Here's a glimpse of his view of writing: I found a few interesting nuggets in that paragraph. His vision of writing as something you don't stop once you've started seems odd at first. The architect metaphor is funny, sure, but I wonder if h…
Here's a glimpse of his view of writing: I found a few interesting nuggets in that paragraph. His vision of writing as something you don't stop once you've started seems odd at first. The architect metaphor is funny, sure, but I wonder if h…
The festival aims to create and maintain a community, and so the main theme this year is for everyone to write an "introduction to me and my blog" post. (Actual quote from the organizer: "While I am not going to make you wear nametags to or…
Evolution is easier than we think, and one great way to see why is to look at what we know about protein evolution. Proteins have been evolving on our planet for about 4 billion years. Their appearance almost certainly precedes the beginnin…
Evolution is easier than we think, and one great way to see why is to look at what we know about protein evolution. Proteins have been evolving on our planet for about 4 billion years. Their appearance almost certainly precedes the beginnin…
For five years through 2018, our humanist community, the Humanist Hub*, met every Sunday afternoon at our suite in Harvard Square for fellowship, music, and a speaker. Our advisory board included luminaries of humanism such as Rebecca Golds…
For five years through 2018, our humanist community, the Humanist Hub*, met every Sunday afternoon at our suite in Harvard Square for fellowship, music, and a speaker. Our advisory board included luminaries of humanism such as Rebecca Golds…
A few days ago I wrote about scientific thinking as an antidote to intuition. Not just an alternative to it, but something like the opposite of intuition. The intentional, energy-consuming move to a systematic deliberative mode of thought i…
A few days ago I wrote about scientific thinking as an antidote to intuition. Not just an alternative to it, but something like the opposite of intuition. The intentional, energy-consuming move to a systematic deliberative mode of thought i…
Daniel Kahneman's 2011 book Thinking, Fast and Slow was a life-changer for me. As soon as I read it in 2013, I urged colleagues to read it, even convening a book club at work. (The job of a journal editor is fundamentally about making decis…
So, a genome is a "body" of genetic material, and specifically the whole body of genetic material in an organism (or a cell or a species). For decades now, science has been regularly adding more -omes. The proteome is the full body of prote…
This week in the Blaugust 2023 blogging festival, the broad theme is "Introduce yourself." Yesterday I alluded to my bardolatry and its place in the cornerstone of Quintessence of Dust, but that's not really an introduction. So here is a bi…