HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS 20/20

Yesterday, this was President Obama's response to the critics of Solyndra, a solar panel company that went bankrupt, losing all the money the government invested on it.

The remarks reminded me of the Black Swan, a controversial book with the recurring theme that we cannot predict the future.

Nassim Taleb is the maverick thinker and author of the book. When I first read the book, it became apparent to me that the sentences were long. I was always told, as a science writer, to be concise and direct to the point. His however was long. Nassim infuses a lot of statistics in his book, and I must say, I was seldom lost. 

The Black Swan showed me that long sentences has its place in scientific books, and also showed me the idea that we cannot pinpoint any reason for anything.

How Google became the wealthiest company? We may never know never know, but in hindsight we can pinpoint explanations.

DAY 7: Writing a novel challenge-Dialogue

Now I'm back to this book, the 90-day challenge to my novel (90 Days to Your Novel: A Day-by-Day Plan for Outlining & Writing Your Book).

Right now,  my challenge is writing a dialogue.  The scene is in the professor's office, talking to Lee regarding the fax the professor received:

Lee closed the door behind him. He saw the professor stroking his white beard, focusing on the fax in front of him. The professor said without looking to Lee "the way I see it, the perpetrators knew the science behind the airport." 

 Lee couldn't decipher what the professor was trying to communicate but he has a feeling that it was about the problems encountered by Charlotte International Airport. Lee asked a question slowly, "I don't understand Chuck, what are you talking about?" 

"The masses that appeared in the spectrum are not traces of explosives" He handed Lee the fax.

Lee studied the 2 pages in his hands. 

 "Could it be possible that the instruments malfunctioned? The numbers are close to the SRM provided by the Institute of Standards."

"I know, but it's not the exact masses, they are close." Chuck handed Lee again 2 pieces of paper.

Lee read the headings

STANDARD REFERENCE MATERIAL (SRM) 2905, Trace Particulate Explosives.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology published an aid for security personnel and researchers to

 

ONWARD'S beautiful sentences

Some of the sentences that comes out of this book are beautiful in its
own right. And to me, it becomes a coach psyching up his troops.
Going against conventional wisdom is the foundation of innovation, the
basis for Starbuck's own experience.

Here's another one, a nice sentence:
Sometimes, the earliest days of Starbucks seemed very far away.
Like straining to remember the sound of your child's voice as a
toddler as he or she heads off to college, Starbucks' nascent days got
more elusive as the company grow.

Now that's something.

FROM MY BOOKSTACK: SCORECASTING

Although some of their arguments are airtight, some are not. Overall,
if you're a sportsfan, this is a nice book to see more than what the
HDTV is showing.