There’s a great scene in the Big Bang Theory (S04E03) in which Sheldon (theoretical physics) and Amy (neuroscience) are arguing about the primacy of their respective fields. Sheldon’s case was that because physics governs the way the universe works, it subsumes all other fields. Amy’s case was that because the theories of physics were conceived by human minds, neuroscience subsumes all of physics.
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Designing for Longevity – the 10,000 Year Clock
Report on a talk given by Alexander Rose, Executive Director of the Long Now Foundation
This past Tuesday, I was fortunate to be hear Alexander Rose, Executive Director of the Long Now Foundation, speak at the Virginia Air and Space Museum on the concept, design, and current progress of the 10,000-year Clock. The clock is designed to be a monument-sized project that represents today as the middle of a 20,000 year epoch of human history. The goal is to inspire us to Continue reading “Designing for Longevity – the 10,000 Year Clock”
Day 10,992
On Thursday, I celebrated my Retirement ceremony after 26 years of service as a Commissioned Officer in the US Navy, and a total of over 30 years since reporting for duty as a Midshipman at the US Naval Academy. It was a great day surrounded by family and friends. I thought it would be fun to share Continue reading “Day 10,992”
Durable Information for Durable Civilization
Nova Spivak, founder of the Arch Mission Foundation is working on ways to preserve large volumes of information about our society in extremely durable formats. Potential uses – passing on our history to future/alien civilizations or planting guides for rebooting our civilization around the solar system in case of a major apocalyptic event. Spivak is working with technology that allows the encoding of up 300+ terabytes of data on quartz discs that can last for millions or even billions of years. Why it may be important – Continue reading “Durable Information for Durable Civilization”
Triumph of Persistence
When Mayo Clinic doctors couldn’t figure out what was causing Jill’s muscular dystrophy and other symptoms, she began a decades-long research project, even though she isn’t a doctor. Along the way, she saved her father’s life, connected with an Olympic medalist, helped a research team in Italy discover the genetic mutation behind her disorder, saved the Olympic medalist’s life, and Continue reading “Triumph of Persistence”
Becoming Cyborgs
MIT Professor Hugh Herr lost both legs below the knee in a mountain climbing accident. Since then, he has been building better prosthetics, including legs that respond to his thoughts. He believes that the critical step Continue reading “Becoming Cyborgs”
Embrace the Daimon
One of my favorite authors, Steven Pressfield, has a new book arriving July 11. This book, his 19th, is the latest installment in Steven’s Artist’s Journey. In this incredibly thought-provoking guest blog post, Steven gives us the tantalizing outline of Continue reading “Embrace the Daimon”
Ask. Great. Questions.
High-performing leaders and their organizations realize that the key to success is to continually ask better questions. This is difficult to do and requires a culture that Continue reading “Ask. Great. Questions.”
Humanizing Computer Learning
Brenden Lake has developed a new AI approach that allows computers to generalize the learning process by employing techniques from cognitive psychology. The result – a computer that can learn about Continue reading “Humanizing Computer Learning”
Good Decisions/ Bad Outcomes
Shane Parrish at Farnam Street offers that organizations frequently don’t differentiate adequately between decisions and outcomes. In many cases, good management decisions may nonetheless have bad outcomes due to unforeseeable events. And even more dangerously Continue reading “Good Decisions/ Bad Outcomes”