@seanq said:
I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, but I've worked my entire career in consumer packaging for the health and beauty industry. Mainly working with glass and plastics now, with the occasional foray into printing and metal forming.
I got into errors and varieties in college, the manufacturing process for US coinage dovetailed nicely with my metallurgical studies. I even did a class presentation on doubled dies. My favorite class back then was failure analysis, that skill comes in handy no matter what material you are using, and also helps with authenticating errors.
Sean Reynolds
I was taking an undergrad Microscopy course from a very difficult professor 30+ years. One assignment was to write a report on a use of microscopy in a field other than material science. Back then, Coin World used to have a counterfeit detection column that used a lot of micrographs (I think @Insider2 may have been doing the column at the time, but it’s been awhile). In short, I cut out some pics from one of the columns, did a short write up on how microscopy was used in counterfeit detection, and got an A+.
If that was your column @Insider2 , I owe you a beer. Getting anything above a B on an assignment in that class was difficult, and I only had to put in about 25% of the effort I would have needed if I had to research another topic.
Degreed journalist. Artist. Been building and running/managing websites since 1994, past 10 for some little beverage company HQ'd in Atlanta. Coins are money, I like money->I like coins.
@Oldhoopster said:
I’m a Materials Engineer specializing in ceramics and currently work in the aerospace industry. Most of what I do is high temperature chemistry related. Things don’t really start getting fun until 3000F/1650C. I know enough about metallurgy to make myself dangerous, but organic chemistry makes my head spin. I also use a lot of data from SEM/EDS, XRD, XRF and other analytical tests so I’m familiar with their advantages and limitations.
Not a lot of opportunity to combine ceramics and numismatics, but one of my collecting interests is German Porcelain Notgeld, primarily those issued by local municipalities. Unless somebody starts issuing glass coins (Blue Ridge Glass Co, 1942 patterns not withstanding), that’s the best I can do.
13 posts in 17 years. We are honored, sir, that you joined us today.
Kind regards,
George
I signed up for an acct in 2001 and forgot about it until I tried to register a few months ago. Who would’ve thought that it would still be active after 16+ years of no activity?
@Oldhoopster said: "Coin World used to have a counterfeit detection column that used a lot of micrographs (I think @Insider2 may have been doing the column at the time, but it’s been awhile). In short, I cut out some pics from one of the columns, did a short write up on how microscopy was used in counterfeit detection, and got an A+.
If that was your column @Insider2 , I owe you a beer. Getting anything above a B on an assignment in that class was difficult, and I only had to put in about 25% of the effort I would have needed if I had to research another topic.
I should claim it was just to get a beer, but @CaptHenway would rat me out. I've only had columns in the Numismatist and Numismatic news.
@giorgio11 said:
Well, I started out with a B.A. from Yale, beginning as a math major before switching to music, and pursued a career as an opera singer. I sang in and studied many languages including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Latin. I still sing pretty well but strictly as an avocation rather than a profession. In my 30s I realized I would never debut at The Met or La Scala, so I switched into a long career in writing and communications.
It turns out that a good Liberal Arts education was an excellent proving ground to become a (better) writer. And numismatics was a constant throughout all of that. The language facility helps with identifying coins of all kinds, and I kind of put all that together when I worked for Heritage as a cataloger. Much of that was U.S. coins (which are mostly in English, I believe ) ), but I did branch out into Canadian, British, and Spanish American coins on occasion. I worked for Heritage for 12 years. Now I'm just a retired piddler who buys and sells and does a show once in a while.
I know I'm not the only person here who is wired for math, music, and languages; in particular, I know @messydesk shares my fascination for number theory and prime numbers. It would be interesting to hear from others who have this rather common trio of traits (a lot of good mathematicians were also good musicians).
And thus endeth my tale.
Kind regards,
George
@Sonorandesertrat said:
I studied organ for 14 years, until my sophomore year in college. I don't play anymore, but remain addicted to 16th-18th-century keyboard music. Minored in math (got as far as group theory and advanced calculus). I have a B.A. in German and learned Spanish at home.
Hello all; Math and music are indeed cognate interests if not cognate disciplines. In my 36 years as a math prof at a liberal arts college, I have seen many students double major accordingly. My own daughter was a music major and math minor, And now that I think of it, one of my roommates at Bates College was a math and music major. Perhaps the earliest known example of this linkage lies with the Pythagorean cult/school, about 600BC if I recall. Math and music were their primary interests. There is a legend that one of their members was murdered for his or her revelation that not all real numbers are expressible as the ratio of 2 integers. (I say "her" because the Pythagoreans did not discriminate on the basis of sex.) The Pythagoreans also adhered to some pretty bizarre rules, one of which was the prohibition of urinating toward the sun. I myself do not urinate toward Barber quarters (just to keep this coin-related).
