Finished the book. Review in progress, somewhere between zero and infinity. Each chapter begins with a quote to set the tone. Here is my favorite:

“When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind: it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of science. “

- William Thomson, Lord Kelvin

This is largely the problem traditional HPC sciences have with Life Sciences. Apart from statistical analysis, we simply haven’t risen to the level where we can express biological systems numerically.

(See also: amazon: Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea)
(See also: wikipedia: Charles Seife)
(See also: Charles Seife)

(See also: amazon: The Nothing that Is: A Natural History of Zero, by Robert Kaplan)

Dan Pink’s book outlines the ’six essential aptitudes on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend’. The era of left-brain dominance (L-directed thinking) will give way to those who are more right-brain oriented (R-directed). Individuals who develop their sense of inventiveness, empathy, and meaning will step into prominence.

Many technical careers in IT and academia are less creative than you might imagine. I have seen how the sausage is made and have turned the crank myself from time to time. I simply cannot live that way. I crave more than a creative outlet. My life must be creative.

In this book, Mr. Pink asks three critical questions:

1. Can a computer do it faster?


2. Is there a demand for my product in a time of abundance?


3. Can someone overseas do it cheaper?

In a world where information is almost free and access is immediate, the recitation of facts and figures in less important. Creativity will be in demand. Mr. Pink outlines six R-directed aptitudes:

1. Design: Moving beyond function to engage the sense.


2. Story: Narrative added to products and services, not just argument.


3. Symphony: Invention and big picture thinking.


4. Empathy: Beyond logic, engaging emotion and intuition.


5. Play: Bringing humor to business, products, and services.


6. Meaning: The purpose is the journey.

I must say, this is somewhat of a relief to hear.

(See also: danpink.com: A Whole New Mind)
(See also: danpink.com: Discussion Guide for Business)
(See also: danpink.com: Discussion Guide for Educators)

(See also: wikipedia.org: A Whole New Mind)

Reading and thoroughly enjoying Donal O’shea’s, ‘The Poincare Conjecture: In Search of the Shape of the Universe‘. Though small portions of the math are on the high end, the text is technical, historical, and accessible.

Reading the bit about Bernhard Reimann’s ‘Reimann Curvature tensor’ and his contributions to Complex Analysis. This is my Father-In-Law’s field.

More as I finish the work.

(See also: Amazon: The Poincare Conjecture)
(See also: SEED: What is The Poincare Conjecture?)
(See also: bookslut: The Poincare Conjecture)

A quick read at 147 pages, the book is peppered with examples of historical and modern heretics. (Martin Luther is cited.) In the past, life has been tough for people who think outside the prescribed norm, now the business and social climate rewards new and novel. Don’t be a ’sheepwalker’, be a heretic.

(See also: Amazon: Tribes, we need you to lead us, by Seth Godin)

While I don’t believe that everything we have, every great achievement has come from ‘independent work of some independent mind’, I believe much advancement comes from collaborative communities. I admire the pursuit of life on my own terms. The creative process and the struggle to better one’s self.

The statement:

“The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination. The choice is independence or dependence.”

appears clear, perhaps too clear. I increasingly see the value in interdependence. Networks of individuals arranged by topologies of interest, created and reforming organically through the collective consciousness of our shared stories.

To that end, I find Ayn Rand’s text inspirational.

(See also: Howard Roark’s Courtroom Speech From The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand)
(See also: Wordle: The Fountainhead speech)
(See also: YouTube: The Fountainhead: Howard Roark Speech (Ayn Rand))
(See also: Amazon: The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand)
(See also: IMDB: The Fountainhead)
(See also: Wikipedia: The Fountainhead)