Writing and discussing philosophy, science (including evolution), religion, media and American culture. See our current posts at My Blog: Dangerous Intersection
I am proud to say that I have been a bicycle commuter for 8 years, thereby sparing the burning of almost 10,000 miles worth of gasoline. I've played music professionally in the past (guitar and keyboard), though I'm limited to an occasional coffee house these days. I very much enjoy spending time with my two daughters (aged 6 and 7). Fixing things around the house sometimes serves as an fruitful escape from my more usual language-oriented work.
Those who are interested in discussing philosophy, science (including evolution), religion, media and American culture. Those who aren't afraid to ask serious questions and go where the evidence leads them.
My Blog: Dangerous Intersection
***EMAIL ALERT - August 22, 2006*** Myspace email has been full of glitches. I see that I am receiving mail, but I am unable to see the email or read it. I had made 3 requests to MySpace to fix this problem. If you need to email me DON'T use myspace email. Instead, use this address: [email protected]
My favorite styles are jazz and folk. My favorite musicians are Wes Montgomery, Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny, Bob James, Sting, Norah Jones, Steely Dan, Shawn Colvin, Coldplay, most of the Putumayo collections, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Doobie Brothers and Chicago. On the classical side, Ravel, Mozart, and performers Hillary Hahn and Yo Yo Ma. Favorite albums include Garden State sound track, Hourglass and October Road (James Taylor), Kind of Blue (Miles Davis), Midnight Blues (Wynton Marsalis), The Way Up (Pat Methany), Maiden Voyage (Herbie Hancock) and Tea for the Tillerman (Cat Stevens).
To Kill a Mockingbird, Star Wars, Nature Documentaries (e.g., David Attenborough), Groundhog Day, Garden State, Life is Beautiful, Pride and Prejudice, Cool Hand Luke, Winged Migration, Spiderman, Gandhi, Monty Python's Meaning of Life, To Kill a Mockingbird, Casablanca, The Grapes of Wrath, Rear Window, Back to the Future, Lifeboat, Annie Hall, Jaws, The Dirty Dozen, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Raiders of the Lost Ark, It's a Wonderful Life, Citizen Kane. There are so many good movies . . .
Scrubs. The Tick (cartoon superhero series - no longer on the air)
Our Inner Ape by Frans de Waal (2005) Metaphors We Live By (2003) and Philosophy in the Flesh (1999), by Johnson and Lakoff. Breaking the Spell, by Daniel Dennett (2006) Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine (1996), by Randolph M. Nesse and George C. Williams, The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution, By Richard Dawkins (2004) The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design (1996) A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love, by Richard Dawkins (2004); A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, Intelligence Reframed, by Howard Gardner (2000) The Human Story, by Dunbar, Robin (2005) The Evolution of Culture : An Interdisciplinary View, Edited by Robin Dunbar (1999). Human Evolutionary Psychology, by Louise Barrett, Robin Dunbar (2002) Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language, by Robin Dunbar (1997) The Handicap Principle: A Missing Piece of Darwin's Puzzle by Amotz Zahavi, et al (1997) What Evolution Is, by Ernst Mayr (2002) The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature, by Geoffrey F. Miller (2001) The Bible According to Mark Twain: Irreverent Writings on Eden, Heaven, and the Flood (1996) A Clearing in the Forest: Law, Life, and Mind, by Winter, Steven L. Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society, By David Sloan Wilson (2003) Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain (2005) Born to Rebel : Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives, by Frank J. Sulloway (1997) The Triumph of Sociobiology, John Alcock (2001) Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought, by Pascal Boyer (2002) Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals, by Frans de Waal (1997) Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes, by De Waal, Frans (1983) Frederick Nietzsche: The Gay Science, Beyond Good and Evil; The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life, by Joseph LeDoux (1998);How We Know What Isnt So, by Thomas Gillovich (1991); The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making, by Scott Plous (1993); Human Inference: Strategies and Shortcomings of Social Judgment, by Richard Nisbett and Lee Ross (1980); M.P. Palmarini Inevitable Illusions: How Mistakes of Reason rule Our Minds, pp. 19-20 (1994); Neurophilosophy, by Patricia Churchland; Reasoning and Decision Making, ed. P.N. Johnson-Laird and E. Shafir., (1993); A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, John Paulos, p. 14 (1995); Judgment under Uncertainty : Heuristics and Biases, Daniel Kahneman, Paul Slovic and Amos Tverksy (1982); The Person and the Situation, by Lee Ross, Richard E. Nisbett (1991).
I discuss many of the books I'm reading on My Blog: Dangerous Intersection
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Many of the people I admire are dead. How can that be? Because they wrote wonderful books when they were alive.I think its amazing that someone can pass on important ideas long after they die by taking the time to carefully write. The people I look up to most include Martin Luther King, Charles Darwin, Jane Goodall, Carl Sagan, Helen Keller, David Hume, Wes Montgomery (jazz guitarist), Amy Goodman, Bill Moyers, Mark Twain, Alan Turing, Thomas Paine, Harriet Tubman, Daniel Dennett, Frederick Douglass.Modern hero: Stephen ColbertI also look up to many living men and women for inspiration and guidance. Many of these heroes include teachers. Good teachers give a great gift to their students: they teach them how to teach themselves for the rest of their lives.