This is a collection of anecdotes centered around a theme.
In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell discusses how early success causes eventual success. He uses an example of Canadian hockey players. Most professional Canadian hockey players are born in the months January, February, March. Why? Junior leagues count age starting at January 1st so players born in early months are older/larger/faster than other players in the same year. These players are preferentially selected for better leagues, get more training, and move higher. A small advantage early in life sets the tone for eventual success.
I am a professional computer scientist/mathematician. Slightly less glamorous but comparatively competitive to professional Hockey. I blame my success on my parents. I have two anecdotes - both involve my father - despite not being mentioned here my mother likely deserves most of the credit.
1) My father gave me little math puzzles before they appeared in school. What is the next number in this sequence? 1, 3, 5, 7, __? How about this one? 2, 4, 8, 14, 22, __? I was bored and challenged. Kids have lots of free time and curiosity.
2) My father would put small dollar-store toys in inconvenient but obvious locations. He would then leave for work saying that "If I could get the toy then it was mine." I would think for a while, get a chair and a broom handle and retrieve the toy being rewarded both with parental praise and with exploding pop rocks. The next day a new toy would be in the same place but the chairs and broom handles would be missing.
A friend of mine is going to work for the Ounce of Prevention fund, an organization that focuses on child development before the age of 5. If a child is raised in a home with parent(s) less awesome than mine they will go to school and will likely be told that they are dumb; they will believe it; it will become true. There is wasted economic value in this child.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Wisdom Teeth
Fact: This Wednesday morning an oral surgeon extracted two of my wisdom teeth
Fact: That afternoon I went into work
Other than some local anesthetic during the extraction I didn't take any pain medication. They didn't put me out for the procedure, didn't apply nitrous oxide, and I haven't taken Vicodin afterwards. I haven't even taken an Advil (I'm on a 27 year streak of not taking Advil). As a result I've been completely cognitively active this whole time.
Going into the procedure I was anxious. I had heard horror stories. I'm now issuing the reverse of a horror story, perhaps a (true) fantasy story or a "it's really not so bad" story. I had my wisdom teeth removed and it was about the same as having a tooth filled.
Perhaps I just had a rock-star oral surgeon or my teeth were an easy case. In any event if you can avoid pain medication I suggest doing so. I suspect that the side effects are far worse than the pain itself in many cases.
Fact: That afternoon I went into work
Other than some local anesthetic during the extraction I didn't take any pain medication. They didn't put me out for the procedure, didn't apply nitrous oxide, and I haven't taken Vicodin afterwards. I haven't even taken an Advil (I'm on a 27 year streak of not taking Advil). As a result I've been completely cognitively active this whole time.
Going into the procedure I was anxious. I had heard horror stories. I'm now issuing the reverse of a horror story, perhaps a (true) fantasy story or a "it's really not so bad" story. I had my wisdom teeth removed and it was about the same as having a tooth filled.
Perhaps I just had a rock-star oral surgeon or my teeth were an easy case. In any event if you can avoid pain medication I suggest doing so. I suspect that the side effects are far worse than the pain itself in many cases.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Bartering
Today I invented bartering. It's a cool concept and I'm going to tell you about it.
to which my friend said
When we have something in abundance or something that is easy to produce then we exchange it for something that we lack or is hard for us to produce. There is one caveat, neither of those things (the abundant thing or the scarce thing) can be money.
I make some stuff really well, in the case of today, that stuff is Sauerkraut.
My friends like sauerkraut but don't make it very well. Fortunately they do other things well (like grow Arugula (my friends are hippies)).
So I said to my friend,
"Hey Friend, give me some of that Arugula you have in abundance and I'll make you some Sauerkraut"
to which my friend said
"Really? I can give you some of this overly abundant Arugula for some scarce Sauerkraut? Sure!"
This is bartering. It works very well. Both I and Friend are happier because of this transaction.
When we have something in abundance or something that is easy to produce then we exchange it for something that we lack or is hard for us to produce. There is one caveat, neither of those things (the abundant thing or the scarce thing) can be money.
I think that this "bartering" idea could become very popular among today's food hippies. I think this for the following reasons:
- Trend - It sounds both traditional and alternative (funny how those go together). If you're the kind of person who thinks farmers markets are cool then I think you will also like this bartering idea
- Diversity - We like to eat a diverse set of high quality foods but making a diverse set of high quality foods is hard
- Specialization - We can produce a few types of high-quality food very easily
- Scale - It is easier to make a few large quantities of something than many small quantities of that thing.
