I said in a previous essay, our nation has accumulated a debt and: “We need to feel our way towards ensuring that most of us have a chance to receive a good education and good jobs.” I have been challenged to provide ideas towards doing just that. Education One of the first rules of problem solving is the ancient “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” For at least the last 55 years we have failed in providing…
The universe and everything in it are staggeringly complex. This complexity is somewhat displayed in the range of scientific specialization; no one person can possibly master what is known about anything but a small part. And, if they are honest, they will quickly acknowledge that the mysteries within their specialty are vastly larger than what is known; that is what draws good scientists to investigate further and farther. A simple sketch – stone If you are walking along a beach…
Culture is humanity’s secret weapon*. It allows us to develop and retain adaptations many magnitudes quicker than genetic evolution. It has allowed us to survive and even prosper in nearly every land environment on the earth. Cultures change, they are changing all the time. However, possibly excepting catastrophic events, deep changes require more than a single lifetime. I just used the word “culture” in the singular, but in reality, any larger collection of people has a multitude of cultures with…