I want to compile a list of things that when you talk about them people feel compelled to tell you all about them, like they’re experts. I’ll also note that most such people talk about things they read that couldn’t possibly cover the topic thoroughly. More importantly, they rarely experiment and find out on their own. I don’t know how many people have told me not eating meat is bad[…] Keep reading →

[I alluded to this topic before. I still have to write it up formally and edit it more than a daily post allows. I hope it gets the main ideas across. Please contact me if it interests you.] You only have to read the news to see the problems Do I have to convince anyone that we have many people in leadership positions who lead ineffectively? You only have to[…] Keep reading →

I keep reading the phrase “jobs Americans wont’ do,” as in “illegal immigrants do work in jobs Americans won’t do.” Search on the phrases in quotes and you’ll find plenty of articles on the topic. Economists, politicians, and pundits use the tools they use to analyze jobs — labor supply and demand, wages, competition, and so on — to understand the situation. These articles never seem to question the existence[…] Keep reading →

Here’s a conversation I had with a friend. It shows the way my physics training gets me to think that I expect others will find interesting. Remember, physics to me means respecting and appreciating nature — not just something that happens in a laboratory, but how rainbows work, why the sky is blue, and why people are the way we are. My friend also said she found the result enlightening.[…] Keep reading →

I’d like to look at some headlines from a leadership perspective. I don’t intend for today’s post to be political. Governments have needed secrecy and spying since before Sun Tzu’s The Art of War over two thousand years ago. People will also oppose governments that overreach their influence into their lives. Different people oppose different levels of intrusion so that the more a government intrudes the more people will oppose[…] Keep reading →

I interviewed Joe, who had been living in South Korea before visiting North Korea, about the experience at the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery, since it was such an emotional experience. At this point we are in a park just below the cemetery, which is on one of Pyongyang’s highest points, I believe. He talks about how surprising it was to be given such deference in the face of North Korea’s social[…] Keep reading →

If you think something external is causing you stress or keeping you from the life you want, you’re looking in the wrong place. This early passage in Walden reminded me of how the challenges of living your life how you want to change with the external changes of the world. Thoreau could have described today. Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so[…] Keep reading →