Tag archives: curiosity

A friend who was about to turn 50, knowing that I’m in my late 80s, asked me what advice I might have for a person reaching that milestone. I had to tell him that I thought all such “landmarks” artificial and insignificant, being based on our arbitrary counting in tens, which in turn derives from […]

Dear Montecito, Last week we spoke about the importance of scientific curiosity and developing a sense of adventure. This week, I think we’d do well to examine the divide between science and arts disciplines. When discussing the separation of arts and sciences, it is hard not to address the elephant in the room. This elephant […]

On my first geological field trip as a new geology major at Caltech, I was amazed as we drove out into the Mojave Desert on Interstate 15 when my professor, who was driving, would point through the window at a distant rock outcropping and say: “There’s a Miocene (five to 20 million years of age) […]