Modern da Vinci

There are only two powers in this world, the sword and the spirit ... in the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit. --Napoleon I of France

2010-09-07T22:48:00.000-04:00

In a monastery in Dharamsala, India, an unknown explorer took advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit with the Dalai Lama. Given only 45 minutes and a limit of 10 questions, Rick Ray searched for months for the right questions to ask. He told his story through a short film entitled 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama.

Upon seeing the title of the movie, I was immediately curious as to what questions would be asked. What questions would I ask of a man who spent his entire life searching for enlightenment? While many of the questions posed to the Dalai Lama in this film were worthwhile, one in particular stood out. This question is one many have asked before, and one that I had always struggled with. It was a question who's answer considers humanity's capacity for evil, and the leads to an understanding of the importance of preserving the human spirit.

The question asked of the Dalai Lama (paraphrased here) was simple, yet important: How does one practice the message of peaceful resistance to violence in an imperfect world? In other words, how can one NOT use violence in order to prevent another violent act?

It is a tough question with which to grapple, no doubt. It is an even more difficult one to answer concisely with any sort of logic. Even so, it was clear the Dalai Lama had considered this question before, as his answer was nearly as simple as the question. It came in two parts:

He began by stating we should always stand against violence. If and only if all other options have been exhausted, and when and only when no other way exists to prevent violence from being inflicted upon the innocent is it okay to strike to prevent such violence from occurring. I think it is safe to say that most would agree with this answer. It is straightforward and simple, though perhaps not as enlightening as one would expect from the Dalai Lama. Not to be one to disappoint, he went on to speak of the deeper meaning of violence and how and why we should always react in a peaceful manner.

In a previous Modern da Vinci post, I discussed a book entitled The Universe in a Single Atom where the Dalai Lama dabbled in the notion that we are all interconnected. He built on this notion while answering the question at hand (paraphrased): We are all connected to each other and all things in this universe. We all have aligned interests. It is because of this alignment and interconnectedness that we all lose part of ourselves when hurting others. Violence, especially war, is the ultimate killer of oneself in this world. Ultimately, violence results in no winners, but multiple losers who have destroyed more of themselves than of the victim.

Assuming you believe in this interconnectedness (watch for a discussion on this topic in a future post), it is a beautiful, creative, and understandable way to answer such a tough question. We've all felt the pain and frustration caused by others hatred, or their malicious deeds. We've all felt inclined to lash back to avenge our loss or ease our pain. But in doing so, we only hurt ourselves. In doing so, we cause others to once again feel the pain that initiated their violent actions in the first place. The result is a perpetual cycle--a cycle that people like the Dalai Lama have played a significant role in breaking.

Facing violence, the likes of which most of us have never seen, men like the Dalai Lama have tried to lead their people to feel compassion for their aggressors and to stop fighting violence with more violence. Even with the answer he provided in the aforementioned movie, it is easy to miss a subtle but important point in his peaceful actions. The Dalai Lama does not using peace to combat violence solely because he believes hurting others is wrong. He uses peace to prevent his people from hurting themselves. He uses peace to preserve his people's spirit.

With one question answered, what other questions should we ask of our spiritual leaders (or political leaders for that matter)? I find it difficult to construct one question, let alone ten. I encourage you to consider what questions you might ask if you had 45 minutes with a prominent leader. Post your questions here as comments.

"Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house." --Henri Poincaré

2010-08-30T12:54:00.055-04:00

We are surrounded with facts. Easily accessible facts. Facts that can be "recalled" with no more thought than it takes to enter a phrase into a search engine. As an example, let's do an experiment. How long does it take you to find the circumference of the earth at the equator in miles? My time was around 8 seconds and I guarantee it is an easy time to beat.

But searching doesn't require (much) intelligence. Let's now do an experiment that requires some thought. How would you go about discovering the circumference of the earth with nothing more than a your brain, a protractor, and a stick? If you are like most, you'll writhe and wriggle and squirm your way out of devising answers to questions like these by asking other questions like: Who cares? Why can't I just look it up? What's the point?

Well 1) lots of people care (astronomers, physicists, mapmakers, airlines, ship captains, etc), 2) yes you can just look it up, and 3) the point is this: It is easy to believe we are an intelligent people because we have unlimited access to vast stores of information. But, as Henri Poincaré pointed out, "...a collection of facts is no more science than a heap of stones is a house." [1] This in no way means that these facts or the Internet search engines that deliver them are useless. Some argue that the human race has been able to deepen our thinking and expand our intelligence by enabling us to so quickly and easily pull together information from a massive corpus of information [3]. I'm inclined to agree. Mr. Poincaré was simply pointing out that science, experimentation, hypotheses, critical thinking, and invention are needed to make sense of this world. Facts are merely the building blocks on which this critical thinking takes place.

We've all played a role in creating this miraculous technological advancement called the Internet. Even so, the Internet doesn't necessarily help us think like (perhaps) we had hoped. It merely delivers building blocks to us faster and cheaper than any other service or technology in the history of mankind. Today, it seems we are missing something of value... Where are the great thinkers of our time? Where are the da Vinci's, the Einstein's, the Newton's, the Galileo's, the Aristotle's? I know only a small handful of great modern thinkers--people who spend their days and nights fulfilling their curiosity by thinking about how miscellaneous facts jointly paint the picture of our cosmos. These people, people who constantly exercise gedanken experiments in their mind, are few and far between. Perhaps it has always been like this. Perhaps great thinkers have always been so few and far between that people like me would only know a handful. Regardless, shouldn't there be more?

