Archive for December, 2009
« Previous EntriesOracles, Oracles Everywhere!
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009Black Swan theory aside, our predilection for prophecy has been witnessed throughout the ages in civilizations ancient and modern. Perhaps it is man’s innate, ongoing search for meaning, or an attempt at restoring faith in the face of a seemingly unknowable universe. Or simply, we just want clear, definable answers to our deepest personal questions. [...]
Embracing Unpredictability – Life Among Black Swans
Sunday, December 27th, 2009During the course of his long (and by any standards, successful) career, Nassim Nicholas Taleb has been categorized with numerous titles – among them scholar, philosopher, professor, ‘senior Wall Street trader’, and hedge fund manager. As a writer and essayist, he has developed philosophical theories based on his observations of probability, statistics, and mathematical finance [...]
Without Limits – Disabled Artists Challenge Convention
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009‘Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities.’ – Terry Josephson The output of any artist is a highly personalized mix of elements – talents (both innate and developed), mastery of technique, distinct world view and their reaction to limitations. It is what makes art compelling and worthwhile, that one [...]
Flamenco!
Monday, December 21st, 2009If swing dancing is the ballroom epitome of the American spirit – all cheer and flailing arms and exuberance, which culture or country does Flamenco embody? To answer that question, it requires an unraveling of centuries of dance tradition. Although linked in the cultural consciousness to Spain, Flamenco’s origins are much broader in scope and [...]
The Gift of Life – Bone Marrow Donations
Friday, December 18th, 2009It is a gift that can’t be bought, boxed or bound with ribbons. It doesn’t require AA batteries or a few turns of a screwdriver. This holiday season, as thousands of children eagerly await the promise of Christmas morning, 4-year old Maya Chamberlin is waiting for something far more precious than this year’s hottest toy [...]
Bob Ballard – Deep Sea Explorer Extraordinaire
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009Explorer Bob Ballard knows that there’s more to our world than meets the eye. From discovering the existence of creatures living in total darkness to developing the technologies that enable deep-sea exploring, he has uncovered a world that has been mostly unknown to even the brightest scientific minds. And, after a career spent revealing some [...]
Rockefeller Foundation – Creating the Mold for Big Philanthropy
Friday, December 11th, 2009‘Gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.’ – John Wesley It is a fitting maxim for America’s first billionaire and the founder of one of the country’s oldest major philanthropic organizations, the Rockefeller Foundation. Industrialist, robber baron, monopolist or mankind’s greatest benefactor – history has not yet passed its [...]
LG’s Smarter Smartphone
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009With the release of Apple’s first iPhone in summer 2007, the company singlehandedly raised the bar for what consumers could expect from a smartphone. Blackberry and Sidekick had already proven that people would pay for phones with email, camera and wi-fi capability – but the iPhone made it look good, marrying great design with an [...]
Searhcing for Wind Power via Land, Sea and Air
Monday, December 7th, 2009Before oil, gas, coal, hydroelectric and nuclear power – there was wind. It advanced the spread of civilization – by powering the sailing vessels of the earliest explorers and once settled, enabling them to efficiently irrigate their fields and mill their harvests. To our ancestors, wind must have appeared to be a coy mistress – [...]
ADHD and Composers
Friday, December 4th, 2009The myriad of factors responsible for the development of ADHD may be still largely unknown to us, but while medical research into the causes of the disorder is only recently beginning to shed some light on the condition and its genesis, the symptoms have been well-documented throughout the centuries. This idea appears most notably in [...]
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