Ben Sima

  • Recent Reading

    I’m constantly reading. I used to do book reviews on here, but that got old pretty fast. From now on I’ll just give a list of what I’ve been reading recently, and a short blurb about each book. Here are some books and collections I’ve been spending time with lately. Business Books Good to Great […]

  • Cardio Doesn’t Exist

    The inimitable James Steele II has a new publication out in the Journal of Exercise Physiology, called “Resistance Training to Momentary Muscular Failure Improves Cardiovascular Fitness in Humans: A Review of Acute Physiological Responses and Chronic Physiological Adaptations” Here’s the abstract: Research demonstrates resistance training produces significant improvement in cardiovascular fitness (VO2 max, economy of movement). […]

  • Tim Minchin’s Storm: The Animated Movie

    What a phenomenally creative way to combine creativity with science. I am a new fan of Tim Minchin. (His two songs Confessions and Prejudice are really funny.) Thanks to Joao for the find.

  • Elon Musk’s determination

    Dustin Curtis just posted this: By 2008, SpaceX had launched three rockets. They all failed to make it into orbit. Shortly after the third failure, Elon Musk was interviewed by Wired Magazine’s Carl Hoffman: Wired.com: At the end of the day you’re still zero for three; you have so far failed to put a rocket into orbit. […]

  • Elon Musk

    60 Minutes: When you had that third failure in a row, did you think, I need to pack this in? Elon Musk: Never. 60: Why not? E: I don’t ever give up. I’d have to be dead or, completely incapacitated. 60: Do you believe that your rocket will be the next American rocket to send an astronaut to space? E: I believe that is the most likely outcome, yes. 60: When critics say you can’t do this, your response to them is… E: We’ve done this.

    —Elon Musk

    Definitely one of the most inspirational entrepreneurs I’ve found.

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwZyyAxkqQc&w=560&h=315]

  • Always Learning

    It’s fascinating to return to an old book you’ve read, just to see how far you’ve progressed. I make a habit of circling any word I don’t know, so that when I do return to a book, I almost have a snapshot of where I was in my education. For example, in this page from […]

  • The Fireplace Delusion by Sam Harris

    Sam Harris posted an article on his blog that I feel the need to share. He rightly begins: “It seems to me that many nonbelievers have forgotten—or never knew—what it is like to suffer an unhappy collision with scientific rationality. We are open to good evidence and sound argument as a matter of principle, and […]

  • Occupy Wall Street: Fallacies and Misconceptions

    You’d have to be living in a cave if you still haven’t heard of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. After numerous conversations with friends about the protests, I’ve decided to write this article. I’ll cover the origin of the protests, what the protesters stand for and want (as hard as that is to discern), […]

  • RIP Christopher Hitchens

  • Pride and Cosmopolitanism

    Around 170 A.D., Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Pride is a master of deception: when you think you’re occupied in the weightiest business, that’s when he has you in his spell.” Even in religion, “pride” is listed as the most detrimental of the Seven Deadly Sins. Pride is the insidious parasite that sidles into your consciousness when, […]