First Blog

The short answer is, “Who knows. Ask one.” However, there are markers I’ve noticed over many years having worked with and read about a few of them. a. Finding the “genius” solution is more than just picking up the right pebble on the beach. It is rejecting what doesn’t work. Researching a topic means sifting and winnowing idea after idea. The  genius can reject the bad ideas quickly  and move on. There is an anecdote about John von Neumann, who worked on the “Super,” H-bomb, and with the military. The report is that some engineers were working on a project for months, and one day handed it to von Neumann. He rifled through the pages for a few minutes, looked up and said it wouldn’t work. After months more of work, the engineers concluded, it doesn’t work. This is legend to the point that, “If Johnny says it will work or not, that is it.” BTW, Von Neumann was considered the best mathematician of the 20th century. Johnny had a great memory and one night at a party he got into an argum

Dads. And you thought they had no purpose. They do.   Every evening at dinner time, dads give you those welcome lectures on how to be better, what jerks they work with, the injustices to their candidates, that damned lawnmower, car problems, and so much more philosophy of life. Lectures go on for years, giving moms ample time to prepare for the next day. In fact and you may not know, the words “dinner time” are roughly translated from the Greek words for   “lecture time.”

On Calmness. One thing I never noticed before now is the calmness conveyed by people.   In particular, many women convey a certain calmness in their appearance.   This calmness engenders relief from the chaos surrounding you. It settles erratic fears. It soothes and relaxes the home.  However, I never realized that calmness is a deep form of beauty. Is this the beauty of the Mona Lisa ? Is this what da Vinci captured many centuries ago? I think so. The same must hold for men, but I’m less able to perceive it.

A. Perhaps it was Ronald Reagan who first said, “Trust but verify.” The latest version has mutated to “Distrust and verify.”    Here are the translations of what they mean. Trust but verify means: Innocent until proven guilty. Distrust and verify means: Guilty until proven innocent. B. Attributed to Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant director of the Manhattan Project, but later felt so guilty about producing the first atomic bomb. He wore his guilt on his sleeve, yet, he did the deed.   John von Neumann, often considered the greatest mathematician of the 20 th century quipped about Oppie,                  Some people confess the guilt so they can take credit for the sin. C. Kids have a break many ignore.   It is about learning, opportunity, and direction in life. Youth is a free first-class ticket on the train of personal discovery.

Common sense is a type of intelligence, not given to the classroom or books.   Common sense is not taught like a subject. It is a generalized set of rules mostly self-learned. It has a feature set that is broad and sweeping. We classify a few of them as abilities – just as our regular senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.   It is also related to good sense and practical sense, less general terms. Ability to generalize. Example. You’ve learned not to put your hand on the stove. You generalize to other sources of heat. Ability to assess capabilities. You gradually restrict your activities and goals to those achievable. Ability to survive. You sidestep dangers that present directly and indirectly. Ability to discern. You can distinguish between options based on what is overall best for you and perhaps family. You easily chose not to do dumb things. Ability to avoid unnecessary risks. This is not to say risks are not undertaken, but senseless or stupid risks are avoi

It is almost foolish to speculate on why or how someone like Albert Einstein was a genius.   People like Einstein and Newton are essentially off the scale of human intelligence.   Yet, they live among us, make very human errors, and act in very human ways. So, we take them for humans, albeit just really smart specimens. As to Einstein, he told us his formula for discovery. That was through the thought experiment , wherein he would conceive of a physical situation such as what would happen as he looked in a mirror as both were accelerating toward the speed of light. This was, for Einstein, the beginning of relativity.   But what for you and I, had we been given this experiment? The implication is that Einstein dwelled on the problem endlessly until some ideas emerged.   Then, by sheer strength of will he managed those ideas into the beginnings of a theory.   Finally, it became a fait de complet. What is not mentioned is that Einstein also had an intense proclivity to indepen

Power and Privilege, two power words of our day.  Most people want at least one; some want both. So, is there a difference? Power is a general term that implies the ability to shape conditions, control people, or enhance particular goals. Power has many forms, of which privilege is only one. Privilege is usually conferred, but general power is seized. Here are a few other forms of power.  Privilege Good looks Money Property Ability Knowledge Authority Family Leadership Some people have only one.  Others have a few, but few have all.

Why is having hard conversations about the truth a good thing? Hard discussions about truth have many values.  To me, the most important is for all to become aware of its tricky nature.  It is posited as the last word on a subject, the finality we must accept. Finality is the keyword. In this way, it is used to silence further discussion.    "Truth" is used by all instructors, clergymen, politicians, and your friends - all the time. All promote their own views or truths. Hard discussions allow us to understand this, and not be so easily swept up into the truths of others, and not to be conflicted by moronic conversations about truth vs belief. You can have principles , such as “love thy neighbor,” or “theory A is it.” You can live by commandments , such as “Thou shall not kill.” It is always best to understand the differences between these and actual truth. Truth is ethereal, and that’s the truth. 😊 Nonetheless, we all want truth. We crave truth. We b

Ah, yes.   Causality.   We love it and hate it.   We seek it for resolution, but sometimes we don’t want to find it. ·         Advertising causes sales. ·         Fear causes flight or fight. ·         She dumped me because I flirt. ·         Vaccinations prevent disease. To my understanding, causality is fundamentally difficult or impossible to prove. It is a truth. Causality seems to be a consensus of experts, claimed by countless experiments and observations - sometimes by an authority. In centuries past, causality was the domain of religion, philosophy, and God. Permanent. Yet, today’s cause may become tomorrow’s fantasy. Now, causality is mostly an aspect of science. Rushing to causality is a modern consequence of ubiquitous models, each establishing, in part, a correlation or correspondence. Personal causality is always a risk, always subject to emotion. Think of causality as a working solution to a problem, a pathway to finding a cure, or leading to deeper unde

Question. What is the saddest truth in life? Answer. The saddest truth in life is that if you look for one (or them) you will find it. Self-obsession -> self-fullfillment -> self-realization -> self-possession -> self-defeat. Best not to seek.

What is the meaning of “no amount of evidence will ever persuade a fool”? This statement has a purpose for those unconvinced or persuaded by evidence. You give the most perfect data or perfect reasoning about a topic and the recipient remains unconvinced. The unwritten implication is that he/she then must be a fool. Therefore, the statement is used to establish this: “If you accept no evidence, you must be a fool.” The inability by others (i.e. you, me, et al.) to persuade even very intelligent people has been rampant over all of time, in science, politics, philosophy, religion, even in war. The nifty little aphorism in this question allows us to indirectly call them fools. Second hand insults, as it were. Pretty neat! For example, Democrats think of Republicans as fools because they are unpersuaded by (their) evidence.  And vice-versa. In times past, Lutherans thought of Catholics in the same way – using the word “heretic.” And vice-versa. New science is often promot

Validity is a mighty big word. It seems to have its own meaning for each subject, though most center on the notions of correctness, consistency, conformity, and accuracy.   In fact, just Google, “whatchacallit validity” to get another definition.   Below are a few notions of important definitions. a.        As a state, as in being authentic or genuine. b.        As a force, for example legally. c.        As a measurement, as implying it does measure what is purported. d.        In research, as in the accuracy of measurements. e.        As proof, as in obeying the laws of accepted logic and premises. f.         As approved, as by an authority. g.        In statistics, as following and satisfying statistical tests. h.        In methodology, as in properly observing accepted procedures. i.          In prediction, as in how a test predicts another criterion. j.          In construct, as in the degree to which inferences can be made or how two tests closely compare.