pilgrimage of polymathism

  “...interested in everything and nothing else”  ― Umberto Eco

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Matisyahu was here!

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Happening this Wednesday 3/31/21 on Zoom

I was invited for a public seminar series at the SAIC, come say hi!

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Disciplines, like nations, are a necessary evil that enable human beings of bounded rationality to simplify their goals and reduce their choices to calculable limits. But parochialism is everywhere, and the world badly needs international and interdisciplinary travelers to carry knowledge from one enclave to another. Having spent much of my scientific life in such travel, I can offer one piece of advice to others who wish to try an itinerant existence: It is fatal to be regarded as a good economist by psychologists, and a good psychologist by political scientists. Immediately upon landing on alien shores, you must begin to acquire the local culture, not to deny your origins but to gain the full respect of the natives. When in economics, there is no substitute for talking the language of marginal analysis and regressions -- even (or especially) when your purpose is to demonstrate their limitations. When in psychology, you must be able to understand references to short-term memory and latencies and spreading activation. The task is not onerous; after all, we acculturize new graduate students in a couple of years. Besides, it may lead you to write papers on fascinating  topics that you would otherwise never have encountered. For one of the nice features of the utility function (or the committee of goals I would substitute for it) is that it can acquire ever new dimensions. Learning a new language every decade or so is a great immunizer against incipient boredom

Herbert Simon, Models of My Life, p. 367, MIT Press; through S. Rama

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Where do I find this chair?

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Open a new window somewhere in the world

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Zizek Challenges Peterson: "Set Your House in Order Before You Change th...

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Just following my ancestors’ advice.

Turkish archaeologists have recently unearthed a rare mosaic that dates back to 3rd century BC. The uniquely well-preserved piece features a reclining skeleton with a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread, and these wise words about its head: “Be cheerful and live your life.”

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Um, no.

(Cartoon credit: @butlikemaybe)

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😂

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The chemical basis of morphogenesis

Directly from Turing’s abstract:

“The purpose of this paper is to discuss a possible mechanism by which the genes of a zygote may determine the anatomical structure of the resulting organism. The theory does not make any new hypotheses; it merely suggests that certain well-known physical laws are sufficient to account for many of the facts.“

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Canım dedecim,

babalar günün kutlu olsun. Huzur içinde uyu. Seni düşündükçe aklıma hep tek bir dize geliyor, o da adaşından:

"Her ölüm erken ölümdür." -Cemal Süreyya

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https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/before-after-a-600-square-foot-studio-is-an-example-of-furnishing-a-beautiful-home-on-a-small-budget-36660977

!!!

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On the day they are ordered to war Soldiers may sit and weep Or lie down in quiet misery But once plunged into battle With no way out but forward They will fight as bravely As the bravest warriors of old.

Sun Tzu

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Purcell -- Dido and Aeneas

One of my favorite operas of ALL times!

In fact, I’m currently studying the “When I am Laid in Earth” passage on cello!

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😅 This is SO spot on.

Also—BINGO!

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Happy Monday: June 1st 2020!

It’s a  new day, new week, new month, new season, and a whole new decade.

All in one day, just to tell you that this is a great moment to start anew!