Thank you for making it this far. The mere mention of math can sometimes turn people away.
Yet math’s role in helping us understand the world is so critical. The astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson once said, “Math is the language of the universe.”
I was thinking about math in its simplest form while reading the paper this morning. As one might expect these days, there was no shortage of bad or frustrating news.…
Last week, I enjoyed the surprisingly moving, new Marvel movie, Thunderbolts. It features a ragtag group of superheroes, united by their conflicted pasts. The primary villain in the movie – as I see it – is shame. Shame is not the name of a specific villain but a feeling that debilitates all of us – even superheroes with otherworldly powers. In the film, shame’s specter envelops those it touches – both literally and figuratively.…
“Why do they call it cologne for men and perfume for women?” was the question my youngest daughter posed to me as she lay in bed, after a long day.
My initial instinct was to offer a guess. Perhaps it’s based on where each originated geographically. She rightfully questioned this theory. Eventually, I admitted my ignorance as I really had no idea. I told her I would look it up and let her know the next day.…
Years ago, I read an eye-opening book called, The Submerged State. Its premise was that one of the chief reasons we don’t value the role of government is because its work and effects are too often invisible to us. The prime example was the oft cited quote “Keep your government hands off my Medicare,” – a reflection of an angry citizen not realizing that Medicare was in fact a government program.…
What do a broken washing machine, two Ikea loft beds, and Jane Goodall have in common?
Each required using common tools to solve a stressful problem.
Let’s start first with the washing machine. I was peacefully chilling in my living room after a very, very long day, only to be disrupted by a menacing beeping sound emanating from our laundry room. The dreaded E18 Error on the display greeted me – signaling that the machine was not draining properly.…
I have been transfixed by stages lately. Last week, I watched three showings of Mamma Mia bathed in joy. Last night, I listened intently to the group Black Violin bend musical genres.
Stages are not limited to theaters. I love watching my children on athletic fields, delighted when hearing others call their names and cheer them on.
Stages don’t require a large audience, either. One person watching you as you are locked in on any given task in any given place, qualifies according to one Englishman’s definition.…
Last week, I wrote down a friend’s name. The mere thought of him brought a smile to my face – the byproduct of a thousand good times together.
A few days later, I watched my daughter perform in her high school’s joyous production of Mamma Mia. I smiled through the whole first act and most of the second. At various times, I looked over at my wife and other two daughters – often exchanging knowing smiles.…
My wife and I have been watching the show, The Pitt lately. Each episode covers one hour of a twelve hour shift in an emergency room in a Pittsburgh hospital. The show is tremendous in every way; full of humanity and dignity.
One storyline focused on a pair of siblings trying to do what’s right by their father who is dying. At some point to help them cope with this incredibly difficult situation, the doctor introduces them to the Hawaiian concept of Ho’oponopono.…
“Yesterday’s tomorrow is today,” is a line from the poem Bygones, written by the late Marina Keegan. Keegan died tragically in a car crash on her way to celebrate her father’s 55th birthday in 2012. She had just graduated college and was set to begin what was to be a promising career as writer at The New Yorker.
The poem is largely a reflection on a future she would never experience.…
As spring is peaking around the corner, many universities – including one at which I teach have gone on break. These week-long vacations from school are intended to be restorative; an opportunity for students and faculty to recharge their batteries before coming back to finish their semester strong.
Some will board planes seeking sunnier destinations and dispositions – after a winter of our collective discontent.
Rather than boarding a plane for a week, I instead drove to the beach for less than an hour.…
Pay. Give. Hold. Demand. Undivided, Limited. Deficit.
All words associated with our attention. Often parts of phrases clamoring to receive some amount of it. The words have an air of desperation to them. Presumably underscoring how difficult a task it is to receive it for any length of time.
The poet, Mary Oliver, wrote frequently of our attention. Imploring us to pay more attention to the natural world around us.…
A homeless man named Yellow sat outside the Dunkin’ Donuts. He was asking people if they could treat him to a cup of coffee and muffin. His face and arms were completely covered with tattoos perhaps contributing to the lack of attention he was receiving. While I have walked by and ignored my fair share of homeless people in my time, I chose to treat him to an iced coffee and coffee cake muffin.…
He immigrated to the United States to seek greater economic opportunities but stayed here illegally before he was given a path to citizenship. He received government assistance. He started a business, hired American workers, paid taxes, and bought a home.
