My Conversation with Harold Channer

Yesterday I was in Manhattan to talk with Harold Channer, a producer with MNN (Manhattan Neighborhood Network). Harold has interviewed more than 2000 guests including R. Buckminster Fuller on his TV program Conversations with Harold Hudson Channer. The HD videos of the conversation are already on YouTube:

Let me know what you think of the conversation.

Understanding, Predicting and Designing the world with Models

"So if you want to be out there helping to change the world in useful ways, it's really really helpful to have some understanding of models."
— Scott E. Page

This is one of several arguments that Scott E. Page makes in motivating his free on-line video course Model Thinking. Essentially, Page argues that models help us to understand, predict, and design or re-design our world. This is going to be an important class. I am getting ready for a deep dive!

I have only dived deeply into two other free on-line courses. They are Linear Algebra and Introduction to Databases. I love learning about big picture, broadly useful subjects.

Syntropy blog: A Big Picture, Conceptual Introduction to Biology: EEB 122

I wrote a detailed review of OpenYaleCourses's EEB 122: Principles of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior.

Here are some highlights:

• Startling: "survival of the fittest" is wrong!


• The wonderful metaphor of the theater in evolution (due to Evelyn Hutchinson)


• A remarkable description of El Niño


• Evolutionary Medicine may be one of the most significant benefits of the theory of evolution


• I was inspired to research the frequency of major geological events (earthquakes, volcanos, etc)


• A poignant discussion on biodiversity


• Biogeochemistry is one of my biggest "discoveries" of the course: it may be one of the most important interdisciplinary fields for Human survival


• I reference the Buckminster Fuller Challenge


• The importance of geography


• A survey of other freely available introductory biology courses

Sugar is a chronic toxin

I wrote a summary of my research into the chronic toxicity of fructose and sugar.

Syntropy blog now on-line

I finally got a real Wordpress blog going at blog.CJFearnley.com. My first substantial post is on Buckminster Fuller and the Open Educational Resources Movement. I was pleased that several people found it and started commenting right away.

Managing FOSS for Business Results

For a few months I've been posting to a new blog Managing FOSS for Business Results. It is focused on FOSS or Free and Open Source Software and the problems involved with managing or administering systems built on FOSS. Check it out at blog.RemoteResponder.net.

Interesting post on Virtualization on new blog about Managing FOSS

There is a new blog about Managing FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). The most recent post is on Xen Virtualization.