Shared: Philomath – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Philomath – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

A philomath (/ˈfɪlɵmæθ/; Greek: φίλος philos (“beloved,” “loving,” as in philosophy or philanthropy) + Greek μανθάνειν manthanein, math- (“to learn,” as in polymath)) is a lover of learning. Philomathy is similar to, but distinguished from, philosophy in that -soph, the latter suffix, specifies “wisdom” or “knowledge”, rather than the process of acquisition thereof. Philomath is not synonymous with polymath. A philomath is a seeker of knowledge and facts, while a polymath is a possessor of knowledge in multiple fields. The shift in meaning for mathema is likely a result of the rapid categorization during the time of Plato and Aristotle of their “mathemata” in terms of education: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music (the Quadrivium), which the Greeks found to create a “natural grouping” of mathematical (in the modern usage; “doctrina mathematica” in the ancient usage) precepts.

Shared: Fermenting Ideas of Order — The Future will not be like the Past

Fermenting Ideas of Order — The Future will not be like the Past:

Amid all of this uncertainty, and being 55 years old going on 80, I had to think long and hard about how to steer our ship into these new waters. There are basically five categories of options that range from indifference all the way to going head-first over the transom and selling the business to someone else to steer the ship instead.

Shared: Bad arguments, great illustrations – Boing Boing

Bad arguments, great illustrations – Boing Boing:

A specific form of the appeal to ignorance is the argument from personal incredulity, where a person’s inability to imagine something leads to a belief that the argument being presented is false. For example, “It is impossible to imagine that we actually landed a man on the moon, therefore it never happened.” Responses of this sort are sometimes wittingly countered with, “That’s why you’re not a physicist.”

Shared: The best investment strategy for you? It’s the one you’re likely to stick with. – The Washington Post

The best investment strategy for you? It’s the one you’re likely to stick with. – The Washington Post:

We don’t know what the future holds, but we can make some reasonable assertions based on long-term historical data. We know that holding non-correlated asset classes provides diversification benefits, one of the few free lunches on Wall Street. Large-cap and small-cap stocks in the United States, equities of emerging markets and developed nations, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Corporate Bonds, Treasury Inflation Protection Bonds, High Yield Bonds and, of course, old-fashioned Treasuries. We hold these in a proportion that matches your risk tolerances — more equities for those with a reasonable appetite for growth, less for those who are less comfortable with volatility. Assuming no major life event changes and your risk tolerance (notice the direction of the market should not determine your true risk tolerance), rebalance once or so a year in order to not stray too far from your original allocation.

Shared: Seth’s Blog: Of course it’s difficult…

Seth’s Blog: Of course it’s difficult…:

The word economy comes from the Greek and the French, and is based on the concept of scarcity. The only things that are scarce in the world of connection and services and the net are the things that are difficult, and the only things that are valuable are the things that are scarce. When we intentionally seek out the difficult tasks, we’re much more likely to actually create value.