- Mutuality - Our friends are in the same situation
- Community - We like the act of trading with our friends and neighbors. It is a social and fun activity well fit for a Saturday afternoon
Money- We specifically don't like the act of trading money with our friends; this becomes awkward. Bartering very specifically does not allow money.
Let me know if you want a half gallon of sauerkraut or some dried bananas. I also have a friend who has some arugula and cucumbers. If we get a few more people together I'll bet this idea could really take off, we'll have to find some place to make all of these exchanges, some sort of "marketplace."
This post was partially encouraged by this reddit post explaining money.
Short and technical version. There are a set of mutually beneficial transactions that do not occur due to legal and social barriers. Reintroducing the concept of bartering may enable some of these transactions through a current social trend (farmers markets). Many social and legal barriers vanish when money is removed from the transaction.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Why I walk barefoot
I've been getting a lot of e-mails recently about barefoot running. My friends and inquisitors seem to be spurred on by this finely written article in the New York Times. This was oddly the first time I've explained my choice to forego shoes in text. It comes up often outside, when my lack of footwear is obvious, and where I don't have access to digital tools to disseminate information. Not so this time. This is my story as to why I rarely wear shoes.
To start, I'm not by any means a barefoot runner. I'm active, and I'm often barefoot, but the last time I ran more than a contiguous mile was in high school gym class. I do however play frisbee; surely if you're reading this blog then you know this much about me.
I have always played frisbee barefoot; this wasn't for physical reasons but rather for cultural ones. Bare feet seemed more appropriate in the center of the UC Berkeley campus than did cleats. This was the only running activity I had for years so I guess it shaped my habits fairly strongly.
Fast-forward seven years and I'm a crusty 25 year old in Chicago with leg injuries from cycling. All my frisbee-friends here wear shoes or cleats so I decide it's time to grow up and start protecting my feet with shoes. Presumably this will prevent further injuries and maybe make the old ones hurt less. I lace on some running shoes, go out to play, and last about 20 minutes. My knees hurt, my back hurts, and I'm no longer able to adapt my stride to shield my injured muscles. I feel old. My body is simply ignorant of how to run with shoes on and I'm amazed by the difference.
About six months later I crush my feet with some overly aggressive climbing shoes. I can no longer apply lateral pressure to my feet - i.e. unless a shoe is extra-extra-wide and floppy then I can't wear it. Sandals are still ok but these have a history of aggravating my cycling injury. I'm stuck. The only thing that doesn't hurt is walking barefoot.
I start with short walks and concentrate on how I'm spreading my toes and evenly landing on my metatarsals. I'm acutely aware of the amount of stress in my heel and the exhaustion of my calf from absorbing the impact that the sole of my shoe used to handle. I learn to avoid sandpapery sidewalk in favor of asphalt which doesn't sand down my feet as badly. Walking is shockingly complex. Doing this I find I can get around again. I look a bit silly in town but getting to work is no longer a physical challenge.
But more happens. I experiment with glut-dominated strides versus quad-dominated. I can absorb stress with my arches, calves, knees and more. This all becomes second nature and now I glide around impact free. This is fun, it's a game, and I'm getting surprisingly good at it. Now I walk the distance into downtown Chicago or south along the lake. In California I walk in the hills or between towns for hours and it feels great. It's what my body was designed to do.
So, when you see me walking in town without shoes please understand I'm not doing this to be fashionably distinct. I'm doing this because walking with shoes on my feet feels like typing with mittens on my hands.
Some common questions:
Q: What about Vibram Five Fingers (toe shoes)?
A: Vibrams feel great. Lots of foot bounce and sole protection. They tend to squeeze my feet too much (they don't come in extra-extra-wide sizes) but you should definitely check them out if interested.
Q: Aren't you afraid of broken glass?
A: Surprisingly not a problem. I wouldn't run on it but if you're walking there is very little your feet can't handle. Plants with spines pose a much greater threat than broken glass.
Q: What about work?
A: I wear sandals at work, while teaching, and whenever socially obligatory.
Q: Winter? Snow?
A: Yeah... it's going to be an interesting winter...
To start, I'm not by any means a barefoot runner. I'm active, and I'm often barefoot, but the last time I ran more than a contiguous mile was in high school gym class. I do however play frisbee; surely if you're reading this blog then you know this much about me.
I have always played frisbee barefoot; this wasn't for physical reasons but rather for cultural ones. Bare feet seemed more appropriate in the center of the UC Berkeley campus than did cleats. This was the only running activity I had for years so I guess it shaped my habits fairly strongly.