These facts are not uncommon parts of an immigrant’s journey. Most come here for better opportunities. Forty percent of undocumented immigrants came here legally but overstayed their visas.…
With the celebrations and conventions of Valentine’s Day behind us, a few words on love.
It is interesting to note that although I have written these notes every week for almost ten years, I’ve never written one exclusively focused on what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. referred to as the “most durable power in the world.” It is a surprising omission. After all, what could possibly help us move up in life more than love?…
Have you ever wondered where your imagination comes from? I had given it little thought until recently while reading the book, Why We Remember.
It is a fascinating exploration on how our memory works but it also details how our memory and imagination are inextricably linked. In fact, both processes occur in the brain at the intersection of our hippocampus and default mode network.
Most of us don’t remember every detail of every experience (those few who do have something called Hyperthymesia).…
I have felt a great deal of sadness in my life. For a long time my strategy was to deny it, suppress it, avoid it, or try to drink it away.
I thought of sadness as something that was inherently bad or wrong with me. A feeling reinforced by society which tells you from the youngest age “don’t be sad,” “snap out of it” or “boys don’t cry.”…
Over the last several years, I’ve made it a bit of a custom to read, listen or watch something by or about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the holiday that celebrates his life. In the past few years, I’ve listened to his “I Have a Dream” speech, re-read “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and watched Selma and documentaries about his life.
This year I re-watched the movie, Boycott.…
“Can you please slow down?” is a common refrain on road trips. Often followed by “You don’t have to drive so fast.”
Increasingly over the last few years, long drives have become sources of tension within my family. The speed with which I drive is often hotly contested.
For context, while I am most definitely driving above the legal speed limit, I am typically within the social norm of “If you’re within 10 MPH, you’re ok.”…
Fun fact – one hundred years ago, Robert was the most popular boy’s name in the country. Today, my name doesn’t make the top one hundred list.
Fifteen years ago, my first book, Actions Speak Loudest: Keeping Our Promise for a Better World was published. This first chapter in this collection of essays was written by former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away last week at the age of one hundred – born the same year Robert was the most popular name in the country.…
The new year is here. With it might come some level of anxiety or excitement as we anticipate the 365 days before us.
If you are of my generation, the word anticipation might evoke this classic ketchup commercial.
The commercial draws its inspiration from this Carly Simon song.
Politically or personally you may have reason to anticipate the future with concern or fear. The world can be a scary place and the future is of course largely unknown.…
As the final days of 2024 wind down, it is natural to both look back to see what we have to show for them and to look forward to see what we hope to do with them in the year ahead.
We live in moments or minutes or hours. We plan our life in weeks or months. We measure our lives in years. But I believe it is the day that is the simplest and most easily grasped unit of time to consider.…
It happens every year around this time. Some years it takes longer than others.
At some point amid all the chaos of shopping and trying to close up the proverbial shop before the holiday break, you feel it.
It could be inspired by a song, a card, or a quiet moment with family or a night out with friends.
In my case, I was shopping at an outdoor mall.…
“I know what it feels like to be a parent now,” my oldest daughter told me after watching her youngest sister deliver a chorus solo during the school’s winter concert. “I was so nervous,” she added.
Anxiety, nervousness and fear are three of the most nerve-wracking aspects of parenting – if not life in general. If we’re lucky they exist in a low hum in the background as we move about our days.…
I developed a new-found appreciation for Yacht Rock, after watching this documentary that talked about the musicianship of groups like Steely Dan, Toto and The Doobie Brothers. I had no idea of their jazz underpinnings or their profound influence on so many other groups and music.
Similarly, while I had heard of the storytelling organization The Moth and listened to one or two of their stories over the years, I now have a new-found interest in their work after reading the book The Moth Presents A Point in Beauty True Stories of Holding on and Letting Go.…
On Thanksgiving, many shared thoughts of people, experiences or things that they are grateful for this year. It is perhaps the best thing about the holiday. The ability to pause from our busy lives, reflect on what we’re thankful for and reach out to share our gratitude with others. A practice by the way, that is best exercised every day, especially during difficult times. As Michael J.…
