Read This If You Can
Mention meteorology and many of us think of “TV Weather Barbie” pointing to an animated map showing numbers, arrows, and colorful shapes while speed-talking about why it might rain. In spite of this unfortunate cliché, women (and men) who are true meteorologists are highly trained scientists with sophisticated tools. You and I might plan our […]
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
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
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?
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 […]
Strategy in the Digital Age: Mastering Digital Transformation by Michael Lenox – A Review
Technological progress is rapid and accelerating. Biologist Paul Ehrlich reassures us that as long as the human brain is setting the pace, we needn’t fear – basic human intelligence has remained the same for thousands of years. On the other hand, Singularity Theory (e.g., I. J. Good 1965) warns that Artificial Intelligence could beget machines […]
Atoms and Beer
As the story goes, there once was an engineer who claimed to have the best job in the world. When asked why it was so great, he replied “My work is so far-out that even my boss doesn’t understand it. When I tell him what an awesome job I am doing, he has no choice […]
You Are Not Special
Linus Benedict Torvalds is special. If you’re not sure why, allow me to issue a prompt – Linux. Linus is the Finnish software engineer widely recognized for creating the open-source computer OS which led to the ubiquitous Linux kernel. For programmers collaboratively developing source code, he also invented Git, a version control system for tracking […]
Chaos Always Wins
The laws under which we live serve to guard our general safety and protect us from harm by other members of our community. Some have changed over time to reflect differences between our modern society, and that of 1789 when our Constitution was born. We are similarly governed by the laws of physics which, except […]
The Woo-Woo Engineers
While the burden of proof in our legal system rests on the accuser, an opposite of sorts is in play for new ideas – even a modicum of credibility is often enough to give wings to a novel suggestion. This worldview is exemplified by a quote from John Lennon – “I believe in everything until […]
