Who is today’s King George III? Who are today’s patriots?

on August 28, 2013 in Blog, Freedom, Leadership

No two people are the same, especially centuries apart. Still, I can’t help but think about the leader of a great empire, occupying foreign lands, facing bankruptcy from an expensive victory in a war that galvanized many nations against it , taxing without representation, changing laws arbitrarily, putting his troops in people’s homes, with a legislative body insensitive to its citizens’ concerns, … I could go on, and ask “Who[…] Keep reading →

Another awesome success — Museum Hack and Nick Gray

on August 27, 2013 in Art, Blog, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Leadership

An awesome side benefit of writing daily is that awesome people find you. Recently a guy wrote to tell me he liked my writing and invited me to participate in what seemed like a crazy project, but turned out to be one of the most awesome things I’ve done in New York City in a long time. And I’ve done a lot of awesome things in New York City. It’s[…] Keep reading →

Why basketball players are tall and how tyranny emerges

on August 20, 2013 in Blog, Freedom, Leadership

Today’s post approaches the recent NSA surveillance revelations from a systems-theory perspective. The reasons basketball players are tall imply consequences to our government. A high-level systems perspective leaves out details, some of which may be more important than this post gives credit for. I’m not saying it’s the only perspective, but I consider it important and relevant. Please feel free to comment if you feel I missed something important. Why[…] Keep reading →

See me on Leadership through Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness

on August 16, 2013 in Blog, Education, Entrepreneurship, Events, Leadership

Brought to you by the Distinguished Leaders committee of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York (copying the following announcement from that site): Leadership Through Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence In a weekend, learn how to develop your personal leadership skills, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence through the latest advances in cognitive behavioral science, evolutionary psychology, and positive psychology. While business schools and corporations are increasingly focusing on personal leadership,[…] Keep reading →

Three stages of understanding how ancient Egyptians built the pyramids

on July 28, 2013 in Blog, Leadership

I’m sure many people have thought and written great stuff about the Egyptian pyramids and overcoming the challenges to building them. I haven’t read much on them, but I’m writing not so much about the pyramids than on how one person’s thoughts developed as he learned to solve harder problems, though nowhere near the scale of a great pyramid. Stage 1: The challenges of mechanical engineering When I first thought[…] Keep reading →

The risks of someone calling you smart and how to avoid them

on July 24, 2013 in Blog, Entrepreneurship, Leadership

When I was a budding entrepreneur, recently having earned my PhD in astrophysics, people would often introduce me as a rocket scientist. At first I enjoyed the praise. In time I found being called intelligent didn’t help me in business. By “in business” I mean in business roles with leadership and decision-making. People talk about intelligence as valuable in business and some behave so, but I came to conclude successful[…] Keep reading →

What kind of leadership is this: Obama fighting for less accountability and more centralized power

on July 19, 2013 in Blog, Entrepreneurship, Leadership

Leadership and politics overlap. I generally try not to take political positions on this blog to make it accessible to more people, but the push to increase surveillance and erode protections like habeas corpus seem enough like ineffective leadership that I feel compelled to cover them. In response to this article stating that Congress granted the president the authority to arrest and hold individuals accused of terrorism without due process[…] Keep reading →

Men, women, attraction, and power

on July 9, 2013 in Awareness, Blog, Leadership

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 →

Sign up for my weekly newsletter