In Ray Bradbury’s insightful and sometimes prophetic novel Fahrenheit 451, Montag, the book-burning “fireman” comes to a crisis of conscience as he realizes that his career of burning books has created a society bereft of meaning, life and vibrancy. He … Continue reading
admin
The previous post on the unsuspected nature of genius needs a follow-up, and this is it. It is now clear that what we call “genius” is a function of hard, relentless work leavened with good instruction and mentoring. But the … Continue reading
I’ve heard several definitions of genius. The usual one concerns high IQs and the ability to multiply nine-digit numbers in your head, play piano concerti without practicing, speaking colloquial Fortran… that sort of thing. Another comes courtesy of a friend … Continue reading
“The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn.” -Alvin Toffler I once knew a professor whose intellectual talents were highly respected, particularly by … Continue reading
Some months ago I wrote about a project I am working on to create a new online network for science enthusiasts who want to carry out nature observation projects, share their data with others, and collaborate with other citizen scientists … Continue reading
Scholarly and intellectual types have a reputation for not being grounded in the real world. The stereotype is that such persons are lily-handed types with about as many work-related calluses as a bowl of Jell-O. The reputation is undeserved; there … Continue reading
If you are a guerrilla scholar, that means that you assume responsibility for what you learn and how you learn it. Most self-learners do this by just grabbing whatever they can find on a subject and consuming it, and there … Continue reading
Confession time: despite all my words of praise for art and artists and their supporters, it has literally been about a decade since I last set foot in an art gallery (at least that I can remember). But the Bay … Continue reading
I know it is not the best form to follow one post with a second on the same subject, especially when one makes pretentions of being a generalist. But an article by William Fisher on The Weapons of Mass Change … Continue reading
I have an addiction to information, particularly news. I’m one of those people who likes to know what is going on in the world, and I especially appreciate it when I see news and information presented with clarity, depth, and … Continue reading