About four years ago I went to Long Beach, CA to give a talk. But of more interest to me than the conference was that Long Beach was home to the Queen Mary. After taking passengers across the Atlantic for 31 years, this ocean liner was permanently docked at Long Beach and converted into a […]
Back in the day, when I was in college, I started a commune. Well, with some grandiosity, that’s what I called it (this was the ‘60’s). The building I found to commune in was a big, rambling three-story house at 7 Greenough Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The landlord was Mr. Fogelman. As far as I […]
A few days ago, I accidently dropped my vitamin D pill on the kitchen counter. It bounced a few times, rolled, and came to rest on its edge rather than on its side! Incredible, I thought. What were the chances of that? My wife, Annie, says that when she looks at a digital clock, she’s […]
When I was courting my wife, one night at dinner her 5-year-old daughter asked, “Mama, why do Jewish men always stick out their pinky when they drink tea?” I immediately put down my cup. “Why do you ask, sweetie?” Annie said to Hillary, who answered, “Well, Kenny just did it, and our other Jewish friend, […]
“There was a tear in the shower curtain, a picture was hanging crooked in a cheap frame, the baseboard and trim didn’t meet the wall or corners, and the electrical sockets were installed crookedly. Service was fine, and everything seemed clean enough.” So said a recent online review of the Seattle Hilton. All in all, […]
Dated October 25, 1883, an item in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s “Weekly Notes of Cases” announces a divorce petition. It was filed by Marcus Heilbron, who wished to leave his wife, Rosa. Marcus states that Rosa “hath offered such indignities to the person of your petitioner as to render his condition intolerable and his […]
The wooden pole in the storage room was sagging under the weight of the rarely used clothes we’d hung on it. So I drilled a hole in the ceiling and popped in a sturdy molly bolt, to which I tied a nylon cord. Then I wound the other end around the middle of the pole. […]
The trolley problem is one of the most famous thought experiments in ethics. You are asked to imagine that there’s a runaway trolley racing down the line. It’s headed toward a group of five people who are tied to the tracks with no prospect of escape. From your vantage point in the trolly yard you […]
My recent 23andMe report tells me that I’m 96.8% Ashkenazi, that is, Eastern European Jewish. This was quite disappointing. I always thought I was—and aspired to be—some sort of exotic mongrel; I’ve long been a proponent of the virtues of hybrid vigor. But it looks like I’m actually a purebred. Well, almost. What about the […]
My parents’ passions were pretty much all in their heads. My father’s life was science. Making new discoveries and getting them published was his highest aspiration. Based on the time he spent with each, it seemed clear to me that he loved his lab more than his family. As for my mother, she wanted to […]