1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16!

The New York Times obituary of Dr. Lynn Margulis (1938 - 2011) notes that her groundbreaking 1967 paper proposing the endosymbiotic theory of the origin of eukaryotes had been rejected by fifteen journals before its eventual publication.

Life imitates art (at highway speed).

Today, on the way home from work, I avoided traffic congestion by driving on the newly-opened InterCounty Connector. However, because the car's navigation system doesn't know about this brand-new (multi-billion dollar!) highway, its screen showed the car traveling overground, not on a road.

Which reminded me of "Survival Car" by Fountains of Wayne:

"Funny how the ground can find my wheels
I'm going where the road ain't there"

"Funny how the ground can find my wheels
I'm going where the road won't dare"

"Discovering things is actually pretty easy..."

"Discovering things is actually pretty easy; understanding them is really hard."

- Prof. Peter Agre (2003 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry), this morning at Pathology Ground Rounds in Hurd Hall, Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Fall blooming camellia!

(Backyard this morning. Camera: Ricoh GX-100.)

Board Rescinds Park Choice; Restarts Site Search.

Today, at the recommendation of Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Joshua P. Starr, who began in that position on July 1st, the Montgomery County Board of Education voted to begin a new site selection process for the second Bethesda - Chevy Chase Middle School, rescinding their April 28th resolution that had selected the site of Rock Creek Hills Park.

However, Rock Creek Hills Park remains at risk (even though it fails to meet the overwhelming majority of the specified site evaluation criteria).

If you want to preserve this important community asset and support high-quality cost-effective education, please join us now in spreading the word to others who care about good parks and strong schools. Join us on Facebook!

"I used to think I was alone. Well, I ain't alone no more."

Mr. Tom Morello's song about his guitar is uplifting:

Why Story Matters - Syracuse Edition

Tomorrow evening, November 14, I will presenting a lecture on Why Story Matters at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University - my alma mater! The lecture, which is open to the public, begins at 7 PM. Upstate NY NeuroCooking readers, please join me!

I am told this event will be live-tweeted, with the hashtag #pekar.

On Wednesday evening, I will be conducting a workshop with the Women Presidents' Organization, Syracuse Chapter. This will focus on why story matters in leadership. This program is by invitation-only.

A Rock Creek Hills Park update.

Supporters of Rock Creek Hills Park got some very good news ten days ago, and more very good news last week. 

(A November 2nd tweet from Dr. Joshua Starr, Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent.)

Those who Espouse Only Evidence Typically Lose

Narrative vs Evidence-Based Medicine—And, Not Or was just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Here at NeuroCooking, we have long argued, as this article in Scientific American states,

'Stories are an essential part of how individuals understand and use evidence,' [Zachary Meisel and Jason Karlawish] wrote. And they can have a powerful effect on public opinion and policy....'Narratives, when compared with reporting statistical evidence alone, can have uniquely persuasive effects in overcoming preconceived beliefs and cognitive biases.'

I so hope that scientists throughout the world see past the poor title of this article and into the wisdom it contains - and engage in finding, developing (further developing), and sharing their stories! I am eager to assist.