Articles by Brian Lee

Four Americans Who Changed the World

Whoever invented the wheel changed the world forever.  Unfortunately for him and our history books we don't know who that was.  Honestly, it could have been a woman.  We should not disregard the ingenuity of our mothers and wives.  It was probably they who domesticated animals and plants while the guys were out hunting and fishing.  All we can be sure of is that some early inventions had an immensely profound impact on the world.  The wheel is an innovation that lies at the foundation of all Read more [...]

Why Do We Wear Jewelry?

We share a number of traits with other animals.  We have language, as do dolphins and whales and ants and birds.  Maybe many other animals use language and we just haven't yet learned to recognize it.  We know that there is body language but we have begun to decipher audible languages among animals, which is pretty exciting science in itself. We also share social organization with animals.  Bees and ants build entire cities and civilizations.  But many other animals live in social groups: Read more [...]

We Can Change the World Any Time We Want To

Changing the world is an obligation in life.  You have to do something every day to make a difference.  Without that difference not only will you stagnate but so will others around you.  And it is human nature to want change, to want to advance and move forward. That is a philosophy in life by which I have tried to live. And then there are the days when I don't want to get off the couch and do anything.  Sometimes you just feel the need to vegetate. Achievement is a four-letter word when Read more [...]

Innovation Brings about Many Changes in Life

You never really stop to think about how the invention of the wheel or the spear changed everything for mankind forever.  If the Native Americans had invented wheels a thousand years before the Spaniards arrived in America things might have gone differently.  Because Europeans had the wheel they were able to move great loads across long distances.  But having the wheel led to many other innovations, too. For example, without the wheel we probably never would have invented metallurgy.  Wagons Read more [...]

Nothing Less than Ordinary is Minimally Acceptable

Have you ever settled for less than what you wanted and found yourself bitterly disappointed in relaxing your standards?  I know I have.  I cannot begin to count the number of times I have allowed someone to talk me into accepting less than I was promised or asked for. As a way of teaching myself not to fall for these tactics again I decided that my acceptable fallback position would be "nothing less than ordinary".  What that means is that I always seek out something exceptional in every deal Read more [...]

As the Earth Grows Warmer We Grow Colder

Global warming is such a divisive issue.  I never would have thought so many people would disagree on the role mankind has played in warming the planet.  When I look at critics of conservative politicians they say the doubters are all being funded by big business.  Maybe that is true but when I listen to some of these politicians talk about the environment they seem to be sincere.  It's not that they don't appreciate the environment, it's that they don't accept that human engineering is responsible Read more [...]

Think about the Future before It Arrives on Your Doorstep

A great philosopher, my granddad, once said that if you spend all your time thinking about the future you'll miss out on the present and have no past.  Another great philosopher, my grand-mother, slapped on the back of the head and told him to finish working on the next month's budget.  In my book, granddad was right because at the time I was only 7 years old and I wanted to go out to the park.  I was waiting on him to finish the budget and I thought, in my youthful wisdom, that such things could Read more [...]

We Should all Agree to Disagree Politely If We Can

Differences of opinion are a normal part of life. Everyday people disagree over something. Sooner or later you find some people losing control over the tiniest of issues and then someone else has to step in and cool things down. But sociologists say that differences of opinion lead to the creation of new special interest groups. Maybe that is why we had so many tribes throughout history. People just got tired of getting along. I realize that may be an oversimplification of the matter but tribal Read more [...]

When We Cast Our Thoughts Into the Deep

When we sit deep in thought, ignoring the rest of the world, we find ourselves immersed in new worlds of the imagination mingled with old worlds of memory. So it seems to me. I once spent an entire day dreaming about fantastic worlds and adventures and I had a great time. I was just a teenager and my friends all wondered where I was but my head was filled with thoughts that I could not contain. It was a great day and sometimes I wish I could do that again. The imagination is an endless source Read more [...]

A Few Thoughts on Privacy

The world is moving in strange directions.  We live in different times from the days of our grandfathers, who fought for freedom from Nazi tyranny and villainy.  Today people are not so sure of who the bad guys are any more. The Internet was born in a darker time when the fear was that a nuclear war might destroy everything.  Scientists and engineers wanted to make sure that something survived, somewhere, and they were not worried about who might be listening on the line.  They were just hoping Read more [...]