Category Archives: research

A happy and healthy new year…

Being the Jewish New year (5772 since the world was created, of course), although I am totally secular, I find myself taking a couple days off my “Denisovich” lifestyle to visit with family. It seems that one of the main … Continue reading

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Announcing: the first documented Occam’s Typewriter scientific collaboration

I am very pleased to announce–after many months of work, revisions, and re-revisions–(to the best of my knowledge) the first scientific collaboration born out of Occam’s Typewriter. After all, in addition to all the peripheral fun of being a scientist … Continue reading

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One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich–no, no, in my life

For the record, I had actually planned this blog for some time, but for one reason or another, never got around to writing and posting it. With the furor over scientists’ approach to work in the lab still fresh from … Continue reading

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Decisions, decisions…

Books have always been dear to me. As a child/young adult, I skipped directly to adult books and was known to read 7-8 different books in parallel (now 3-4 is my limit + audiobooks for the car, and the new … Continue reading

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Now I Can Retire: the measure of all things

Generally speaking, scientists do not appear to be happy people. And by scientists, I refer to those actively doing research at academic institutions. No hard feelings for those who are not–I have no experience with industry, and my impression is … Continue reading

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One morning, the phone in the lab rings

Revenge can be sweet. It doesn’t have to be for anything really bad, or serious. Sometimes it tastes just as good in answer to a bit of attitude, some haughtiness, someone getting too big for his/her britches. Or in this … Continue reading

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Separating science and religion

When I was an undergraduate student in Jerusalem, I held a part-time job and worked full time in the summer one year as a bellboy and doorman at the Jerusalem Sheraton-Plaza Hotel. The multi-faceted experiences that I had could probably … Continue reading

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Advice on taking advice

Last week I pontificated wrote about my views on the traits that are necessary for a scientist to survive and indeed thrive in today’s world. And while there seems to be agreement that “luck” “fate” and “opportunity” are certainly useful … Continue reading

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Resurgence and Resilience

There’s nothing like nature on a fine weekend to revitalize oneself after a rough week in the trenches laboffice. This weekend, we began Friday evening with a trip to the Neale Woods observatory to view the night sky telescopically–in particular … Continue reading

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Egocentric and Eccentric–scientists and politicians

Scientists are well known for the eccentricity. Bill Bryson’s wonderful book “A Short History of Nearly Everything” gives some wonderful accounts of the scientists whose seminal findings these past 400 years are the basis of modern science. As one example, … Continue reading

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