. . . philosophy, classics, art, movies, literature, writing fiction and screenplays, links to my photography — and also logic, artificial intelligence, mathematics, biostatistics, medical research . . . in other words, both halves of my brain: thinking in pictures and thinking in words . . .
View the gallery containing this photo: Cloud/Skyscraper Grammar. “A walk down Michigan Avenue in Chicago one day when the clouds descended to cover the building tops—a grammar of what can happen when mist begins to obscure the angular geometry of tall buildings.”
It is part of a series on Chicago. My photos are at Smugmug.
I see no reason to segregate scientific and technical posts from humanistic ones. In my life, scientific concerns mix with ethical ones, and they shade into a philosophical interest in the nature of cognition and the nature of people. Doing science is as creative as writing fiction, and I get inspiration for both from the same gods.
You will find little here on current politics. I'm activist, but in causes not symptoms. Experience in martial arts shows me that the sure way to lose is reactivity; but if you stay cool and remember your training and what you're there for then you achieve goals and, when conflict is unavoidable, you fight and win. The idea of the liberal arts I was brought up in is that broad understanding of cultures and ideas gives you deeper, better goals -- making success more likely and more satisfying. Negatively, the hysteria since 9/11 shows how a country frightened and reactive can destroy itself more than an enemy can. I'm trying to contribute by changing the terms of discourse. See Hyperforum and Thoukydides. . . . As Allen Ginsberg wrote, "America, I'm putting my queer shoulder to the wheel."
One fact shouldn't require special mention; but -- given the nature of the society in which I've grown up and lived -- it often does: namely that I'm gay. You'll see it in some posts and in some links below. I'm proud of being gay and do not hide; more about this on the About page. Gayness is one topic among many here that interest me. The proportion of gay subject matter is shown in the "Table of Contents." Posts on gay subjects are similar to the others and reflect an aspect of my life and world.
Climate 411
Link for [marriage is so gay] t-shirt.Subscribe 
If you're interested in a feed on a specific topic, use the "Table of Contents," above, to navigate to the category you want. Then add "feed/" to the address that will appear in your location bar.
