The tensions inherent in creativity

Gandhi, ambigrams, creativity & the power of small pieces loosely joined

Feb 21, 2009

This is an extended piece on the manner in which the web, small pieces loosely joined, can lead to “serendipitous connectabilty” (something I had written about earlier here). All this is situated in a story that connects cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstader, Oriya...

“Tipping” the Scales: When Metaphors (Quite Literally) Blur Reality

Feb 18, 2024

Should we tip machines for the work they do for us? Does that question even make sense? What follows is a reflection on metaphors, technology, deceptive design, AI and more... Read on. Metaphors and more In her book God, Human, Animal, Machine, Meghan O’Gieblyn...

Let go of what you think you know

Jan 24, 2008

An ongoing series of posters designed by graduates of University College Falmouth for the purpose of passing on advice & inspiration to first year students. You can see the entire series here... [Thanks for the link to the Daily Dish]

Connections: Photo Haiku from Summer 2016

Jan 29, 2017

For the past 17 years (with just two exceptions) my summers have been spent teaching in the MAET program. 2016 was the last time I did that, teaching in Chicago the third cohort of the MSUrbanSTEM project. The MAET program runs somewhat concurrently in three...

Space Invaders in Paris

Aug 13, 2010

France is being attacked by alien beings! This summer in France I noticed characters from 80's video games in the strangest of places. For instance, see this one, that I found while walking somewhere near the Latin Quarter in Paris. And though I took a picture of just...

4 AM: A poem

Jul 17, 2019

4 AMJuly 17, 2019 The stupid smoke detectorsBeep IncessantlyThere are two of themRunning this conversationWith each otherThrough the night Their batteries dyingOr dead Funnily enoughThey fall silent during The dayLull you into thinking It is okIt was just a glitch But...

Meta poems too

Aug 15, 2019

Layout is the first to go Lines of poetry are sacred to both the author and the reader. To alter the specific construction in line length is to alter the look and rhythm of the poem. However, as ebooks and eReading devices have become more prevalent, readers have come...

The role of Vitamin D in beta-cell function

Dec 2, 2008

Who says scientists can't have fun. I just discovered a series of videos on (where else) YouTube about scientists expressing their doctoral research through dance!!! What can be cooler than that? Check out one of the winners: The role of Vitamin D in beta-cell...

It Takes Two: A (personal) exploration

Jul 6, 2023

I had written earlier about a contest organized by Dark ‘n’ Light (an e-zine) around the theme of "IT TAKES TWO" and had shared some of my experiments, exploring this theme, using Generative AI. You can see my experiments at: It takes two: A scientific romp using AI...