First Blog

There is a restless energy to the modern concept of the "bucket list." It arrives with an unspoken pressure, presenting life as a giant, high-stakes scavenger hunt where satisfaction is only guaranteed once you have jumped out of an airplane, scaled a famous peak, or checked off a mandatory list of global landmarks. For a long time, I bought into the idea that a life well-lived was measured by the sheer volume of novel thrills and distant horizons. But looking back, I realize I have already been incredibly fortunate. I have traveled across maps, stood before breathtaking sights, and stepped outside my comfort zone to try a vast array of different things. I have accumulated the stamps, the memories, and the stories. Having tasted that frantic pursuit of the extraordinary, I find myself arriving at a quiet, liberating realization: I do not need a bucket list anymore. Instead, my perspective has shifted entirely. If a traditional bucket list is a desperate scramble to accumulate...

 Today, you're a new grad. But if you get to work on time, suck up a whole lot, and not screw up too much, one day you may become the Idiot Boss. 

  There are two kinds of pet people: Those who love their pet and hug it to show affection, and those who hug themselves with their pet. By the way, in the photo below, you see a baby echidna. They are called puggles.

The "Double-Down Syndrome" describes a pattern in which leaders, organizations, and individuals become increasingly committed to a position precisely when evidence suggests they should reconsider it. Rather than revising a mistaken judgment, they reinforce it. They repeat the original claim, defend it more vigorously, and invest additional resources in proving they were right all along. One explanation for this tendency is political survival. Public life rewards consistency far more than it rewards intellectual flexibility. Voters often say they want leaders who are willing to change their minds when presented with new evidence. Yet they frequently interpret such changes as weakness, indecision, opportunism, or dishonesty. As a result, politicians learn an important lesson early in their careers: changing course may be rational, but it can also be politically costly. The experience of President George H. W. Bush is often cited as a prominent example. His famous campaign pledg...

  Est quod est  

  Think of freedom of speech as a living organism. Then think of what is required for it to survive. Coming to mind are a population agreeable to its constitution (its environment) and the institutions (its nutrients) that keep it healthy. Currently, many institutions, including some political parties, question unfettered freedom of speech and are working to deny it, claiming it is unhealthy for the body politic. Yes? No?

  1 .    Introduction Ok. You believe that creativity is the domain of the genius or really smart folks. This is not so. Everyone can be creative if only they are allowed to try and then to become. We claim that creativity can be learned. It’s a skill, but it takes practice. First, we begin with small ideas, such as variations on things we know well, and turn them into something new. It requires some internal thinking, along with an understanding of realistic ideas about what might be better or easier to do or use. It must be something within your vision. Abstract thinking is another matter altogether to be discussed later. All require steady thought, usually manipulating ideas you already know into something new. That this is so, that creativity can be learned and developed through practice rather than being merely an innate gift/talent, finds support in psychology, cognitive science, education, and the history of innovation. We offer a strong argument. In §6,...

  The leaves of trees were nature's first solar panels for energy,  but not of the electrical type. 

  Human Simulation: Agent-Based Modeling and the Computational Case for Our Reality   1.       Introduction In the essay, we introduce the notion that humanity could be a deliberate simulation based on an extremely simple single-celled organism, hardly anything more complex than that. This will allow an (apparently) new interpretation of the notion that humanity is simulated, but that there is no master engineer at a massive number of dials and switches, responsible for every twist and turn of our universe and lives. We begin with the notion that the universe exists and operates under its own laws. So, given the Earth [2] , when and where life first began, it was infused with a living agent, self-actualized, reproductive, and with other basic rules for its operations, interactions, and much of what single-celled organisms do today. The idea from this occurred some years back when writing code in ActionScript (formerly Flash), I was able to create...

Prolog.   AI is the most powerful tool of any kind to come along in many years. Almost all of us are frequent users. It's a time-saver, problem-solver, information resource, and grammar fixer. But it can't do everything. This is our problem for today: to explore its limitations. We build a wall around AI, which, if it gets out, we're in deep trouble. Be sure to read Section 2. Amazing. ----------------------------------  Problem-Solvers --- What AI Can Never Do G Donald Allen Without creativity, we would see only the same old patterns. 1. Introduction. Every day brings new reports of astonishing advances in artificial intelligence and agentic systems. Truly, AI is the problem-solver we’ve always needed. The pace of achievement is genuinely remarkable. Yet students and young thinkers may gradually absorb the idea that AI can accomplish virtually anything, a notion that can feel intimidating, or even discouraging, to minds still awakening to the wonder and mystery of th...