With the utterly astounding amount of information at our fingertips, we should all be deep in thought. We should all be viewing this information through our own lenses and filters, using our brainpower to build and test theories which challenge the way humanity thinks. The Internet can be more than an entertainment hub and a handful of facts, but it is up to us to make it so. Please, if you read this, provide your comments and let us all know what you are doing to sift and think through the information at your fingertips. Comment, and let us know what you are doing to experiment, innovate, invent, and change the way we live in and view our world.

For those who are wondering, Eratosthenes was able to measure the circumference of the earth with nothing more than his brain, a protractor, and a stick. Read about it here. The simplicity and ingenuity of the solution is astounding, especially considering Eratosthenes calculated his answer circa 250 BC [2]!

References

Simon Singh. Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe. Harper Perennial, 2005.
Rubin, Julian. "Eratosthenes: The Measurement of the Earth's Circumference". www.juliantrubin.com. August 28th, 2010 <http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/eratosthenes.html>.
Masnick, Mike. "Did The Automobile Dehumanize Walking? No? Then Does Google Dehumanize Intelligence?". www.techdirt.com. August 29th, 2010 <http://techdirt.com/articles/20100119/0404397812.shtml>.

"Very often design is the most immediate way of defining what products become in people's minds." --Jonathan Ive

2010-08-25T22:45:00.001-04:00

Inspiration through art struck in an unexpected form today... a video game. Had you asked on any other day, I would have described games as exciting, fun, a "get-away", or challenging. But inspirational? Rarely. Art? Never.

Art is a tough argument to make when it comes to games. Art evokes emotion. Art forces you to do a double-take. At first glance you see painting on a canvas or hear notes in the air. But, unlike many other medium of expression, you are compelled to look again when you realize that what artwork reveals is a reflection of yourself. Video games evoke emotion, but its often visceral and scripted. They rarely, if ever, ask you to look within. They rarely, if ever, speak to your inner self. Flower for the Playstation 3 changes that.

I sat in awe as the colors melded together on screen, bending in the light, and flowing between blades of grass too numerous to count. The music was serene and moved with me as I explored the world. The controls simply disappeared. I was struck by the design of it all... the rhythm, the artistic quality, the technology, and very idea itself. And when it was over, it was almost as if Flower expected me to go outside and enjoy the beauty of nature all around us.

Flower isn't fun, it isn't exciting. It's not relaxing or compelling. It just is... It is like no other experience on any video game system I've ever seen. Flower asks you, for the first time I'm aware of in the history of video games, to become part of its own design. Well done!

"Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence." --Colin Powell

2010-08-24T12:48:00.002-04:00

To all Modern da Vinci followers out there, please accept my apologies for not posting since March! In the grand scheme of things, five months isn't that much time. But for a blog it might as well be the first nail in the coffin. I've always felt that persistence was one of the more important qualities to have whenever undertaking a new endeavor. Per the quote above, persistence is a key component to success. Unfortunately, my daily Modern da Vinci posts did not persist. Read on though... I have my reasons, and I want to change.

Writing for a blog, though it might not seem so, is hard... really hard. One must constantly monitor the world for new topics on which to rant. One must constantly pour hours of thinking and writing. When you have a full time job, blog-writing not only takes away from family but is quite exhausting after a full day of work. All of this is exacerbated for a blog like Modern da Vinci which aims for timelessness of topics and quality of content.

But these aren't reasons, they are excuses.

My reason for putting Modern da Vinci on hold? I blame the iPad :-). Seriously. Having purchased my iPad the second it was available for sale, I was immediately engrossed in the device. More so, I was pouring every second of my evenings (and a few late nights) into programming and creating iOS applications for sale on the iTunes App Store. It's addicting, and if I didn't have a good one already, creating apps would be my day job. So, combine the addicting nature of iOS development with the difficulty of blog writing and you can see why Modern da Vinci was put on indefinite hold.

The good news is that my honeymoon with the iPad is over. While it is still the most fantastic gadget I've yet owned (and I've owned more than my fair share of gadgets), I've figured out how to make it work for me and not the other way around. In coming back around to this blog, I remembered what a huge but important undertaking Modern da Vinci was. So, after changing the look and feel of the site (Do you like it? Please comment!), I've dug out the old list of topics and will once again start posting.

I've striven for perfection, put in plenty of hard work, learned from some failures... the only thing I didn't do was persist.

"There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live." --James Truslow Adams

2010-03-01T13:51:00.002-05:00

Fairfax County, Virginia and Tippecanoe County, Indiana, like so many other counties in the nation, are facing tough budget choices this year since tax revenue is down and taxpayer spending has not made up for the difference. Hard decisions are being made at the expense of jobs and unfortunately, childrens education. The results? So-called "special programs" such as art, music, physical education, and guidance counseling are being dropped. More accurately, educators responsible for teaching these subjects are being layed-off, their positions absorbed by classroom teachers.

Education in all areas: history, science, mathematics, art, physical education, etc. is incredibly important to the development of the human mind. When it comes to balancing the education of children who do not excel at math or science, topics like art or social sciences are critically important. More so, some of the best ideas, solutions to problems, and flashes of insight come when one is exploring a topic other than the topic at hand. The scene from Fat Man and Little Boy, a 1989 movie re-enactment of the secret Manhattan Project, comes to mind. Robert Oppenheimer has a critical flash of insight while sqeezing an orange, discovering the implosion necessary to initiate a chain reaction of plutonium atom splits could be accomplished by exploding a sphere inwards on itself. What does the orange have to do with nuclear fission? You're right... nothing. And while the orange isn't an art or musical activity as is being discussed herein, the point is that intelligence is the application of knowledge to topics unknown and many times the most effective intellectual insights come when working outside our comfort zones, engaging in new experiences, or learning something new.