I'm a technology guy, been doing it since I left the USN, late 70's. I worked in Combat Information Center on board the USS Barry DD933. Got a job as a computer operator when I got out. Then programmer, system analyst. en in technology ever since. I've worked with most of the machines in the photo IBM mainframe (360/65).
The 360/65 was IBM's big gun back in the 70's. I started my career in April of '71. My first position was at Control Data Corporation based in MN. CDC manufactured scientific computers rather than business machines like IBM. After 13 years with Control Data I moved to Amdahl Corporation which was truly a world class company and a direct competitor of IBM. Dr. Gene Amdahl was an IBM Fellow which basically gave him creative license to design whatever he wants. After disagreements with the strategic direction that Dr. Amdahl wanted to take vs. what IBM saw as the future they parted ways. IBM wanted to move from air cooled to water cooled mainframes while Dr. Amdahl felt there was many more years left for air cooled mainframes. Spent 26 years with Amdahl before leaving in 2010.
Successful BST transactions with lordmarcovan, Moldnut, erwindoc
@giorgio11 said:
Well, I started out with a B.A. from Yale, beginning as a math major before switching to music, and pursued a career as an opera singer. I sang in and studied many languages including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Latin. I still sing pretty well but strictly as an avocation rather than a profession. In my 30s I realized I would never debut at The Met or La Scala, so I switched into a long career in writing and communications.
It turns out that a good Liberal Arts education was an excellent proving ground to become a (better) writer. And numismatics was a constant throughout all of that. The language facility helps with identifying coins of all kinds, and I kind of put all that together when I worked for Heritage as a cataloger. Much of that was U.S. coins (which are mostly in English, I believe ) ), but I did branch out into Canadian, British, and Spanish American coins on occasion. I worked for Heritage for 12 years. Now I'm just a retired piddler who buys and sells and does a show once in a while.
I know I'm not the only person here who is wired for math, music, and languages; in particular, I know @messydesk shares my fascination for number theory and prime numbers. It would be interesting to hear from others who have this rather common trio of traits (a lot of good mathematicians were also good musicians).
And thus endeth my tale.
Kind regards,
George
@Sonorandesertrat said:
I studied organ for 14 years, until my sophomore year in college. I don't play anymore, but remain addicted to 16th-18th-century keyboard music. Minored in math (got as far as group theory and advanced calculus). I have a B.A. in German and learned Spanish at home.
Hello all; Math and music are indeed cognate interests if not cognate disciplines. In my 36 years as a math prof at a liberal arts college, I have seen many students double major accordingly. My own daughter was a music major and math minor, And now that I think of it, one of my roommates at Bates College was a math and music major. Perhaps the earliest known example of this linkage lies with the Pythagorean cult/school, about 600BC if I recall. Math and music were their primary interests. There is a legend that one of their members was murdered for his or her revelation that not all real numbers are expressible as the ratio of 2 integers. (I say "her" because the Pythagoreans did not discriminate on the basis of sex.) The Pythagoreans also adhered to some pretty bizarre rules, one of which was the prohibition of urinating toward the sun. I myself do not urinate toward Barber quarters (just to keep this coin-related).
Whit
These posts reminds me of trying to read "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid". The third of the book that I understood blew my mind.
Sean Reynolds
Incomplete planchets wanted, especially Lincoln Cents & type coins.
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Well, Kurt Goedel was so eccentric that he literally starved himself to death in Princeton. I try not to refer to him as a good model for a balanced life (so why am I on this site???).
Decades ago, I took a graduate course in statistical mechanics, and the opening paragraph in the textbook noted that a number of the founders of the field committed suicide and, with that cheery thought, we were embarking on a study of statistical mechanics.
Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
I am not surprised. Intelligence should not be equated with emotional stability or, in many cases, with making good decisions about living one's life, productively managing business interactions, etc. I did my graduate work at Caltech, and am well acquainted with what that article focuses on.
Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
@Sonorandesertrat said:
Don't knock stupidity--- it's a trait that seems to be shared by a majority of U. S. voters.
Stupidity and a lack of critical thinking skills (or stubborn self delusion) are different things. Half of all humans are of below-average intelligence. The problem are the ones on the right side of the bell curve who don't use what they've got to good effect.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
For me ChemE plus an MBA. Worked in manufacturing plants my whole life- I love making things. Even worked in pressrooms for a while so I know a bit about stamping processes. Later in the career I ran large automotive components businesses.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
@Sonorandesertrat said:
Don't knock stupidity--- it's a trait that seems to be shared by a majority of U. S. voters.