Fast-forward seven years and I'm a crusty 25 year old in Chicago with leg injuries from cycling. All my frisbee-friends here wear shoes or cleats so I decide it's time to grow up and start protecting my feet with shoes. Presumably this will prevent further injuries and maybe make the old ones hurt less. I lace on some running shoes, go out to play, and last about 20 minutes. My knees hurt, my back hurts, and I'm no longer able to adapt my stride to shield my injured muscles. I feel old. My body is simply ignorant of how to run with shoes on and I'm amazed by the difference.
About six months later I crush my feet with some overly aggressive climbing shoes. I can no longer apply lateral pressure to my feet - i.e. unless a shoe is extra-extra-wide and floppy then I can't wear it. Sandals are still ok but these have a history of aggravating my cycling injury. I'm stuck. The only thing that doesn't hurt is walking barefoot.
I start with short walks and concentrate on how I'm spreading my toes and evenly landing on my metatarsals. I'm acutely aware of the amount of stress in my heel and the exhaustion of my calf from absorbing the impact that the sole of my shoe used to handle. I learn to avoid sandpapery sidewalk in favor of asphalt which doesn't sand down my feet as badly. Walking is shockingly complex. Doing this I find I can get around again. I look a bit silly in town but getting to work is no longer a physical challenge.
But more happens. I experiment with glut-dominated strides versus quad-dominated. I can absorb stress with my arches, calves, knees and more. This all becomes second nature and now I glide around impact free. This is fun, it's a game, and I'm getting surprisingly good at it. Now I walk the distance into downtown Chicago or south along the lake. In California I walk in the hills or between towns for hours and it feels great. It's what my body was designed to do.
So, when you see me walking in town without shoes please understand I'm not doing this to be fashionably distinct. I'm doing this because walking with shoes on my feet feels like typing with mittens on my hands.
Some common questions:
Q: What about Vibram Five Fingers (toe shoes)?
A: Vibrams feel great. Lots of foot bounce and sole protection. They tend to squeeze my feet too much (they don't come in extra-extra-wide sizes) but you should definitely check them out if interested.
Q: Aren't you afraid of broken glass?
A: Surprisingly not a problem. I wouldn't run on it but if you're walking there is very little your feet can't handle. Plants with spines pose a much greater threat than broken glass.
Q: What about work?
A: I wear sandals at work, while teaching, and whenever socially obligatory.
Q: Winter? Snow?
A: Yeah... it's going to be an interesting winter...
Friday, July 15, 2011
Enrollment
I'm about to teach my first course. I've lectured, created course materials, graded, and held office hours many times before but I've never been solely responsible for the direction of a course as a whole. That's what is happening now; my title has shifted to lecturer. The first lecture is 10 days or so away. I'm looking forward to the experience.
The course is a standard Computer Science 101 course, designed for majors but largely populated by non-majors in the Summer. My enrollment is huge (relatively speaking). I have 21 students compared to the normal 8 or so that take this course in the Summer. I'll be teaching C, then Python, over five weeks.
That my class's enrollment is larger than expected is, well, expected. Almost all of the department's CS classes are getting bigger. I'm sure this happened during the dot-com boom as more and more people wanted to become computer science majors for the impressive job prospects. Is that what's happening now? Are we experiencing a second dot-com-like boom? Here's a graph of enrollment at my university for the last eight years
The course is a standard Computer Science 101 course, designed for majors but largely populated by non-majors in the Summer. My enrollment is huge (relatively speaking). I have 21 students compared to the normal 8 or so that take this course in the Summer. I'll be teaching C, then Python, over five weeks.
That my class's enrollment is larger than expected is, well, expected. Almost all of the department's CS classes are getting bigger. I'm sure this happened during the dot-com boom as more and more people wanted to become computer science majors for the impressive job prospects. Is that what's happening now? Are we experiencing a second dot-com-like boom? Here's a graph of enrollment at my university for the last eight years
The dark blue line, at the top, is the enrollment in the standard CS for majors course - these are probably future software engineers. It's been going up, unsurprisingly. The red line? that's the "CS for Poets" class in a slight and steady decline over the years - it wasn't offered in 2008/09. The green line is the "CS for smart people" class - slight increase over the years - these might be future theorists. The light blue line is a new class which I call "CS for technical non-majors" - it's populated by future economists, scientists, linguists, etc.... People in this class tend not to take it to fulfill a requirement, they take it because they think it'll be useful.
During the dot-com boom I suspect the dark blue line jumped up dramatically. It's not responsible for the growth we're seeing here. Overwhelmingly what seems to be driving today's interest in computer science is technical people from outside computer science electing to place another tool in their belt. What we're observing here is the diffusion of serious computer science outside the core of the discipline.