One thing that is clear to me is the overwhelming anecdotal evidence supporting the importance of the arts in the fields of technical engineering and scientific research. In my career in the field of product development and security engineering, anyone who is anyone has displayed better-than-average skills in the arts, music, or other such studies. Whether math and science help one become better at arts and music or visa versa, I cannot say. What seems likely is that these topics of study support each other, re-enforce each other, and otherwise round each other out. As so elegantly stated by Pam Stephens in her article entitled "Are the Arts Important in Education":

The arts empower children to communicate ideas that words and numbers cannot always adequately express.
The arts provide opportunities to explore other cultures and times, teaching tolerance for other’s heritage and belief systems while valuing the individual.
The arts encourage multiple responses, respecting that the questions are often as important as the answers.
The arts teach flexibility in thinking, a mandate for success in a global society.
The arts teach students to continue searching for meaning and understanding.

I do not envy the administrators who must make these decisions--the school systems obviously cannot operate at a financial loss. I also do not intend to claim the solution to these aforementioned budget problems is simple. What I do know is that we cannot afford to lose these critical courses in our children's studies, just as we cannot afford to neglect these areas of our own studies as adults. It is one thing to realize or be told that you are not a good artist or musician. It's a wholly different matter to not even be offered the chance to succeed or fail at it in the first place. If art is cut now, is music next? If gifted and talented programs are cut, is special education (the other end of the spectrum) next? As a nation, I don't believe this is an answer we can sit around and wait for to find out. We must start thinking out-of-the-box. Sacrificing these educational activities is unacceptable.

Yes, education is a right in America. But it is also a personal responsibility. If we are not getting the education we deserve as a nation, half of us should fight whatever political system necessary to correct the problem while the other half should come up with ingenious ways of addressing the issue ourselves. Short of pointing fingers or raising taxes, what out-of-the-box ideas do you have?

References:
[1] Stephens, Pam. "Are the Arts Important in Education?" Point of View. August-September 2006. Page 10. Originally published at Davis Art (http://www.davisart.com/Portal/SchoolArts/SADefault.aspx).

“One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.“ --James Earl Jones

2010-02-25T22:12:00.002-05:00

James Earl Jones, Winston Churchill, Vice-President Joe Biden, Charles Darwin, and Marilyn Monroe have something in common: They are all people who stutter(ed). Stuttering, also called stammering or disfluency, is a communication disorder in which a person experiences sound, part word, or whole word repetitions. They may also encounter blocks (unable to initiate sound) and prolongations of sounds or syllables. In addition to these disfluencies, some people who stutter also run into concomitant physical behaviors. Interestingly enough, stuttering affects four times more males than females. And while about 20% of children will go through a developmental stage of stuttering and 5% will continue to stutter for 6 months or more, as high as 1% (3 million Americans) will continue to stutter into adulthood.

The reasons for stuttering have always been a mystery. Yet, modern science and years of research have brought us closer to discovering the actual cause. For decades, stuttering was thought to be caused by emotional stress or the inability to "slow down" when speaking. Only through well documented cases and well crafted research experiments do we now know that stuttering is much more complex.

The leading theory of stuttering was three-fold: There is a neurological component, oral-motor component, and emotional/social component. In addition, a family history of stuttering is common among adults who stutter. Through new research, we now know that people who stutter process language differently than those who do not. Researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN looked at this very language-processing component. Speech pathologists around the world are looking forward to seeing the final published results to confirm their hypotheses.

However, despite anecdotal data on familial history, no one, until now, could prove a genetic link to stuttering. Researchers at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found three genes in volunteers in Pakistan, England, and the United States that are linked to stuttering. A mutation was found on the GNPTAB gene found on chromosome 12 along with two other related genes. Now the question remains, what does this mean for a person who stutters?

Adults and children who stutter should continue to seek out speech-language pathologists for more traditional treatments. That said, SLPs are excited to see where this research will lead. The lead researcher at NIDCD reported that they are leading a world-wide epidemiological study to determine how many people who stutter have this particular mutation. Once more data is obtained and more research completed, we may have enzyme replacement therapy to treat this disorder. The excitement won't be tempered by SLPs who would lose patients because researchers continue to make ground breaking discoveries. Rather, science is always transforming our best practices and we look forward to one day using this data to determine the best course of treatment.

Regardless of the outcome of this research, this is an incredibly exciting discovery for a variety of reasons. The fact that researchers are actively looking for gene's that affect such a small part of the population is a good sign for speech pathologists across the world. Also, knowing that there is a genetic link to stuttering comes as great news to parents of children who stutter, who many times ask themselves if there was something they could have done to prevent it. Finally, the hope that one day, a person who stutters could receive treatment to reduce or remove their disorder completely is great news for the millions that face embarrassment and (sometimes) ridicule on the way they speak... something the vast majority of us take deeply for granted.

About the Author

Elaine Mehlberg is a licensed speech-language pathologist educated at Purdue University by leading experts in fluency disorders. After studying under Dr. Christine Weber-Fox, Dr. Anne Smith, and Mr. Bill Murphy, leaders who have transformed therapy methods and common knowledge of stuttering, Elaine went on to work at Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing Clinic, a not for profit organization located in Landsdowne, VA. She is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association, and is accredited with a clinical certificate of competency.