Stupidity and a lack of critical thinking skills (or stubborn self delusion) are different things. Half of all humans are of below-average intelligence. The problem are the ones on the right side of the bell curve who don't use what they've got to good effect.
I actually do agree (I have a not-always-muted tendency towards flippancy and sarcasm). Your last sentence applies well to coin collectors too. Fortunately for those in the business end of the hobby.
Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
@giorgio11 said:
Well, I started out with a B.A. from Yale, beginning as a math major before switching to music, and pursued a career as an opera singer. I sang in and studied many languages including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Latin. I still sing pretty well but strictly as an avocation rather than a profession. In my 30s I realized I would never debut at The Met or La Scala, so I switched into a long career in writing and communications.
It turns out that a good Liberal Arts education was an excellent proving ground to become a (better) writer. And numismatics was a constant throughout all of that. The language facility helps with identifying coins of all kinds, and I kind of put all that together when I worked for Heritage as a cataloger. Much of that was U.S. coins (which are mostly in English, I believe ) ), but I did branch out into Canadian, British, and Spanish American coins on occasion. I worked for Heritage for 12 years. Now I'm just a retired piddler who buys and sells and does a show once in a while.
I know I'm not the only person here who is wired for math, music, and languages; in particular, I know @messydesk shares my fascination for number theory and prime numbers. It would be interesting to hear from others who have this rather common trio of traits (a lot of good mathematicians were also good musicians).
And thus endeth my tale.
Kind regards,
George
@Sonorandesertrat said:
I studied organ for 14 years, until my sophomore year in college. I don't play anymore, but remain addicted to 16th-18th-century keyboard music. Minored in math (got as far as group theory and advanced calculus). I have a B.A. in German and learned Spanish at home.
Hello all; Math and music are indeed cognate interests if not cognate disciplines. In my 36 years as a math prof at a liberal arts college, I have seen many students double major accordingly. My own daughter was a music major and math minor, And now that I think of it, one of my roommates at Bates College was a math and music major. Perhaps the earliest known example of this linkage lies with the Pythagorean cult/school, about 600BC if I recall. Math and music were their primary interests. There is a legend that one of their members was murdered for his or her revelation that not all real numbers are expressible as the ratio of 2 integers. (I say "her" because the Pythagoreans did not discriminate on the basis of sex.) The Pythagoreans also adhered to some pretty bizarre rules, one of which was the prohibition of urinating toward the sun. I myself do not urinate toward Barber quarters (just to keep this coin-related).
Whit
While I don't disagree with anything you say, I am surprised you omit languages from your point. Languages, music, and mathematics are each ways of organizing and presenting information, each using small units organized according to rules (or exceptions) to create a larger, meaningful result. Did not many of your math/music students also show linguistic aptitude or polyglot tendencies?
My major was philosophy at a Jesuit college; I ran a tree and landscape company for about a dozen years, now do various jobs to try and keep body and soul together.
Hello all; Math and music are indeed cognate interests if not cognate disciplines. In my 36 years as a math prof at a liberal arts college, I have seen many students double major accordingly. My own daughter was a music major and math minor, And now that I think of it, one of my roommates at Bates College was a math and music major. Perhaps the earliest known example of this linkage lies with the Pythagorean cult/school, about 600BC if I recall. Math and music were their primary interests. There is a legend that one of their members was murdered for his or her revelation that not all real numbers are expressible as the ratio of 2 integers. (I say "her" because the Pythagoreans did not discriminate on the basis of sex.) The Pythagoreans also adhered to some pretty bizarre rules, one of which was the prohibition of urinating toward the sun. I myself do not urinate toward Barber quarters (just to keep this coin-related).
Whit
As an academic, surely you have urinated on manuscripts (or grant proposals), authored by others and sent to you for review? That is an honored academic tradition.
Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
Wow, there are some real intelligent people here with many different college degrees. I only graduated high school, but feel I did fine with it.
I started working a real job at the ripe old age of 12 (there may be child labor laws against this today). I worked summers and after school for an older couple that owned a few properties in my area. They taught me all the basics of home repair (drywall, carpentry, plumbing and electrical). I worked for them until I graduated high school. Since we have a bunch of programmers here I may as well include that I taught myself to program in “Basic” in 1979 on a TRS-80 (known as the trash 80 back then) when I was 15 years old. I had intensions of going on to college to be a computer programmer but realized quickly after only one semester that college was not for me. I spent a year or so writing some programs for Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, but the atmosphere and the dress code were an issue for me. In 1984 I left Mass College of Art and decided to go to work in a local foam factory (Rogers Foam Corporation) where I used my hands and carpentry skills to run machines and build foam products from children’s toys (nerf balls, foam trucks and foam planes) to packaging for the military (tank parts and small missiles). I taught myself how to read blueprints (many prints were still blue in color at that time) and quickly moved up to setup man and then Foreman covering 2 or 3 different departments. After about 14 years of working the floors I was promoted to Production Manager where I manage second and third shift. I’ve been Production Manager for about 20 years now and really like doing it.
