Writing

Almost everyone has heard of genetics in one way or another. But by treating chains of acids only as an encrypted set of traits of our organisms, we miss a great deal of what is happening, if not everything.

In just two quotes: one from Bertrand Russell about Bishop Colenso and the Zulus, and one from Saint Augustine about the vice of curiosity.

Heading to the kitchen this morning, I took my laptop with me so I would have something to read or watch while waiting for water to boil for tea and crispbread to toast.

Native Australians kept captive dingos as companions, watchdogs, and even as living blankets, giving rise to the expression "five-dog night" to mean a very cold night.

Это сложно представить: где-то на скучных задворках одной из галактик кружилось наше Солнце, а рядом с ним маленький зелёно-голубой мирок, который мы называем Землёй.

I have always been interested in people who show themselves not in one narrow field, but in many. And the greater the difference between those fields, the more interesting it is.

If William of Malmesbury can be trusted, once, when John was dining with the king, the king asked: "What separates a Scot from a sot?" John answered: "Only the width of the dinner table!"

Asked what he would do if he had six months to live, Isaac Asimov answered: "Type faster."

What kind of physicist picks locks for fun, and wins the Nobel by working out the wobble of a cafeteria plate?

Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live — John F. Woods.