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The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge. – Elbert Hubbard In the book ‘Crowdsourcing‘ by Jeff Howe, he quotes a wonderful example of the community of MATLAB users working to solve a problem: Contestants were required to solve what is commonly called a “traveling salesman problem,” [...]

Nothing more can I teach you. – Yoda In the early part of this millenium, I spent a lot of time teaching people to play the guitar. I’m quite knowledgable and fairly technically proficient as a guitarist, so it was with delight that I would help others in their own musically dexterous journey of development. [...]

In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. - Desiderius Erasmus It’s very easy to take on responsibility for something that you’re not able to do – you’re asked to do it, and have time; you’re interested in the topic; you once did something similar; it’s the next ‘logical’ step for your career; [...]

…the only thing we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder… – Jostein Gaarder In his phenomenal book ‘Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy‘, Jostein Gaarder gives us a beautiful quote, and I’ve been trying to find out if it comes from him initially or from some other source. [...]

First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak [...]

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it! Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now! – Goethe / John Anster (discuss!) You are standing at a crossroads in life. Behind you is the experience you have gained in all that you have done so far. To the left and [...]

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas A. Edison In a society that seems to yearn for instant gratification, there is something wholesome in the opinion of Edison in relation to work. When media constantly bombards us with people that have achieved, it does us a great dis-service [...]

The treasure – of – an endless – ocean - of love - lies – in your - soul - behind - the windows - that are – your - eyes. – Steve Vai Time is precious. We spend much of our time bustling from one task to the next, without much chance to stop and reflect on where we are, or [...]

I would not have made this so long except that I do not have the leisure to make it shorter. – Blaise Pascal The ability to articulate a vision clearly and succinctly is something we easily take for granted. The truth is, simple is often very, very difficult and time consuming. Getting a message across [...]

Today I continue my look at virtues that we consider desirable in a good character – if you haven’t seen my first post in this series, you can read it here. Nothing is more noble, nothing more venerable than fidelity. Faithfulness and truth are the most sacred excellences and endowments of the human mind. – [...]