Extrapolation is fun. At the current rate of growth introductory CS classes will soon rival the mandatory calculus class required by the university. Calculus is great but I see it as a beautiful but useless theory for the vast majority of the population. I'd be happy to see this requirement be replaced by Statistics or possibly even CS (though I don't think everyone needs to know how to program either).
In closing I'll say that we're seeing a fundamental change in computer science. It's no longer the domain of the geeky hacker. It has overflowed past our boundaries and is now flooding the vast plains of general technical society.
Data was taken from the public-facing interface to the UChicago schedule http://timeschedules.uchicago.edu/. Numbers correspond to Autumn enrollment in Majors:CS-151 , Honors: CS-161, Poets: CS-105, Techies: CS-121
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Trains
Texas is big. Really big. I've been passing through it staring at scrubby desert for the last twenty four hours or so. I'm content.
I boarded this train in Chicago Friday at 1:30pm. I'll get off in Los Angeles at 8:45am on Sunday; it's currently Saturday 3:16pm. We head south to San Antonio and then west to the state that I call home. It's a 68 hour journey over 2728 miles and costs only about $50 less than a four hour airplane ticket.
I often have to explain why I like doing this. I've decided to write it down once in an effort to not repeat myself.
Planes are magical. You get in them, there is some waiting, silly instructions, and then a roar, an unbelievable view (we're flying!) and then you're in the milky whiteness of clouds. Repeat in reverse and *poof* you're traveled across the continent.
Across the continent! This really is unbelievable. My mind, in particular, can not grasp that I've actually traveled across so much land in such a brief period. The concept of travling is reduced to origins and destinations. The movement is made abstract.
Trains are the most comfortable way to force your mind to understand the distance. Driving, biking, walking also obviously connect you to the movement - they just require more dedication. Trains are easy.
While I've written the last few paragraphs I've traveled over miles of Texas countryside. I'm passing a farm just now with a white stucco house with arches. There is a pickup truck in two pieces in the yard. I feel the vibration of the train devouring rail and I feel the heat of the sun. I have seen, felt, or dreamed through every mile between Chicago and home. Each has made some slight impression.
"Ok", people say, "that sounds nice, but you're in the same place for 68 hours. Four hours in a plane is miserable. I'm sure you have bigger seats or something but 68 hours! Where do you sleep?"
This is a valid point. 68 hours is a long time. Most passengers in the coach section of long distance Amtrak trains are first time train travellers. If you think a bit this means that they don't come back. It's a bad experience for most; it was bad my first time. Luckily there are tricks. If you read, I will tell them to you.
Don't stay in your seat.
There is plenty of space in your seat and it's a beautiful view. Trains are like traveling in your living room in that you can get up, walk around, chat if that's your thing, etc.... There's better to be had though. The observation car is actually way nicer than your living room (mine anyway). I spend almost all of my time there, away from my seat.
Bring food. Good food. Wine or beer if you like.
You're in a beautiful environment with lots of leisure time. This is the perfect environment for enjoying good food. On this trip I brought dense bread, nuts, dried apricots, mangoes, dates, celery, a head of kale, two good dry sausages and enough sardines and canned salmon to repopulate the ocean.
Bring a sleeping pad and blanket.
My best secret. As a taller fellow I find sleeping in the lay-down chairs to be uncomfortable. I bring a sleeping pad and blanket and camp out in the observation car. Everyone clears out by 10:00 and there is lots of horizontal space to sleep quite comfortably.
Time
Amtrak trains are notorious for delays. If you realize that being five hours late on a sixty hour ride really doesn't matter then this sort of thing isn't bothersome.
Work
For me at least the train is an optimal work environment. It's comfortable, limits the distraction of the internet, and I swear I have more space here than in my cubicle. Having something to do gives some structure to the long hours if needed.
So, who travels long distance on Amtrak through the country? This is an odd bunch.
Zainy travellers.
Only about one in forty is like me (zainy traveller with some free time and a good mood).
Middle America.
To some folks the $50 difference means something. Coach is filled with budget travellers. Coming from my suburban fancy-pants upbringing I'll admit that there is some culture shock for me here. It's a good experience though
The Curious.
They're on business, getting to the next town over, etc... and wanted to try it out. Hopefully, this is about to be you.
Retirees.
They mostly populate the sleeper cars. Having these folks around is great. They provide some sanity and reason to the mix.
The Amish.
Planes are verboten. I have yet to be on a distance Amtrak train without running into this luddite breed. They're usually pretty talkative.
