brett florio

I’ve read and watched about the Antikythera mechanism in...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:07:00 -0800

I’ve read and watched about the Antikythera mechanism in the past, but this is a worthwhile video if you haven’t ever heard of it (or about Archimedes and his odometer, or Ctesibius). When learning more about things like this it’s extremely difficult for me not to lament the Library of Alexandria. The glimpses of genius we do have from it only serve to increase the felt magnitude of the loss.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly."

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:33:42 -0800

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”

- Richard Buckminster Fuller

(Found while reading my daughter’s Christmas present, One Hundred Butterflies, which is full of stunning photos.)

"People who can—and do—think about how others experience the world are more likely to reach out and..."

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:44:00 -0800

“People who can—and do—think about how others experience the world are more likely to reach out and help those people—or, at a minimum, are less likely to harm them. Kafka once described war as a “monstrous failure of imagination.” In order to kill, one must cease to see individual human beings and instead reduce them to abstractions such as “the enemy.” One must fail to realize that each person underneath our bombs is the center of his universe just as you are the center of yours: He gets the flu, worries about his aged mother, likes sweets, falls in love—even though he lives half a world away and speaks a different language. To see things from his point of view is to recognize all the particulars that make him human, and ultimately it is to understand that his lie is no less valuable than yours. Even in popular entertainments, we’re not shown the bad guys at home with their children. One can cheer the death only of a caricature, not of a three-dimensional person.”

- Unconditional Parenting, Alfie Kohn

"Happiness is an imaginary condition…"

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:02:00 -0800

After all, perfect happiness may also be an unreachable goal; it is, as one writer put it, an imaginary condition that’s usually attributed to children by adults, and to adults by children.

Unconditional Parenting, Alfie Kohn

And the “one writer” Kohn references (whom I haven’t read):

Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.

The Second Sin, Thomas Szasz

If there was a “happiness index” I’m fairly confident that I’d be on the upper end. I have an amazing wife, three beautiful girls, an honest and hardworking business partner, a fantastic team, good health, a 2 block commute, and more good books to read than I have time for.

So I’m not entirely sure if I attribute greater happiness to my girls, but I did attempt to do some research just now. Thinking my 4yo might be better able to understand the question than my 2yo, I asked her who she thought was happier, “You or me?” My 2yo immediately interrupted, “MEEEE!!!!!”

They ultimately decided that we were all happier, except for the baby, “because she’s sleeping.”

And though the original quote isn’t necessarily phrased to suggest that one group is happier than the other, that’s what it turns into in my mind. And while I naturally want my children to be as perfectly happy as possible, can they achieve that if I don’t first model it?

Or my wife. Can she be perfectly happy if I’m not?

Or my team. Can they be happy in their jobs if I’m unhappy in mine?

Or the question that naturally follows: Can I be happy if they are unhappy? (And perhaps the more interesting question: Should I want to be?)

I don’t have answers, but there are a few things that do come to mind when thinking about happiness, like a study suggesting that social networks show clustering of happy and unhappy people. Here’s a concise summary:

Happiness, in short, is not merely a function of personal experience, but also is a property of groups. Emotions are a collective phenomenon.

Also interesting, from the same:

And we found that each additional happy friend increases a person’s probability of being happy by about 9%. For comparison, having an extra $5,000 in income (in 1984 dollars) increased the probability of being happy by about 2%.

Though it may seem distasteful, the economic reality of happiness is worth mentioning. Reminds me of the fantastic writings on happiness over at Freakonomics.com, showing (quite persuasively) that happiness is indeed tied to income, relative income, and your nation’s GDP (among other interesting things).

So even if I don’t have answers to the more abstract, can I answer the question, “What am I doing to be happier, and to make those around me happier?” At this point in my life, I’m trying to encourage more, judge less, and love always. (That’s another line from Kohn’s Unconditional Parenting, but I think it works well in other areas of life.)

What about you? Do you attribute perfect happiness to anybody? What are you doing to be happier, and to help those around you be happier?

