Matthew's Blog
Home as Writing Retreat: The First Step
I would like to make my home a writing retreat: peaceful and quiet, a place of words and ideas, not chatter and noise. But what is the first step? No TV, which means no cable and no “breaking news.” Wish me luck.
Causation: One of My Twelve Problems
One of my "Twelve Problems" is the definition of causation (or the closely related question: What is causality?). I don't think it's an uncommon problem. It's one I have run up against frequently as an engineer, as a physicist, as a physician, and, more recently, as a...
Writing and Typing on the iPhone
As a physical writing device, I find my iPhone the least friendly for typing. For me, the keyboard is relatively unstable using two thumbs, especially on my writing app of choice—Ulysses. When I type, even the slightest thumb miss results in a large cursor movement to...
My First Priority
I have a robust planning and priority system, strengthened by planned reviews and receptive to periodic changes. But my first priority is my family. That simplifies things a lot.
A Must Read Book About Synesthesia
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Some books I read check all of my intellectual boxes. Wednesday is Indigo Blue (by Richard E. Cytowic, M.D. and David M. Eagleman, Ph.D) does just that. It explains the current scientific thinking around the...
Why I Generally Don’t Swear
I very rarely swear, nor do I find vulgarity in others a good thing. It’s not because I am a prude, or that my delicate sensibilities (if I have any!) are easily offended. Here’s why: To a degree then, I believe the health of a culture can be measured by the...
Dead Language Learning
One of my greatest educational regrets is not having learned Ancient Greek. Although it’s a “dead” language, it underpins the cornerstone writings of Western Philosophy, and I feel its lack is one of my deepest intellectual holes. However, in a recent interview with...
Daily Blogging Until?
I’ve decided to continue blogging daily, seven days a week, until the end of the year or until my first book is complete. The reasons are several-fold, but mostly it’s to keep my writing hand in the game of daily content production. After my first book—or after the...
Finding Voice
I heard an interesting conversation the other day about finding my writer’s voice. After mastering the writing craft, voice isn't found by looking inwards with some advanced form of navel-gazing. Instead, it's found by outward engagement with the world. I’ll find it...