People are gregarious and there's lots to talk about. If you're not the talkative type there's lots of good eavesdropping. If you're not into people at all there's fantastic reading and staring out of windows to be done.
I boarded this train in Chicago Friday at 1:30pm. I'll get off in Los Angeles at 8:45am on Sunday; it's currently Saturday 3:16pm. We head south to San Antonio and then west to the state that I call home. It's a 68 hour journey over 2728 miles and costs only about $50 less than a four hour airplane ticket.
I often have to explain why I like doing this. I've decided to write it down once in an effort to not repeat myself.
Planes are magical. You get in them, there is some waiting, silly instructions, and then a roar, an unbelievable view (we're flying!) and then you're in the milky whiteness of clouds. Repeat in reverse and *poof* you're traveled across the continent.
Across the continent! This really is unbelievable. My mind, in particular, can not grasp that I've actually traveled across so much land in such a brief period. The concept of travling is reduced to origins and destinations. The movement is made abstract.
Trains are the most comfortable way to force your mind to understand the distance. Driving, biking, walking also obviously connect you to the movement - they just require more dedication. Trains are easy.
While I've written the last few paragraphs I've traveled over miles of Texas countryside. I'm passing a farm just now with a white stucco house with arches. There is a pickup truck in two pieces in the yard. I feel the vibration of the train devouring rail and I feel the heat of the sun. I have seen, felt, or dreamed through every mile between Chicago and home. Each has made some slight impression.
"Ok", people say, "that sounds nice, but you're in the same place for 68 hours. Four hours in a plane is miserable. I'm sure you have bigger seats or something but 68 hours! Where do you sleep?"
This is a valid point. 68 hours is a long time. Most passengers in the coach section of long distance Amtrak trains are first time train travellers. If you think a bit this means that they don't come back. It's a bad experience for most; it was bad my first time. Luckily there are tricks. If you read, I will tell them to you.
Don't stay in your seat.
There is plenty of space in your seat and it's a beautiful view. Trains are like traveling in your living room in that you can get up, walk around, chat if that's your thing, etc.... There's better to be had though. The observation car is actually way nicer than your living room (mine anyway). I spend almost all of my time there, away from my seat.
Bring food. Good food. Wine or beer if you like.
You're in a beautiful environment with lots of leisure time. This is the perfect environment for enjoying good food. On this trip I brought dense bread, nuts, dried apricots, mangoes, dates, celery, a head of kale, two good dry sausages and enough sardines and canned salmon to repopulate the ocean.
Bring a sleeping pad and blanket.
My best secret. As a taller fellow I find sleeping in the lay-down chairs to be uncomfortable. I bring a sleeping pad and blanket and camp out in the observation car. Everyone clears out by 10:00 and there is lots of horizontal space to sleep quite comfortably.
Time
Amtrak trains are notorious for delays. If you realize that being five hours late on a sixty hour ride really doesn't matter then this sort of thing isn't bothersome.
Work
For me at least the train is an optimal work environment. It's comfortable, limits the distraction of the internet, and I swear I have more space here than in my cubicle. Having something to do gives some structure to the long hours if needed.
So, who travels long distance on Amtrak through the country? This is an odd bunch.
Zainy travellers.
Only about one in forty is like me (zainy traveller with some free time and a good mood).
Middle America.
To some folks the $50 difference means something. Coach is filled with budget travellers. Coming from my suburban fancy-pants upbringing I'll admit that there is some culture shock for me here. It's a good experience though
The Curious.
They're on business, getting to the next town over, etc... and wanted to try it out. Hopefully, this is about to be you.
Retirees.
They mostly populate the sleeper cars. Having these folks around is great. They provide some sanity and reason to the mix.
The Amish.
Planes are verboten. I have yet to be on a distance Amtrak train without running into this luddite breed. They're usually pretty talkative.
People are gregarious and there's lots to talk about. If you're not the talkative type there's lots of good eavesdropping. If you're not into people at all there's fantastic reading and staring out of windows to be done.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Contents of my Table
This is a list of the contents of my working table. I wonder how clear a picture this is of my current life. What's on your table?
- Tax forms
- Tire gauge
- Large jar of water
- Checks
- Bag of coconut flakes
- Eyeglass lens cleaner
- Netflix dvd
- Book on differential equations (in french!)
- Draft of masters paper (x2!)
- Candle
- Aloe plant
- Wine corks
- Four pens
- Plastic Floss thing
- TurboTax CD
- Headphones
- Scissors
- In background (clipboard, humidifier, bag of nuts-in-shell)
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