Paul

Use Your Words

Use Your Words

For parents of preschoolers, there comes a time – often in the evening – known as “the storm before the calm.”  It can also come about during the day if expectations of some kind are not met, or perhaps if a child is just “hangry.”  Our preferred solution was to remain calm and tell them […]

A Few Words About Nothing

A Few Words About Nothing

If I told you that only 26% of the population can demonstrate a basic understanding of calculus, and 63% of those are women, you might be surprised.  It would appear that calculus must be a niche specialty where women are well ahead of men.  You could not help but wonder how men have dominated the […]

Three Score and Two Years

Three Score and Two Years

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting my grand-daughter’s fifth grade class.  Knowing that I work in the STEM field and was once a college professor, the teacher had the students recite the entire periodic table – all 118 elements – in unison.   They also understood that these were the basic building blocks of our […]

We Know What Causes That

We Know What Causes That

Dr. Franz H. Messerli, a recognized expert in hypertensive cardio-vascular disease, has published over 600 papers and written 20 books. In 2012, in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Messerli wrote a short article about Nobel prizes and chocolate consumption. His research uncovered a strong linear correlation (r=0.791, P<0.0001) between the number of […]

Why Bother?

Why Bother?

My sister-in-law’s Starbucks order is something like “Venti non-fat decaf low-foam not-too-hot lactose free artificially sweetened latte.”  I’ll concede that we all have different reasons for doing what we do, but I’m sure Starbucks could simplify things by adding a drink to the menu dubbed the “Why Bother?”  I can visualize a whole new line […]