Authors

Ferida Wolff writes: The more I observe nature, the more I realize that everything has intelligence. Plants do. Insects do. Animals and birds are pretty darn smart. It may differ from how we think but it is functional for how to survive. If we diminish anything in nature we lessen our own understanding of life. more »

From Prof. Billingham's essay: "I'm told that when men meet women, they sometimes rate each other on a scale of 1 to 10. Of course, mathematicians are far too intelligent and sophisticated do this. We rate people on a scale of 0 to 1. In our original mathematical model, all we could do was compare one possible frog with another. The numbers didn't mean anything in themselves; they just told the princess whether one frog was "better" than another. Let's change the fairytale slightly so that the 100 frogs are now labelled with numbers drawn randomly from those that lie between 0 and 1, with the handsome prince having the highest number. What's the princess's best strategy now?" more »

Rose Madeline Mula writes: The woman on that screen would one day become my friend — we would correspond, chat on the phone, and even visit each other's homes. The glamorous Joan Fontaine of Hollywood, California, did meet and befriend the shrinking violet from Waltham, Massachusetts. Both events occurred many years after that day in 1940 when Rebecca captured my soul and took up permanent residence there as my favorite movie of all time. Surprisingly, it is the least loved work of its beautiful star, even though it had won her an Oscar nomination. more »

Remembering Joan L. Cannon: I write because I can't help it. A better question would be why can't I help it? First, I need to find out what I know; second, I need to discover what I don't know; third, I need to note what I must not forget. I’m an indifferent amateur painter, and the other visual arts are beyond my talents altogether; I can't perform music. I find I can put words on paper. They can do for me what nothing else can. more »