"Brief and powerless is man's life; on him and all his race the slow, sure doom falls pitiless and dark." --Bertrand Russell

2010-02-21T22:52:00.001-05:00

Father and son stories are a dime a dozen. Post apocalypse has been written before. Summarizing The Road by Cormac McCarthy might lead one to believe that is yet another story in an overdone genre. But this is a story that challenges the read to their very core. Never have I read such a profound fiction.

The Road is a dramatic science fiction novel about a father and son who travel on foot through a post-apocalyptic world. Along they way, they are confronted with one dismal situation after another ranging from starvation to being hunted by human carnivores. Their world is bleak, their circumstances miserable, and their story horrific. Yet somehow, through the utterly realistic dialog and grisly plot turns, we find The Road to be a brilliant story of hope and faith.

The relationship between the father and son was heart-wrenching and brutally honest. The symbolism is still clawing at my intellect. The loss felt towards the end of the book combined with the dread/fear felt for the little boy was as real as if in their situation myself. Conversely, the hope, happiness, and relief for the boy allowed me to close the book with a feeling of great satisfaction. Even writing this blog is conjuring up images in the novel... making it clear that after weeks of having finished it, the story still has a stranglehold my outlook on life.

Though the cause of the apocalypse was never mentioned, and though other reviews of this book say it doesn't matter, I believe it does. Some clues led me to believe a meteorite struck, a wholly different matter than a nuclear apocalypse. Unlike a nuke, a meteor is something over which humanity has no control. It could be described as an act of God. Even so, the lack of faith-based discussions throughout the book made it seem as though humanity had lost faith in God. It was a world without God, a world without morals. Yet, the father and the son (especially) continued to do the right thing, even in their horrible circumstances. At the end, the son finds other humans have faith, giving a sense that the world would once again be made right--made right with the faith and good actions of the "good guys", while the "bad guys" would simply eat each other into extinction. Perhaps McCarthy was exploring the necessity of a “world cleansing” to regain what we've lost: our faith, our morality, our humanity.

Some of that humanity can be seen in the characters and symbols found in The Road. The father, hardened from years of battling his own kind, had an intellectual and survivalist outlook for every action. The son, though he had never seen a good side to humanity, believed in it dearly causing more than a few difficulties between he and his father. The shopping cart in a post apocalyptic world seemed to symbolize the death of consumerism. Neither the father's nor the son's name were mentioned throughout the book, symbolizing the loss of personal identity in the world. The specific mention of the extinction of all birds seemed representative of the lack God's visibility to humans, yet proof of His existence. It was not until the end that faith explicitly presented itself, seeming to state that God is hope, and hope exists in this world of evil after all. And yet, no matter your religious views, The Road goes far beyond entertainment and walks you through discovering your deepest beliefs.

Many modern intellectuals I’ve met are rarely interested in reading for entertainment. For me, the best fiction is that which helps me understand difficult topics. Scott Burkun said it best in, coincidentally, a blog reviewing the very book discussed here:

"...sometimes I read to be entertained, often I want an experience that will make me see the world differently when I put the book down, and change something inside me that can not be undone."

--http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2010/book-review-the-road/

The Road is a book that changes ones view of the world. It sparks deep questions of faith and leaves one sitting in wonder of the human spirit and condition. This is one of few books that left me sitting for hours after completing it, wondering what it meant to my life, thinking about how I live my life, and how thankful we should all be to have the life we have.

"You can't beat the feeling of venturing outdoors and picking a few ingredients from the garden to cook with." --Chef Gordon Ramsay

2010-02-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

Some avoid cooking at all costs, surviving on the bare minimum--microwave mac and cheese and fudgesicles for dinner, for example. Others see cooking as an art, a means to relax, even entertainment. Most fall somewhere in between: Cooking is something that has to be done, and, on occasion, can be a satisfying and enjoyable activity. That said, my recent experience at a local culinary "school" was immensely enjoyed by everyone involved. It's safe to say that every student walked away understanding that there is more to cooking than we'll ever know. Yet, not a single person was discouraged by this realization. Quite the opposite, everyone was yearning to dive deeper into cooking techniques, knife skills, and culinary philosophy (yes, this topic came up once or twice during the course).

Cookology is a recreational culinary school located in Northern Virginia offering paid cooking classes under the instruction of an experienced chef. In a three hour session, our class of 10 couples spent two hours prepping and cooking a mushroom brie appetizer, and a pan-seared beef tenderloin with a side of garlic mashed potatoes and blanched brocoli. The final hour we spent eating. And though the food was exceptionally tasty, the biggest take-away was a freshly-reinforced belief in the importance of actively learning (i.e., learning by doing).

By chance, after arriving home from this course, a 30 second news snippet showed children cooking for a middle-school class. While this broadcast said almost nothing of interest, watching children in a Cookology-type setting combined with the excitement of having just myself gone through culinary instruction solidified the importance cooking could be to education for all ages. Like grown adults at Cookology, children cooking in class were rewarded (with tasty food) by understanding measuring units, diet, nutrition, food types, flavor interactions, agriculture and its effect on food quality, how to sharpen, hold, and use a knive, etc. It is a stunningly simple and memorable way to learn about an enormous number of topics, engages all the senses simultaneously, and grows more fun as the number of people involved increases.

Certainly, I'm not going to be cooking gourmet dinners every night. Cooking is still something most of us have to do. However, when approaching the stove next time, take a more educational vs. a lets-get-this-over-with attitude and see what you learn. Most importantly, come back and let us know what you learned with a comment! Oh, and if you are in the Washington DC area--regardless of how much you know about the culinary arts--take the time to visit a Cookology class and learn something new.

