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The Ten Commandments of Running a Business
10 simple rules to follow for running a business!
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Grey Goo for Dummies: a Layman's Breakdown of the Realities of the Nanotechnology "Worst Case" Scenario
What "grey goo" means in the context of nanotechnology, explained for the layman in plain terms.
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Symmetry in Physics for Dummies Like Me
Symmetry is aesthetically beautiful, but there's a lot more to it than just good looks. Symmetry can be used to make predictions and discoveries in science, too.
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Is It Possible that the Universe Bounces?
Want to have your mind blown as you're falling asleep? Consider the cyclic model of the universe, in which everything is annihilated periodically, only to be created once again anew.
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Olber's Paradox for Dummies Like Me
Olbers' Paradox is one of my favorite concepts in physics to think about, even though it is now considered resolved. Looking back at the history a bit, we find an unexpected source for solution.
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The First Person to Live to Be 200 Years Old is Alive Today
Want to live to be 200? What if I told you that your quality of life well into your 100s could be higher than it is today? Radical life extension is taking a great leap forward right this minute.
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What is the "Theory of Everything" in Physics?
Why is unification such a big deal? What's a "theory of everything", and why do physicists care so much about it? Here's a very brief history of unifications so far, and where we may be headed.
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The Higgs Boson for Dummies Like Me
What the heck is the Higgs boson, and what's the Higgs field? This will be a lot easier to understand than you might think, and at the very least, you'll be able to sleep easier!
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Einstein's Most Famous Equation for Dummies Like Me
What did Einstein mean with his most famous equation? If you're having trouble sleeping and would like to know, here's a little help!
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Is the Universe Like "The Matrix"? Explained for Dummies Like Me.
Is it possible that we're living in a simulated universe? It might be more conceivable than you think. Here's why!
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When Will the Technological Singularity Happen?
Perhaps transhumanists (or "singularitarians") are asking the wrong questions. Maybe we shouldn't be asking when the technological singularity will happen, but rather how long it has been happening.
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What Is Nanotechnology or "Nanotech"?
Nanotechnology is not a complicated notion, but it sure can sound fancy. If you've heard about it but you'd like to learn a little more, here's a quick primer on nanotech.
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The Anthropic Principle for Dummies Like Me
Why are all the numbers having to do with the universe so perfectly suited for intelligent life to develop? We'll take a look at the anthropic principle and the multiverse theory very briefly.
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Staying Connected in a Rapidly Accelerating World
What separates human beings from all the rest of the animal species today is that we are connected in a way like never before, all across the world. How did this happen, and where are we headed?
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How to Set SMART Goals and Achieve Them
A common mistake a lot of people make is to set their own personal goals far too high. Here's a compelling argument for doing the opposite.
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Empty Space for Dummies Like Me
Gazing out in wonder at the immensity of the universe, or peering within at the scale of the atomic particles, it's important to note that it's almost all empty space.
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Is the Universe Like a Ms. Pac Man Game?
Physicists often talk about a "finite but unbounded" universe. What does this mean? More importantly, can thinking about it help you fall asleep?
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What Should You Know Before Flying for the First Time?
Sitting at the airport, I looked around and was startled to realize I was far better prepared than almost everyone for every step of the journey. Here are things I do differently than most.
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What Does it Mean to Say that Gravity is Weak?
Sort of a "Physics for Dummies" look at the force of gravity. What makes it so "weak" when we obviously feel its powerful effects every day? Doesn't gravity dominate the universe?
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A Conversation on Consciousness: Futurism and Philosophy
Consciousness uploading, the dualism problem, and a wild philosophical and scientific discussion of things to come as the technological singularity approaches.
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Dark Energy and Dark Matter for Dummies Like Me
From dark matter to dark energy to the very fabric of spacetime itself, we may have a lot to learn about the universe. What do we actually know?
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How to Change Your Habits and Get More Stuff Done
Three quick, simple tips (okay, they'll take some time to implement, but you can get the concepts right away!) can change the way you're doing things on a daily basis.
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How to Be the Boss of Your Phone
It's the dawn of a new era of productivity, but at what cost? Is your phone the boss of you, or vice versa? Take control of your phone in just three easy steps here.
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Thinking with Jiu Jitsu and in a Distracting World
I found myself thinking about how I come up with ideas, the very action behind inspiration. What I came up with surprised me. Here are the three ways I think.
