Category: Random

I’ve noticed that I have a bias toward complexity. I tend to try to look at problems from all the angles I can think of. Most problems are complex from at least some points of view; otherwise, they would not be problems at all. Looking at problems from all angles encourages a focus on their…

Every year we have fewer trick or treaters come by on Halloween. This year we only had nine people, three of whom were teenagers who knocked on every door on the street at 9:30. This year I think I finally figured out what is happening. There are some streets in the city which put on…

Today is Blog Action Day and the topic for the year is water. Access to fresh water is an increasing problem around the world as the combination of increasing population and climate change leave more people without it. Many people get their fresh water from glacial runoff or from aquifers, and the one is melting…

I really enjoyed The Social Network, although I doubt it had much connection to the real people involved. I don’t doubt the events as such, but I doubt the interpretation. I noticed one thing in particular. One of the motivations of the Mark Zuckerberg character was that he really wanted to get into a Finals…

I always did extremely well on standardized tests in school, which convinces me that the standardized tests are almost completely useless for assessing knowledge or intelligence or the skills of one’s teacher. Success at standardized tests does not require general intelligence, it requires the particular ability to think like the people who create the tests.…