(Has anyone else out there had a similar experience with cooking? Any insightful comments on culinary philosophy? How about culinary education or philosophy books? Please comment and enlighten.)

"Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be." --Khalil Gibran

2010-02-17T01:09:00.000-05:00

In a previous post discussing ereader technology and digital books, Google Books was mentioned as a useful tool for digitally searching physical content. A recent update to this aspect of this web application deserves a short mention.

Google Books now allows one to organize their online library into "bookshelves", a hugely useful feature for those of us who maintain multiple bookshelves in our homes. With this new feature, I can map digital representations of books in my home library to a physical location. Now, I can find the book and page on which searched information resides AND I can discover the bookshelf in my home on which that physical book rests. Better yet, I can create virtual bookshelves like "To Read", "Unpurchased", or "Lent Out" (or even "On my Kindle") to help me further organize my physical library in a meaningful way.

Well done Google. Books is now one step closer to bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds, making our studies more productive and efficient.

"It was by the sober sense of our citizens that we were safely and steadily conducted from monarchy to republicanism, and it is by the same agency alone we can be kept from falling back." --Thomas Jefferson

2010-02-09T17:28:00.000-05:00

The United States of America has driven astounding innovation and creation of wealth since its inception. It has grown from a band of rebels to a world power in a few short centuries. And, while not without its blemishes, I challenge anyone to discount the overall positive impression America has made on the world. Even so, it seems the media would have us believe we are on the brink of a national, political, and economic disaster. But it's only when we turn off the television, stop, think, and reflect on what it means to be an American and defend our constitution that we can truly understand whether such a disaster is eminent and, more importantly, evolve appropriate solutions.

The 5000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen is a look at how our country is evolving through the eyes of our founding fathers. Built on relentless and ongoing research by the author into the minds of the greats such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and John Adams, this book sets out to help us understand the true meaning of our constitution. Furthermore, it aims to show us that the evolution of our great country fits within the basic principles our founding fathers have prescribed. It is an accessible text full of engaging and straightforward prose discussing an otherwise difficult topic: constitutional interpretation.

While reading this book, I was amazed chapter after chapter at the political topics covered, and the evidence backing the authors claims. It was amazing to learn of the religious integration prescribed for this nation and the written warnings provided against ousting religion from our educational system, our political system, and our culture. It was amazing to read the many quotes, written hundreds of years ago, which exactly describe major troubles seen and felt in todays political leaders. It was amazing to read the thoughts our founding fathers had on how we should interact and make alliances with other nations. It was amazing to understand the value our founders put on individual education, not for the purposes of building a greater, bigger government to defeat our enemies, but to educate and protect ourselves against a bigger government who would wish to, one-by-one, take away our liberties. Finally, it was amazing to understand, with clarity, what our nation truly is... a republic by definition, NOT a democracy.

If this book accomplishes anything, it helps you understand that modern political "agenda's", at least the ones covered by the media, are far removed from the needs of modern society. It plainly spells out why it is so dangerous to make positions of leadership opportunities for enormous wealth. Most importantly, it dispels the argument that our founding fathers ideas' are outdated and no longer applicable to a digital and global economy. In fact, you will find through examples provided that the very opposite is true.

In short, The 5000 Year Leap paints a very frank picture of what the founding fathers envisioned for America when creating our great nation. With few exceptions, no personal opinions creep into the text. The book, very simply, is a written account of what the founders prescribed, and why. It lets you come to your own conclusions with regard to how we should be engaged with our political leaders, and how these leaders should be shaping our countries future. This is perhaps the only book in my library I can recommend as required reading for all Americans, as understanding the topics described within will help us shape the United States as a land of continuing innovation, wealth, and freedom.

"Genius ain't anything more than elegant common sense." --Josh Billings

2010-01-27T23:03:00.001-05:00

From the lackluster reviews of the recently announced iPad tablet device, it seems the blogosphere has missed the genius of Apple's new baby. Apple's genius is constructing a "blown-up" iPod Touch design, a product released years ago. Their genius is in loading that device with existing (albeit slightly modified) software. Their genius is in pulling together yet another system to extract more of our hard-earned cash, one $0.99 app at a time. No, this post was not written sarcastically. It was written with the utmost respect for Apple's genius to give the public something they didn't know they wanted--something they didn't realize they were willing to pay for.

But this seems to be where the genius ends. Though Apple has solved some major technical hurdles with their alleged high-precision touch and wide-angle view screen, and though they've modified their software to take advantage of more power and visual real estate, that's not genius, it's just common sense. Furthermore, I doubt anyone actually cares. When it comes to features, It's almost as if some are purposely missing. Where's my webcam? Where's my mini-display port output for using that beautiful new portable Keynote application in business meetings (no, I don't want to carry the dock around with me)? Why, oh why, do those iPhone apps look like they are not running in full screen?

That aside, I don't ultimately believe any of this matters. The size, weight, gorgeous screen, massive application store, overall flashiness, and books... yes books (!)... will make this THE device to buy, will make this THE device to mimic. Assuming Apple holds true on their product promise, I'll likely buy one, and I'm guessing a whole lot of other people will too.

What does matter is something more concerning, something of which all buyers should be cautious before making the leap. The iPad looks to be the ultimate device with which we can waste hours of life: consuming vs. creating, sitting idly vs. taking action, sitting back and watching others invent instead of changing the world ourselves. I for one, am not going to make the leap until I'm convinced that this device will do more than serve the latest movies and music. So though I'm asking Apple to provide the aforementioned missing features, I'm pleading for Apple to truly realize their genius by selling a device to make me more productive, to help me once again create instead of consume (and shell out money while doing so).

