RTJ profile picture

RTJ

The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason - Benjamin Franklin

About Me

Analytic mind. Artistic eye.

My Interests

I am interested in neuroendocrinology, evolution, sex differences, and the evolution of social behavior and complex systems. Recently this has lead to a casual interest in emergence and non-linear dynamic theory though I barely know enough about each of these to understand what I read.
Outside of academia I write and record my own music and am currently in a band.
I also enjoy minimalist art and design, both looking at others' and creating my own. I enjoy cooking and view cooking as a wonderful union of art and science. I also enjoy photography but have not picked up a traditional camera for years. I am now learning that taking pictures on a microscope can be just as rewarding.

I'd like to meet:

Charles Darwin, Ray Kurzweil, Richard Dawkins, George Orwell, Roger Waters, Omar A. Rodriquez-Lopez, Issac Newton, Frank Lloyd Wright, Stephen J. Gould, Maurice Ravel, Bob Moog, Siddhartha Guatama, Austrolopithicus.

Music:

I have found that as my professional interest have moved from the more abstract (religion, psychology) to the more concrete (neuroscience) my musical taste has gone in the opposite direction. I use to be turned off by the "chaos" in Bitches Brew but now I feel I understand it and crave it. I still like more traditional stuff too. I guess most importantly, I consider myself a lover of talented music. The talent might be in the songwriting, the chops, the production, but in the best bands its in all three. But people seem to just list artists here so here goes: The Mars Volta, Tool, Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd (Roger Water Era only), Jamiroquai, Miles Davis, De Facto, Thelonious Monk, Mahavisnu Orchestra, Gentle Giant, Muse, IMA Robot, Kings of Leon, Steely Dan, The Secret Machines, The Black Crowes, Ben Folds Five, Goldfrapp, Portis Head, Nikka Costa, The Chemcal Brothers, Aaron Copland, Bjork, Daft Punk, The Police, Samuel Barber, Charles Ives, The Postal Service, Led Zepplin, Radiohead, At The Drive-In, Mogwai, Booker T and the M.Gs, The Cancer Conspiracy, The Flaming Lips, Remy Shand, and most early 20th Century Classical

Movies:

Documentaries, Cartoons, Comedies.

Television:

Been downloading "Avatar" off of iTunes. I love good cartoons.

Books:

I haven't read many books lately, classes and research have too much required reading. I did read "Ender's Game" recently. Great book. I also highly recommend "Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun". Seriously, the title is accurate.

Heroes:

Dr. John I. Johnson. Dr. Marc Breedlove and Dr. Cindy Jordan. Omar A. Rodriquez Lopez. Roger Waters.

My Blog

Ground rules for future reviews

So my lovely wife Sarah and I are what is currently being refered to as "foodies" but use to be called "gourmets". We also have been shocked at the quality of the typical Michigan restaurants food an...
Posted by RTJ on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 08:52:00 PST

Obviously I'm just another Scottish, British, Jamaican, Spanish, Asian dude.

That is freakin kick ass! I got Scotty!!! I got mother f'n! Scotty AND Bob Marley AND AND Paul McCartney!!!!! I could form my own damn band from my celebrity look alikes.Bob can sing and play guitar...
Posted by RTJ on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 03:16:00 PST

Response and elaboration on Bart's "Linear and Abstract Thinking"

The admittance that these proposed divisions (Bart's abstract and linear thinkers) all have exceptions is very necessary. I'm not sure I agree with the idea hinted at the very end, which is that logi...
Posted by RTJ on Fri, 31 Mar 2006 12:51:00 PST