G.I.Joe, Donald Rumsfeld, and My Business Bestseller

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:19:00 -0800

Knowing = Half the Battle
Quantity of Unknown Unknowns = ∞
Knowledge of Unknown Unknowns = One Fourth the Battle (proposed) ≅ Humility
Knowledge + Humility + Execution = The Battle

Pretty sure there’s a kitschy business book thesis in there that could become a bestseller to the entrepreneurs of my generation that have a soft spot for G.I.Joe. Though it’d probably be more successful if I could get Cobra Commander to guest author it.

Thanks to @lukestokes for the inspiration. Maybe he’ll be kind enough to write the foreward.

"We are conscious of only a tiny fraction of the information that our brains process in each moment...."

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:33:08 -0800

“We are conscious of only a tiny fraction of the information that our brains process in each moment. While we continually notice changes in our experience—in thought, mood, perception, behavior, etc.—we are utterly unaware of the neural events that produce these changes. In fact, by merely glancing at your face or listening to your tone of voice, others are often more aware of your internal states and motivations than you are. And yet most of us still feel that we are the authors of our own thoughts and actions.”

- The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris (p103)

Differences in Vegetables Between California and Oklahoma

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:36:06 -0700

Josh's Wife: The only vegetables Josh eats are fried okra.
Me: ... What's okra?
Josh's Wife: It's a green vegetable, kind of like celery.
Me: Like bok choy?
Josh's Wife: ... Bok choy?

On Getting Laughed At

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 22:57:00 -0700

During a wedding reception I attended last night, a conversation I was a part of turned to health care, employee benefits, and taxes. The most vocal of the participants, in between drags of his cigarette, was explaining to those who opposed the individual mandate that they should simply get involved and work to change the laws.

As if that wasn’t quite enough to indicate his willful indifference for any deeper issues (constitutional or otherwise), he then confidently proclaimed:

The majority wants it, and to a certain extent, the majority is always right.

I hadn’t previously agreed with every point this gentleman was making, but I was taken aback by this statement. I interjected something like, “Surely you don’t actually believe that. What about the tyranny of the majority?” Again, up to this point the conversation had seemed sane and intelligent enough, but I’m still in shock from what happened next.

He laughed, long and hard.

And he repeated (while laughing) “the tyranny of the majority,” making it clear he found the very concept laughable. Stunned, I asked him about the holocaust, then slavery, then how he’d feel if the Christian right (whom he’d previously expressed disdain for) was the majority.

I honestly am not even sure how he responded, as I was still completely dizzied by his bellowing laughter. Almost 24 hours later, I’m still confused. Regardless one’s opinion on the recent health care reform legislation, having such a romantic belief in (what amounts to) mob rule paired with the palpable and callous disregard for the rights of a minority population quite frankly terrifies me.

The Calf-Path by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911) One day, through the primeval wood, A calf walked home,...

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:24:30 -0700

The Calf-Path
by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)

One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail, as all calves do.

Since then three hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.

The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bellwether sheep
Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bellwethers always do.

And from that day, o’er hill and glade,
Through those old woods a path was made,
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged and turned and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because ’twas such a crooked path;

But still they followed — do not laugh —
The first migrations of that calf,
And through this winding wood-way stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.

This forest path became a lane,
That bent, and turned, and turned again.
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.

The years passed on in swiftness fleet.
The road became a village street,
And this, before men were aware,
A city’s crowded thoroughfare,
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.

Each day a hundred thousand rout
Followed that zigzag calf about,
And o’er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A hundred thousand men were led
By one calf near three centuries dead.
They follow still his crooked way,
And lose one hundred years a day,
For thus such reverence is lent
To well-established precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.

They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move;
But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf!
Ah, many things this tale might teach —
But I am not ordained to preach.

Can't really argue with that...

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 15:59:43 -0800

Ave: I naked!
Me: You are! Oh... there's poops on the floor... Why'd you take your diaper off, honey?
Ave: Cuz there was poops in it.
Me: Well, can't really argue with that.

Rhyming Without Vowels

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:30:09 -0800

Noa: [Types "HCWMNBGJL" on the keyboard.] Mommy! What does that spell?
Mommy: There are no vowels. That will be hard to pronounce. HuSssWuhMuNeBeGuhJeL.
Noa: That rhymes with Angel!

