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In Advice to a Young Scientist, Nobel Prize-winning biologist Peter Medawar shares practical advice for people planning to embark on a career in the sciences—and curious people in general. Here, we summarize some of Medawar’s key insights.
A few months ago, I stumbled upon this post where someone spent 9 years making a shed . No knocks on them, but it’s not even a particularly good-looking shed.
Planetfall was yesterday's public release, but of course I've spent the past few weeks concentrating on Infidel. A couple of days I came across the most egregious bug I've yet seen in an Infocom game. This bug is extremely difficult to detect ...
When I’ve listened the most effectively to people, it’s because I was intensely curious—I was trying to build a detailed, precise understanding of what was going on in their head.
The prospect of building a one sheet kayak, as presented in the original Prism section , has aroused some interest. The original "maximum volume" kayak Prism would not be suitable for a kayaking beginner, however, unless he or she was equipped with excellent balancing abilitites. This design is an attempt to overcome…
I have an interesting problem: How do I shoehorn "hired by The Internet for a full year to work on Free Software" into my resume?
And, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of Heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun. Wil…
My $200, 12-year-old Thinkpad has outlasted two high-end Macbooks
On finally having to upgrade my iPhone
Since the beginning of September, I've been searching for a job after being laid off from my previous role at the end of June. The market is tough, lot’s of fake jobs, so it’s been pretty challenging to even land an interview. Still, I managed to get a few, and, well, not all of them were great — though not…
In a previous post I outlined why programmers should strive to be good at one thing rather than everything. In this post I discuss how to ...
If you don’t like email, try a different strategy.
Thoughts on an experiment that I've been running for about a month.
Discussing icon design, and commenting on some passages of Apple's Adopting Liquid Glass document.
Some of the most revolutionary new ideas come from spotting something old to leave out rather than thinking of something new to put in. The Sony Walkman , for instance, added nothing significantly new to the cassette player, it just left out the amplifier and speakers, thus creating a whole new way of listening to…
When I was fifteen, I worked for a full-service gas station and auto repair shop. I know what you're thinking (unless you're in New Jersey or Oregon), "what is a full-service gas station?" Yes, there was a time when a smiling gas jockey would greet your car and fill up your gas. You didn't
It's always very tricky when people who aren't educators start banging on about what should or shouldn't be taught in schools. My own school days are but a hazy memory of hormones, angst, and boring homework. Yet here I am, pontificating. With the current "fad" of encouraging children to learn to code, I thought I…
Chest fridge Using vertical doors in refrigeration devices is an act against the Nature of Cold Air. Understanding and cooperating with Nature rather than acting against it leads to much better efficiency. My chest fridge (Vestfrost freezer turned into a fridge) consumes about 0.1 kWh a day. It works only…
Don't let AI erode your focus.
This is a little embarrassing to share, but I’d rather someone else be able to spot a dangerous scam before they fall for it. So, here goes. One evening last month, my Apple Watch, iPhone, and Mac …
Why your outdated brain is making you unhappy and how to hack it.
My brand new PSU, themost complicated circuit I designed and built just recently, startedlife in October 2023. It seemed to work pretty well, at least I gott...
I finally got my hands on the micro:bit , the BBC ’s new educational computer and spiritual successor to the legendary BBC Micro , and I’m absolutely in love with its potential as a platform for learning how to code.
