That Decisive Qualitative Edge

So I am reading this book called “Israel’s Edge.”

It’s basically about their elite genius program, “Talpiot,” in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).  

Each year the program accepts only the top 50 out of 100,000 graduating high school students for a 9-year commitment. 

There are the mathematicians, physicists, and computer scientists that help give the IDF the cutting edge in military R&D and other innovations. 

These are the brain trust behind Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and Trophy tank active protection system and many more both military and industrial advances. 

This program was born after the almost disastrous 1973 Yom Kippur War where Israel misjudged the intelligence and the advances in their enemies capability and almost lost the war. 

I like the philosophy of General Yitzhak Ben-Israel who understands the importance of challenging the status quo and looking differently at critical situations and avoiding confirmation bias:

My method is not to look for supporting evidence. I look for refuting evidence…you see one white swan, then a second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. You still can’t conclude that all swans are white…nature builds us to be inductive, to make generalizations from past experience…this standard way of scientific thinking can be limiting and destructive.”

Instead we must be continuously curious, think outside the box, be creative, and innovate. 

Especially, where we don’t have a quantitative advantage like with Israel surrounded by many enemies, then we must rely on a very sharp qualitative edge. 😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal) 

Cool Atom Puzzle

Thought this was a pretty stunning puzzle of The Atom. 

With sections for: composition, atomic model, thermonuclear fusion, periodic table, radioactivity, positron emission tomography, fission of uranium, nuclear reactor, and atomic scientists. 

Wow that’s a lot of information for a Puzzle and one very nicely designed at that. 

Congrats on putting this 1,000 piece beauty together. 

These things make me realize how very much I still have to learn–and in this case, it starts with all these small things. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Thought this was a pretty stunning puzzle of The Atom. 

With sections for: composition, atomic model, thermonuclear fusion, periodic table, radioactivity, positron emission tomography, fission of uranium, nuclear reactor, and atomic scientists. 

Wow that’s a lot of information for a Puzzle and one very nicely designed at that. 

Congrats on putting this 1,000 piece beauty together. 

These things make me realize how very much I still have to learn–and in this case, it starts with all these small things. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

OOOC…Order Out Of Chaos

Life is not meant to be chaos (or partially that is). 

That’s why G-d created a natural order and rules of nature. 

From the laws of physics to repeatable mathematical formulations, the universe may be infinitely large and complex, but it is not without standards of function. 

According to the Law of Causality, the world is a pattern of action and reaction (or effect), where everything is a consequence of something prior. 

Even in Chaos Theory, we find that in apparent randomness, there are underlying patterns. 

Absent a miracle, the sun rises every morning and sets every evening. 

Yet, nature and man can also bring catastrophe whereby the world seems like one big chaotic mess. 

Whether from illness, natural disaster, or conflict, our world, can in a moment be turned on it’s head. 

Moreover, it’s all predictably unpredictable. 

And it’s up to us to make Order Out Of Chaos (OOOC). 

This is where many of us either sink or swim. 

When the chips are down, and all the world seems to be imploding with dysfunction, this is where we need to find and make sense and order.

Bad things happen even to good people. 

Good people need to find the faith and the strength, and with G-d’s help, rise to the challenge. 

Easier said than done, for sure. 

In the chaos of things, time may stop and everything becomes a blur.  

We may become like a deer in the headlights–frozen with panic and truly not knowing what to do. 

But if we can just find which way is up. 

Then we can redirect ourselves–rising from the depths of despair to the surface, where the sun is shining and we can gasp a breath again. 

Even around our dysfunction is function to be had. 

Solve a problem, do something constructive, and help others…it’s all part of making order out of chaos.  😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Rockville Science Fair – 30th Year!

(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)

Happy Just The Way We Are

Great speaker today at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Mike Reiss, producer and writer for the hugely successful Simpson show–the longest-running series on primetime TV with 30 seasons and over 600 episodes!

The topic was “The Science Behind The Simpsons.”

Whether the guest was Stephen Hawkings or Leonard Nimoy–there was no shortage of scientists and science in this animated, comedy show that taught us much about life.  

The video clip above was a short capture of the Simpsons singing “We are happy just the way we are.”

Incremental change and continuous improvement is so important to our growth and maturation in life.

Yet, there is also a lot to be said for being happy with what you have and who you are. 

There is so much to be grateful for and plenty to enjoy at the moment. 

Many people are on the proverbial roller coaster to nowhere.  

It’s nice to get off the roller coaster and finally be somewhere that makes you happy and fulfilled. 

Mary Poppins get hit by the airplane at the end of the skit, and you know what, she’s not even missed. 😉

(Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)

What is The Secret of Laserman

 

This is a terrific performance by Laserman. 

He seems to break all the laws of physics and manipulates laser light beams as if it is both a vapor and a solid. 

He stops and redirects it, yet at the same time he pushes and twirls it–huh? 

While I am not a fan of the movie Tron–I think I actually fell asleep in the theater (and more than once), this performance more than makes up for it. 

My favorite piece is at 1:39 when Laserman picks the laser light up out of the stage–people start yelling as no one can believe it!–and he starts twirling it around like a baton now. 

Then at 1:48, he breaks the light beam in two and starts twirling both and sticking them back in the stage only to start bending the light again. 

To me, this performance is really cool and inspiring–it  makes me think of a bright future for all of us–one that is agile, high-tech, heart-pounding, and where natural laws are almost made to be broken. 

Someone please tell me how he does this…I promise, I won’t tell 😉