Things I Learned While Watching McClintock

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 22:42:25 -0800

McClintock!, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, is not only quite entertaining, but also very educational. Here are a few things I’ve learned.

A good friendly fist fight is a fantastic way to settle differences between men.
Spanking your love interest with an ash shovel is the first step towards romantic reconciliation.
Never, ever let a little ol’ Indian raid break up a good bbq and rodeo!

And by “little ol’ Indian raid,” they meant, “Our friends the Comanche Indians, who have been struggling with the US Government in courts to keep their land, have just jailbroken their chiefs and are currently riding out into the desert to make their last stand. US Army troops are in hot pursuit, and we will never see them again.”

Doggone it folks! Let’s don’t let a little ol’ Indian raid break up a good bbq and a rodeo!

"You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the..."

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:58:52 -0800

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

- Anne Lamott

No, but...

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:55:32 -0700

Daddy: "Rosada. Can you say that? Rosada?"
Noa: "No."
Daddy: "Rosada."
Noa: "No, but I can say 'garden fairies!'"

"A-CHOO! Haha. I made sparkles on your phone!"

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:38:00 -0700

“A-CHOO! Haha. I made sparkles on your phone!”

- Noa

(If you haven’t seen how droplets of sneeze make an iPhone’s screen sparkle, you’re missing out.)

My little pusher robot

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:57:58 -0700

Noa: can you watch madeline with me? pepito and madeline are in a cage, but don't worry, they will push the bad guys and they will get out of the cage. i don't want to be in that movie. but i will push the bad guys and they will be killed.
Mother: how about if they go to jail.
Noa: yes, they will go to jail. we will push them and they will go to jail!

"Many organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, counsel strongly against corporal..."

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:55:42 -0700

“Many organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, counsel strongly against corporal punishment. An estimated 35 percent to 90 percent of parents still discipline their children this way.”

- Spanking May Make a Child More Aggressive, BusinessWeek.

I’d love to see the margin of error on that estimated 35%-90%.

On Zealous College Students

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

“You should always try to make friends, but there are certain things about religion that can’t be tolerated,” Gress said. “Basically, the intolerance of religion can’t be tolerated.”

Atheist student groups flower on college campuses (AP)

The above quote illustrates perfectly why socially and politically active college students are so easy to dismiss en masse. They really are that naïve, and their opinions and arguments generally aren’t well formed or even coherent. In their zeal they often lose sight of logic, and give themselves over to extremism without even listening to the words coming from their mouths.

This happens with atheist, religious, and political groups all the same. And while it’s tempting to ignore all college-aged activists, it’s also very important to note that they can generally afford to be more radical and more easily mobilized. Whether that’s to fight a war, elect a president, join a cult, or overthrow a government, it’s important to understand the power of a group with very little to lose but their own lives. Pair that with a sense of invincibility and you have a force capable of altering history. You also have a force capable of making paradoxical arguments without even realizing it, and without advancing to more productive discussions such as tolerating hypocrisy, how intolerance and civil liberties combine, or a government’s role in a pluralistic society.

(As always, I will categorically deny being any different from the average college student, both now and in the past. These are only my thoughts on the matter, and isn’t a critique of any specific worldview.)

"Iron sharpens iron, but marshmallows get cooked and devoured."

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:53:48 -0800

“Iron sharpens iron, but marshmallows get cooked and devoured.”

- Proverbs 27:17 (kind of)

"From the perspective of others I am part of the world, but when I observe the world from my..."

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0800

“

From the perspective of others I am part of the world, but when I observe the world from my perspective I am nowhere to be found. To observe is to create perspective. I can never cease to be the point of origin from my perspective. I observe that which is not myself. This is the first principle to find.

…

I am nobody. Even if I was somebody, I am beyond your comprehension. And even if you could, you wouldn’t have the tools to express that knowledge. I do not belong to the world. That is the limit, the boundary between all and self.

”

- Ergo Proxy, Episode 11