I’m not really sure that this helps me in coin collecting, other than looking for fully struck coins as I have a simple understanding of why coins start looking soft as the production dies start to wear out from usage, just like they do where I work.
@Sonorandesertrat said:
Don't knock stupidity--- it's a trait that seems to be shared by a majority of U. S. voters.
Agree. That's why the Founding Fathers gave us the Electoral College.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
@Paradisefound said:
I don't have any particular job.....except free lancing and making people HAPPY
Is that now legal in Hawaii?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
@DrBuster said:
Degreed journalist. Artist. Been building and running/managing websites since 1994, past 10 for some little beverage company HQ'd in Atlanta. Coins are money, I like money->I like coins.
The ONLY little beverage company in Atlanta that I know of is "Pappy's Original Peach Soda!"
@Sonorandesertrat said:
Don't knock stupidity--- it's a trait that seems to be shared by a majority of U. S. voters.
Stupidity and a lack of critical thinking skills (or stubborn self delusion) are different things. Half of all humans are of below-average intelligence. The problem are the ones on the right side of the bell curve who don't use what they've got to good effect.
Since you bring up critical thinking ...
When I talk to people across the country who hire our college graduates in healthcare fields, I hear a similar story. The graduates know the technical aspects of their professions, but do not have the requisite skills in communication, critical thinking, and teamwork.
This is one of the primary reasons we refined the pedagogy we use in our college. For all classes, we place students in teams and in the classroom they spend their time communicating with each other to solve real-world problems (critical thinking). The other primary reason is to focus on how adults learn in the workplace. Adults in the workplace don't learn to solve problems by being subjected to hours of Death by PowerPoint and then being 'tested' some weeks later. Working adults learn by being given a problem and then access to resources to solve the problem for which they are held accountable for the solution.
Numismatist Ordinaire See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
@Sonorandesertrat said:
Don't knock stupidity--- it's a trait that seems to be shared by a majority of U. S. voters.
Stupidity and a lack of critical thinking skills (or stubborn self delusion) are different things. Half of all humans are of below-average intelligence. The problem are the ones on the right side of the bell curve who don't use what they've got to good effect.
We must remember that we are all products of our experience including what we are told, watch, and read.
So many smart folks are not as informed as they should be. My father was a very intelligent (college dropout) , successful businessman with several US and foreign patents under his belt; however, everything he knew about the world came from TV news and the newspaper.
For just that reason, he belongs with the uninformed in the bottom half of your example.
I am a residential mortgage specialist, licensed in all 50 states including Hawaii.
Helping people of all types attain than maintain a home of there own for almost 30 years now.
Coin related I suppose to some extent would be getting a solid mortgage, so you can enjoy your newps, and likes in your own nook or the den.
@giorgio11 said:
Well, I started out with a B.A. from Yale, beginning as a math major before switching to music, and pursued a career as an opera singer. I sang in and studied many languages including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Latin. I still sing pretty well but strictly as an avocation rather than a profession. In my 30s I realized I would never debut at The Met or La Scala, so I switched into a long career in writing and communications.
It turns out that a good Liberal Arts education was an excellent proving ground to become a (better) writer. And numismatics was a constant throughout all of that. The language facility helps with identifying coins of all kinds, and I kind of put all that together when I worked for Heritage as a cataloger. Much of that was U.S. coins (which are mostly in English, I believe ) ), but I did branch out into Canadian, British, and Spanish American coins on occasion. I worked for Heritage for 12 years. Now I'm just a retired piddler who buys and sells and does a show once in a while.
I know I'm not the only person here who is wired for math, music, and languages; in particular, I know @messydesk shares my fascination for number theory and prime numbers. It would be interesting to hear from others who have this rather common trio of traits (a lot of good mathematicians were also good musicians).
And thus endeth my tale.
Kind regards,
George
@Sonorandesertrat said:
I studied organ for 14 years, until my sophomore year in college. I don't play anymore, but remain addicted to 16th-18th-century keyboard music. Minored in math (got as far as group theory and advanced calculus). I have a B.A. in German and learned Spanish at home.