"The covers of this book are too far apart." --Ambrose Bierce

2010-01-25T15:27:00.001-05:00

For those of use who read profusely, for whom buying books is a weekly event, whose homes have taken on the smell of a densely packed library, the move from paper to digital books is about as appealing as walking barefoot on soggy bread. There's something about a real book--the feel, the typesetting, the cover, the scent of the pages, the weight of a bookshelf full of knowledge--that discourages me from buying digital. Being a tech enthusiast, I've owned an Amazon Kindle 2 since the first day (yes, literally) it was available. It's a fantastic device, both because it has the backing of Amazon's 300,000+ digital book store, and because it's full of features that I just know are useful. I keep wanting to buy digital books for it, I keep wanting to use it, but it's been a struggle from day one.

On day two of owning the Kindle, the question of "will people really move to digital print?" begin to race through my mind. I typically buy and use first-to-market technology, and I'd rather take notes on a tablet PC than with pen and paper. I sure as hell purchase other content (movies, music, games, etc) via digital download vs. brick-and-mortar models. So if I don't buy digital, then why on earth will the rest of the world? Maybe a better question is, given the inevitability of digital book downloads exceeding that of print purchases, how do we transition a reluctant society of paper lovers to digital devices? This, I believe, is where Google Books could help...

Google Books is an effort to catalogue and make searchable all the worlds books. It's like an online version of the library of Congress, for the entire planet. Like the Kindle, I wanted to use Google Books; I wanted to love it. It was fun, for a while, searching through their massive library of information, discovering digitized books in every genre imaginable. However, having never made a purchase, never downloaded a book, and never read more than a page or two on my laptop screen, it seemed like Google Books was a cool solution to an unknown problem. That is, until I started using the My Library feature.

With My Library, one can add books to their "Google Books Library", storing a list of books in the cloud and (here's the key) searching through them at will. While at first I used it for maintaining my reading wish list, I soon discovered a more powerful use... adding books which physically reside in my house to My Library. I first did this to digitally search a book for a quote I only vaguely remembered, and didn't have the energy to manually sift through 400 pages of text to find. It was then I realized that by adding every book I own to My Library in Google Books, I could digitally search my entire printed library, finding exactly the desired information, finding exactly where said information for resides, and going right to my bookshelf to pull out the book and see the surrounding text in my favorite medium: print. It was, for me, a revelation... the perfect unity of the printed and digital world, and perhaps the single greatest reason I'm willing to now move future purchases to my digital Kindle library.

I still buy paper books. I still love the smell, the feel, the sound of a turning page. But with My Library in Google Books, I no longer feel stuck using a dying format. Frankly, I'm a bit excited that my future library will be searchable, and won't require me to haul old boxes of books to the garage to make room for new ones. What Google Books helped me realize is that the true nature of a book is not the weight of the pages, but the strength of the content... and it doesn't matter if its digital or printed to extract that, you simply have to sit down and read.

"Any time we expose our knowledge, we also are exposing our ignorance and our blindspots." --Ralph Carlisle

2010-01-14T14:39:00.002-05:00

Ralph Carlisle, a quality assurance guru and true Modern da Vinci, was kind enough to provide his valuable knowledge and insight into why software testing is a necessary, but also valuable human endeavor.

One thing I've noticed about software and programming, is how similar it is to literature/writing. We are only ever able to create what we know - it is very difficult (if not impossible) to write a story about something that we know nothing about (usually we always know a smidgeon about it...), and the same applies to programming and software. The way that we design software reflects our knowledge about what the software does--a photo-editing program will reveal our knowledge of photography, lighting, pixels, shading, etc. A solar system simulator will reveal our knowledge of physics, astronomy, chemistry, etc. And of course, any time we expose our knowledge, we also are exposing our ignorance and our blindspots.

The history of astronomy is a useful example - for a very long time (~1500 years or so), Aristotle's theories prevailed. The earth was assumed to be the center of the universe, and the stars revolved around the sky, locked in crystal spheres. The universe did not change, and was eternal. There was no evidence for this, just philosophical preference. Over time, the Aristotelian model was overturned, and a new one was put in its place, with planets orbiting around the earth in perfect circles, and occassionally performing neat loop-de-loops in space (in order for the theory to match observation). There was a problem with the theory though, in that it was unable to predict the appearance of Mars, so it was abandoned when Newtonian physics came out. Newton was quite easily able to predict Mars, thankyouverymuch--but.... that darn Mercury! Newtonian predictions for Mercury were always a bit off, and eventually Newton had to give way to Einstein and General Relativity. Mercury and Mars orbits were now easily predicted with incredible accuracy.

Frequently our assumptions are wrong, and things do not work as we intended. In software, this is especially bad, because software is a vague, abstract thing - an idea, nothing more. Software companies want to ship software that is high in quality - one which doesn't have any bugs. This is either done by testing the bugs out of the product or by preventing the bugs from getting into the product in the first place. Both approaches are difficult and time consuming to do.

The main problem (as I've been alluding to) is that bugs are essentially blind spots in our knowledge. The software misbehaves because the developer did not have a clear understanding of what it needed to do, or of the problem it was trying to solve, etc. Teaching ourselves to look in our blind spots is hard, but fruitful because in doing so we have an opportunity to redefine ourselves - one step forward at a time.

Modern da Vinci would like to thank Ralph for providing this blogs first post from an external source. Please provide your thoughts and comments on Ralphs post below!

