Sunday, October 12, 2008
kids and marriage...
I worry that my wife would change when we had kids. Such that it was no longer about us. I can see how our attention might be taken from each other and given to the kids it would ruin the marriage.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Yikes
"...With credit markets still frozen and stock markets around the world in a deep swoon, there is a growing consensus that the crisis is now so fast-moving and harmful to the global economy that it demands an unprecedented degree of worldwide coordination."
-New York Times, October 9, 2008
-New York Times, October 9, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Math and Design, Human Race and the Internet
What are two things I find amazing?
One is this: count 1-10, count 0-100 in tens, count 0-100 in hundreds. Our mathematical system. I wonder a) how someone came up with it and b) if there is a mathematical system that is even better. Right now our numbers could all be displayed on a single axis. But what if all numbers were displayed on a three dimensional axis? Our entire basis for math would change. I mean there are x, y, z axis--but I'm thinking using that as the basis of the math we teach off the bat.
The other is the fact that mathematicians are doing a better and better job of quantifying the beauty and creation of design. I am just blown away by the fact that design has consistently been so ahead of mathematicians. 300 years ago mathematicians could explain any design. The celebrated design and art of that era is still beautiful today. And 300 years from now it will be the same. The celebrated artists of today will be celebrated again 300 years from now.
But that isn't too many more than a couple artists per century. What happened to all the others? And now in the digital age will that change? How will digital art or literature (photo blogs, written blogs, search terms, youube, yahoo personalls) be documented? We need to make it illegal to delete that stuff. We will have a nearly perfect history of the human race after the advent of the internet. The storefronts of the 1500's rotten away a long time ago. But what if we could preserve the internet of today 500 years from now.
One is this: count 1-10, count 0-100 in tens, count 0-100 in hundreds. Our mathematical system. I wonder a) how someone came up with it and b) if there is a mathematical system that is even better. Right now our numbers could all be displayed on a single axis. But what if all numbers were displayed on a three dimensional axis? Our entire basis for math would change. I mean there are x, y, z axis--but I'm thinking using that as the basis of the math we teach off the bat.
The other is the fact that mathematicians are doing a better and better job of quantifying the beauty and creation of design. I am just blown away by the fact that design has consistently been so ahead of mathematicians. 300 years ago mathematicians could explain any design. The celebrated design and art of that era is still beautiful today. And 300 years from now it will be the same. The celebrated artists of today will be celebrated again 300 years from now.
But that isn't too many more than a couple artists per century. What happened to all the others? And now in the digital age will that change? How will digital art or literature (photo blogs, written blogs, search terms, youube, yahoo personalls) be documented? We need to make it illegal to delete that stuff. We will have a nearly perfect history of the human race after the advent of the internet. The storefronts of the 1500's rotten away a long time ago. But what if we could preserve the internet of today 500 years from now.
What if
What if an anti-depressant medication malfunctioned on a couple people in a thousand? And of those two one became so depressed she committed suicide? It would be pretty easy for a drug company to pay PR people to spin that so the public heard it as "Joe Doe was taking anti depressants and killed himself." That has implied-cause effect relationship. Makes sense though---99.98% of people react one way...and that is get happier. And .02% react another way...which is to get sadder. Well what if 50% of those sadder ones (.01%) of the whole kill themselves?
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