Complex ideas are built upon simple ones.

Do you need time? It is super difficult to define what time is. Philosophers and scientists have been discussing that since antiquity. In Physics its definition is “what a clock reads.” Without a clock, our brain struggles to keep track of how much time has passed. Even if two persons have two clocks, according to…

What will your life be like in three years? Dear Old Me, I hope this letter finds you well. Actually, I know it will. It is intended for you to find it exactly on November 4th, 2024. How do I know it? Well, I found it myself on that day. After reading and re-reading it…

Invent a holiday! Explain how and why everyone should celebrate. Have you already tasted this creamy, sweet, caramelized delicacy? Known by many different names, it has Latin roots but a worldly reach. Crème caramel renversé (France) and Pudim Flan (Portugal) are just a few of the names in use. Pudim de Leite (Brazil) or Milk…

What are your favorite websites? I have dozens, if not hundreds, of favorite websites. My list for this post was getting quite big. So, I decided to take a different approach and to focus all of them around van Gogh. One of the first suggestions is the Van Gogh Museum where you will find thousands…

Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live? I don’t think I would ever want to re-live the past, and I’m going to try to explain why. We should set up some ground rules for this kind of experience. There are at least two possible scenarios. In the first one, there…

What historical event fascinates you the most? I visited Salem a few weeks ago. I was at once infected by the good energy and fun that the city exuded. At every corner there were people partying in costumes and having a good time. Groups gathered together to go on haunted walking tours. Long queues formed…

What’s something you believe everyone should know. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi had this inscription for everyone who entered it to read: “Know Thyself.” The implication seems to be clear: if we don’t know ourselves, how can we know anything else? A statement so simple as this has been quoted and discussed for millennia,…

What does it mean to be a kid at heart? It is so cool that yesterday I asked this as part of my magic genie wishes. “I wish I will always be young at heart.” I better work out what it means. When I think about my own childhood most of it was about having…

You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for? Me yesterday, after reading the prompt, and before going to bed: “Well, let me sleep on it, and I will get your answer in the morning.” Me this morning: “I should really think this through, if I choose well, I could get whatever I…

Describe a family member. Family seems to be that kind of thing that everyone knows exactly what it is, but doesn’t know very well how to define it. Understanding of what it is has differed from culture to culture and from time to time. This is evidenced by the sheer number of adjectives that we…

What is your favorite form of physical exercise? I just love taking my bike and doing the Great Lakes Waterfront trail! Did you know that you can do it from city to city, covering an extension of 3600 Km? All the way from Cornwall on the East to Gros Cap on the West side of…

How much would you pay to go to the moon? Five hundred years ago we were circumnavigating the globe for the first time. Only fifty-five years ago, going to the Moon meant for humanity the crossing of another huge new frontier. And we did cross it (or did we?). “One small step for man, one…