"The effective exploitation of his powers of abstraction must be regarded as one of the most vital activities of a competent programmer." --Edsger W. Dijkstra

2010-01-12T22:31:00.001-05:00

Having spent over 15 years at a computer terminal writing programs of all shapes and sizes, I found my own comment in a previous post somewhat curious. Apparently, programming is "oddly satisfying". After the surprise found in my own statement, and I had to ask myself... why?

Years ago, a book called Mindstorms: Children, Computers, And Powerful Ideas impressed me, and now supplies some key pointers toward answering the question at hand. Mindstorms discusses computers as a tool to aid thinking and explores the interaction between humans (specifically children) and computers, making revealing statements regarding the positive effect programming has on our lives.

The funny thing about programming a machine--an object that cannot think for itself--is that one must specifically instruct its every step and explicitly guide its every action. To do so, one is forced to completely understand the subject of their program. For example, you cannot ask a computer to calculate the trajectory of a bouncing ball without first fully understanding the Newtonian physics describing the balls path through space. Showing the computer a book on physics is not enough, it must be told exactly what to look for and what to do in each moment of the programs execution. Unlike reading a book or listening to someone describe a new concept, programming puts knowledge into action, forcing understanding or forcing one to admit defeat.

In other words, programming is the translation of thought into language, language into code, and code into output. But there's more to it than that... Receiving these outputs provides immediate reenforcement of ones understanding for the topic at hand, or lack thereof. Since programs are created by people, like people, no program can ever be completely free of error. But for a deterministic set of inputs, one can immediately see whether they have reduced those errors to an acceptable level, a reflection of self that satisfies the ego. In other words, programming helps one see errors in their thinking and actions, revealing exactly where their understanding breaks down in a non-emotional, non-threatening way.

Programming is, in many cases, a series of constant failures leading to success. Success in programming requires instructing the computer, finding this instruction is error-filled, and fixing these errors. It requires one to fail, fail, and fail again. And while in many other aspects of society, failing is looked upon in a negative light, programming instills the value of "try, try again" until you get it right in a meaningful and immediately realizable manner.

What do we conclude from these thoughts? I believe a person, no matter what age, can better grasp their personal limitations in thought and creativity and knowledge through programming. They can reduce their fear of failing while simultaneously boosting their ego, one bug-fix at a time. Ultimately, they can become more knowledgeable in subjects unknown and, by being forced to "teach" a dumb terminal what to do, can better understand themselves and the world around them.

"There is no exercise of the intellect which is not, in the final analysis, useless." --Pierre Menard

2010-01-11T12:00:00.042-05:00

One week into reading The Intellectual Devotional by Kidder & Oppenheim, I find it to be a refreshing resource for faded knowledge, and a great basis for researching unknown topics. I first discovered the idea of a "daily devotional" when gifted Butler's Lives Of The Saints. The concept of digesting a small dose of information each day was not foreign, but I'd yet to see it executed in the book form. Kidder & Oppenheim's book is, like Butler's, well constructed and uses the daily devotional concept to subtly build a framework of knowledge within you based in seven key areas of knowledge: Visual arts, science, history, literature, music, philosophy, and religion.

After merely 7 days and 7 doses of intellect, this devotional has already inspired half a dozen or so creative ideas and has pushed me to further research the presented topics. I've felt compelled to research topics that would not have otherwise captured my interest. In that aspect, this book is a success. I'm looking forward to the next 358 days of study. Next January, I'll report on how, if at all, this book has had an affect on my year and my studies. For now, this can safely be considered a useful tool in any Modern da Vinci's tool chest.

"The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds." --Theo Jansen

2010-01-10T11:17:00.000-05:00

A true Modern da Vinci? I cannot say. But his kinetic sculptures are a sight to behold, and inspirational to design.

"Isn't it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?" --Confucius

2010-01-08T13:31:00.002-05:00

If anyone knows an optimal program to find the largest product of n adjacent integers from an arbitrarily sized grid of integers, please don't tell me... I'm solving problem 11 on Project Euler.net as you read this.

My study of math after college truly started with The Colossal Book of Mathematics: Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems. Having never paid attention to the finer points of mathematics in school, topics like differential equations and linear algebra challenged me. What's worse, though I've been recently motivated to study these topics, digging through problem after problem, reviewing equation after equation, and pretending to understand obtuse mathematical symbols was completely mind-numbing. It wasn't until discovering this book that the fun of math enabled me to learn such elusive concepts. For example, can you find an equation for the number of triangles that can be formed by toothpicks of n colors (calculus of finite differences)? I can now, and that makes me strangely happy.

Math is a strange beast for someone who must put study to practice in order to learn. Often, textbook problems are solved for the sole reason of working your head-muscle. And, when it comes to exercising, I'd much rather move heavy boxes between rooms than lift weights so I can actually see my accomplishment. In the world of math, software programming is my equivalent to moving boxes. Something oddly satisfying is evoked when the computer, instructed by my program, spits out the correct answer to a tough problem. So where does one locate problems that advances their math knowledge and utilize basic programming skills?

Project Euler is exactly the answer to this question. Without getting into its history, Project Euler is a series of increasingly challenging math problems, many of which require writing a computer program to find a solution. The site forces one to first research, then practice. It cleverly asks one to learn math and prove it, one problem at a time. If there's such a thing called success-based learning, I'd say Project Euler nailed it. With every problem solved, a satisfying green checkmark appears next to the problem listing, along with links to forums and, in some cases, documentation on how to solve the problem in a variety aways. The structure of this site is brilliant, forcing one first to solve the problem by any means necessary, then divulging more elegant or optimal solutions after.

