I…
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What If? 2
Yesterday, I discovered that Randall Munroe has written another What If? book. Now, I’m thrilled to be reading What If? 2! Writing books like this is a great way to leverage a background in math and physics! I’ve been a fan of his web comic xkcd for many years. While searching for the images above,…
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A Silly Thought
What if we thought everyone should participate in our democracy? I realize that this is not entirely possible. To be specific, I know that my daughter is not entirely capable of understanding the intricacies of politics. She wants to eat at Taco Bell. She doesn’t understand the ramifications of paying Taco Bell employees a living…
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Vacations
I’m sure I’ve said this before. Vacations are so important. Certainly for me and probably for most people. Even if you have a dream job, chances are it’s still going to be stressful from time to time. Being able to unplug, being able to relax, and experiencing something new is good for us. When I’m…
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Better?
There are people who do better than me in every area of life. Ramit Sethi is wealthier than me. Lee Smolin, Carlo Rovelli, and others are much better physicists than me. Robert Reich, Richard Feynman, and others are better teachers than me. Linus Torvalds, Donald Knuth, Bjarne Stroustrup, and others are much better computer programmers…
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The Question of Free Will
Throughout the ages, people have debated the question of whether we have much of a choice in the actions we take. While we seem to have the appearance of Free Will, sometimes we also seem to be bound to our individual fates. I’m excited to see James Clerk Maxwell join in the conversation. The Life…
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The Age of Things
Things matter. What things impact our lives at this time? Phones, airplanes, cars, social media, computers, cameras, the printing press, agriculture, fire, and more are worthwhile candidates. Let’s consider the age of things with regard to how they impact our lives. As a kid, I checked out lots of books from the local library. (The…
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The Struggle for Existence
Today, author Geoff Jones has released the second book in his trilogy, The Preservation of Species! In case you missed the first book, you can get The Rule of Extinction here. And The Struggle for Existence can be found here. I had the pleasure of interviewing Geoff Jones earlier this year. Here’s the full interview.…
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Coercion
Sometimes people can be convinced to do something with a show of force or threats. This is often accompanied by playing on people’s fears and stoking hatred. Our current administration seems to like this approach. If a “strongman” incites a riot, our society suffers. When choosing between the carrot and the stick, I often prefer…