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40-Year-Old Athlete's Rules to Staying Healthy
This is the plan that has worked really well for me. I am over the age of 40, and I continue to remain very active.
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How to Start Using Passive Income
My own personal experiences with earning passive income thus far, and where I'd like to head in the near (and far) future
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How I Quit Drinking, Changed My Habits, and Became More Productive
Nearly six years ago, I quit drinking. Over the course of the last five years, I've increased my productivity dramatically, accomplishing business and personal goals galore. Here's how I did it.
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The Speed of Light for Dummies Like Me
When I'm having trouble sleeping at night, I try to make sense of some of the most complicated concepts in physics and relativity. The speed of light is one of my all time favorites.
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How to Keep Ringworm, Staph, and MRSA Away From Your BJJ Gym
Protecting yourself from the heebie-jeebies is absolutely crucial when training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The onus is on gym owners, as well as on individual practitioners, to prevent skin infections.
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3 Ways to Help Rescue Dogs
If you have a big heart for our four-legged furry friends and want to help out with making the quality of a dog's life better, here are three simple ways you can make a huge impact.
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One Way to Fix Dachshund High Liver Values
Our miniature Dachshund dog, Hallie, passed away earlier this year. However, we were able to give her four great years, and in spite of what the vets said, we fixed her high liver values with diet.
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Facebook Scrabble Winning Strategies
Do you have an excellent vocabulary, but find yourself losing at online Scrabble to someone who lacks your word mastery? Here are some tips to help "game the system" in playing Scrabble.
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How to Save Money When You're Broke
Whether you're interested in investing for the future, or just to have some money put away for a "rainy day" or emergency, saving money when you don't have much can be tough. Here are some tips.
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In 100 Years, Artificial Wombs Will Make Pregnancy Look Barbaric
We've seen enormous progress that has changed our mentality about the way we live. Could childbirth be next?
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Remembering Hallie Borda-Smith
This is all about our beloved miniature Dachshund, Hallie, who lighted up our lives for four years. She brought so much light to our lives, especially Alley's.
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Transcendence Movie Problems
If you've been following the news in the tech world about "brain uploading" and all the crazy progress that has been made recently, you may have already noticed a large, gaping hole in the logic.
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Ten Android Apps Every BJJ School Owner Should Have
I run a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym in Richmond, VA. We've grown a great deal over the past 2 years, and as a result, I've learned how to manage the growth with apps on my smartphone to a large degree.
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What Makes You a Cyborg?
The word "cyborg" has a dirty, nasty connotation that brings to mind sci-fi movies where the world is being destroyed by robots, or by "The Borg." But we might be closer than we want to admit...
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How to Keep Monsters from Eating You
This explains how monsters under your bed will come and get you if you're not careful, how to prevent them from getting you in the first place, and how to have fun with life.
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What Net Neutrality Means in an Accelerating World
The issue of Net Neutrality threatens to change the very nature of the Internet away from an individual-empowering one to "Big Brother" of Orwell's 1984 or from Apple's Macintosh commercial from 84.
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Is Exponential Acceleration Part of Evolution?
Where are we going, and how did we get here? These are the two most important questions we can ask ourselves as a species, and here are some speculative answers based on today's best evidence.
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Nostalgia, Alf, and the Not So Good Old Days
We look back with nostalgia on the 1980s right now, and during the 80s, we looked back on the 50s. But how good were these times? Let's take a slightly closer look at the big picture.
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Five Nonfiction Books Everyone Should Read
My nonfiction reading list has been all over the place the last few years, from history to how social systems operate, to nanotechnology and beyond. The really important ones have common traits.
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Why the Word "Transhumanism" Should Bother You, Too
As we continue to become one with our inventions, heading toward a possible technological singularity, there's only one thing that makes this revolution different: our perception.
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How Big is the Solar System?
Ever have a hard time falling asleep at night, but don't want to turn on the lights to do some reading? If you enjoy thinking about the universe, these thought experiments will blow your mind.
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My name is Andrew. I teach and train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu passionately. I received my black belt in BJJ in 2008, and I feel like a newbie every day. I have a passion for deep thinking about the way technology has changed our lives, and the way it's going to change it even more in the coming decades, how it (and evolution) have affected our lives and will continue to affect them in the near and far future, and what we are well on our way to becoming. I hope you enjoy some of my rants about BJJ, technology, and life.