Introduction

I am a learner.

One of my best strategies for learning is teaching. When I teach, I must synthesize my knowledge into a comprehensible form that others may understand, and it is through this synthesis that I truly begin to understand that which I am learning, as I organize my “knowledge” into chunks that make sense for others and for myself. Additionally, you ask questions, forcing me to really think about what it is I think I know. And when I come to something I don’t know that you asked about, I realize I should have already been asking your question, and I then look for the answer. I win no matter what.

In my posts, I will teach you what I know, tell you what I think I know and what I want to know, and ask you what I should know.

I warn you that my posts won’t necessarily be for the faint of heart (xkcd style). I will touch on subjects that include college-level science along with elementary-level philosophy. Nevertheless, I promise you that I will answer any of your questions as a response in future postings because I want you to understand the science, my thought process, or simply my use of grammar. Initial posts will probably assume a complete understanding of the subject matter, and when you seek clarification I will gladly make this structural foundation of my other post the new focus of my new post. Indeed, I seek this kind of feedback because it will also provide subjects for future postings and with luck, drive a “conversation” that leads us to a level of understanding we would have never reached alone. If I speak of some evolutionary adaptation and use the concept of natural selection to shape my thoughts and you don’t know about natural selection, your response will then allow me to focus my next post on natural selection. When I summon genetics to explain a concept of natural selection, your question regarding something about genetics will then allow me to focus my next post on probability, penetrance, Gregor Mendel, stem cells, Jurassic Park, biochemistry, or any number of subjects. In this way I will both enhance your understanding of the initial post, but I will also bring to light any number of amazing things underlying or standing beside that first thought. I will engage my mind and yours as we travel through the wonderful worlds of science, politics, philosophy, economics, and well, life.

Let us read, respond, debate, and discover all aspects of the world we live in.