Having solved 13 problems total thus far, I now have a generalized program for finding the largest factor of a 12-digit composite number in less than 0.16 seconds. Oh, and a program for finding the largest palindrome based on the product of two integers. Yes, you could say that I'm addicted, which is exactly what I always wanted--to find a meaningful way to be a math and programming junkie in training. The deeper insight into mathematics, programming, and application optimization combined with discussions with mathematicians and computer scientists is something I believe da Vinci would greatly value today. I'd highly encourage anyone of the same mindset to participate. However, if you do, please don't sneak me the answer to problem 11. I haven't solved it... yet.

"He who is ignorant of other languages is ignorant of his own." --Goethe

2010-01-07T20:57:00.001-05:00

I've always been interested in foreign languages. Being a natural-born US Citizen, foreign language means anything not English. My studies began early in high school, taking course after course in Spanish and ultimately attaining a Spanish minor in college. The funny thing is, after 14 semesters of formal training, I still can't speak fluently.

At the inception of this blog, I began questioning just how meaningful language studies are. After all, while fascinating from a cultural and raw-knowledge point of view, an intense learning curve and lack of actionable avenues makes language learning appear somewhat self-serving. Even as I read through Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a fantastic story/commentary on the importance of literature and its affect on mankind, I began to think my language studies were fruitless. In this book, one of the characters, Granger, tells the main character Montag, "The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching. The lawn cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime." More so, Leonardo da Vinci himself even said "Just as iron rusts from disuse... even so does inaction spoil the intellect." So why bother learning something, why bother applying myself to gaining knowledge in a subject that will have little consequence on world around me?

Sure, there's practical, economical, and cultural benefits to learning a new language such as Spanish. There's even the opportunity to brighten another's day by trying to communicate with them in their native tongue. But these reasons alone don't ignite a passion within to motivate my studies. Right as I was about to lose all hope (okay, I exaggerate), CNN struck me with a health article revealing a study on web surfing and brain activity. In short, this article revealed that actively pushing your intelligence, such as searching the Internet if you are not technically savvy, engages the mind and pushes your brain to grow. Towards the end of the article, they specifically refer to language learning as a frustrating task for the mind, helping it expand to higher limits. In other words, a challenging/frustrating new undertaking builds your neurons and ultimately keeps your most important tool, your brain, razor sharp.

Reinvigorated, but not fully convinced, I continued my search for meaning until I found the quote in the subject of this post, and a profound statement in a blog post by David Stack: "Language is what makes us human. It is the medium we use to share our thoughts with the world. [...] learning another language is like discovering another world." I could not agree more.

Now, back to studying Spanish (again)...

"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." --Francis Bacon

2010-01-06T23:31:00.001-05:00

I'm going to go out on a limb here by making this Modern da Vinci post partially based in spirituality. It's unavoidable, given the topics discussed in the book I've just finished. Though discussions of faith often turn some away, I feel it is important to explore the spiritual side of life when striving to grow as a person. That said, please comment and enlighten if you disagree. Arguments of why not, are as important as arguments of why.

The Dalai Lama is a true modern thinker and spiritual leader. In his book, The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality, not only does he explore the spiritual aspect of life, but he dives into discussions on the science of the mind, the formation of our universe, and how we might strengthen our moral human fiber with this information. What I found most interesting is something I've often found true. Though against the judgement of a few of my intellectual peers, I hold that introspection and subjective thought can be just as valid and important scientific piece of data as external objective datas. Most importantly though is the conclusion that science and spirituality, if either is to be truly realized, must be both recognized as individual parts of a whole.

Before reading this book, I had finished reading The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet. Also a fantastic book, it set the stage for what the Dalai Lama's has to offer. I'd recommend reading the Quantum and the Lotus first, as it provides a more accessible narrative through a dialogue between a scientist and buddhist (each trained in the others art).

So what do I conclude from these studies? What do I take away? How do I put my signature on the world with what I've learned? I now strive to quiet my mind so that the "big picture" is easier to grasp. I've learned that we are all part of one universe, and the universe is a part of us, and that love or hatred shown to another only hurts oneself. It's profound and borderline cheesy, I know, but there's no doubt that these books have made their mark (however small) on my thoughts and actions in life.

In case you didn't notice, this blog is not a formal book review. I only aim to explain how these books have changed my being, and urge you to read these books yourself and bring your conclusions to this site. Have you read either of these books? What are your thoughts? How have they changed you, and how have you used this newfound knowledge to change the world? Please comment and enlighten us all!

"I know that many will call this useless work." --Leonardo da Vinci

2010-01-05T21:36:00.002-05:00

The scope and diversity of da Vinci's work is borderline miraculous when compared to the narrow breadth of knowledge found in any modern individual. Through an ongoing discovery of the various subjects, technological marvels, and cultural advances humanity has created since da Vinci's time, we too can become as diverse in thought as he. More importantly, we might be inspired to learn and create marvels of our own. This blog, this digital notebook, aims to find the depth of knowledge, the strength of character, the broadness of experience, and the unmatched intelligence which so easily graced the great Leonardo da Vinci.

If you aspire to engage with modern scholars, to deepen your understanding of human achievement, to turn information into invention, follow this blog to become a Modern da Vinci Apprentice. Doing so might allow us to build upon the great works of our generation that would inspire the greatest thinker and inventor of all time. If I can share my knowledge and thoughts with you, and you with each other, we can then begin to place our signatures upon this world in which we live.

Welcome to Modern da Vinci!