Hello all; Math and music are indeed cognate interests if not cognate disciplines. In my 36 years as a math prof at a liberal arts college, I have seen many students double major accordingly. My own daughter was a music major and math minor, And now that I think of it, one of my roommates at Bates College was a math and music major. Perhaps the earliest known example of this linkage lies with the Pythagorean cult/school, about 600BC if I recall. Math and music were their primary interests. There is a legend that one of their members was murdered for his or her revelation that not all real numbers are expressible as the ratio of 2 integers. (I say "her" because the Pythagoreans did not discriminate on the basis of sex.) The Pythagoreans also adhered to some pretty bizarre rules, one of which was the prohibition of urinating toward the sun. I myself do not urinate toward Barber quarters (just to keep this coin-related).
Whit
These posts reminds me of trying to read "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid". The third of the book that I understood blew my mind.
Sean Reynolds
If you love different languages and/or Douglas Hofstadter (or if you love brilliant typography and reading Jabberwocky in German, for that matter), try Le ton beau de Marot / In Praise of the Music of Language. It's a brilliant read and far more accessible than Gödel, Escher, Bach, treating among other things how to preserve meaning and mood in translating from one language to another. And like in GEB, Hofstadter oversaw not only the writing and editing, but also even the typography of the final product. This guy even sounds like me when I wrote a corporate brochure, edited it myself, and insisted on total artistic control (even though I was smart enough to have a great designer; it's good to know one's limits). Here's a quote from his Foreword:
"... Consequently, I have enjoyed total control over such things as line-breaks, page-breaks, widows, orphans, density of word spacing within lines, fine-grained intercharacter spacing ("kerning'), and so forth and so on -- things that most people usually are unaware of and simply leave to their publisher or their word processor. I am a fanatic, though, and these things matter a great deal to me. Not only do they matter to me, they have had an overwhelming impact on this book from start to finish. This may sound crazy, but it is the gospel truth."
The man is clearly cut from the same cloth I am. The book is among my all-time favorites.
Started working for an engineering consulting company doing soil, water, and concrete testing, construction inspection, surveying, and eventually CAD drafting. Once I had a degree in Civil & Structural engineering that work turned into highway and water system design. Along the way I worked in a materials testing lab and did a bit of programming (mostly Fortran).
After that, I took an abrupt 90 degree turn and went to medical school. By the time I had the prerequisites for that out of the way I was one class away from minors in math, chemistry, and physics. In med school I checked out a few specialties but orthopedic surgeons were easily having the most fun so I became one of those. I sold my soul to the devil (residency) in exchange for the opportunity to wander around inside of people with power tools.
How does that help with numismatics? Well, it does and doesn't. I certainly view the world through the eyes of a scientist who has a rudimentary understanding of culture and the arts. Also, there are a few truths I've learned....... Nobody knows everything. Those at the very top in any area are usually down-to-earth folks with nothing to prove. In contrast, those who make the most noise are usually just sore that they aren't at the top. I also learned that everyone is selling something.
We must remember that we are all products of our experience including what we are told, watch, and read.
So many smart folks are not as informed as they should be. My father was a very intelligent (college dropout) , successful businessman with several US and foreign patents under his belt; however, everything he knew about the world came from TV news and the newspaper.
For just that reason, he belongs with the uninformed in the bottom half of your example.
The media's tendency to infotain is a real problem.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
@Sonorandesertrat said:
Don't knock stupidity--- it's a trait that seems to be shared by a majority of U. S. voters.
Stupidity and a lack of critical thinking skills (or stubborn self delusion) are different things. Half of all humans are of below-average intelligence. The problem are the ones on the right side of the bell curve who don't use what they've got to good effect.
Since you bring up critical thinking ...
When I talk to people across the country who hire our college graduates in healthcare fields, I hear a similar story. The graduates know the technical aspects of their professions, but do not have the requisite skills in communication, critical thinking, and teamwork.
This is one of the primary reasons we refined the pedagogy we use in our college. For all classes, we place students in teams and in the classroom they spend their time communicating with each other to solve real-world problems (critical thinking). The other primary reason is to focus on how adults learn in the workplace. Adults in the workplace don't learn to solve problems by being subjected to hours of Death by PowerPoint and then being 'tested' some weeks later. Working adults learn by being given a problem and then access to resources to solve the problem for which they are held accountable for the solution.
I agree, but I also think that public education's abandonment of the arts and humanities over the last 30 years is hurting us.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
@Insider2 curious what your history has been as distinct from Skip Fazzari at ICG? And what happened with regard to the handicapped icon? Does anyone know who insider1 is?
@Sonorandesertrat said:
Don't knock stupidity--- it's a trait that seems to be shared by a majority of U. S. voters.
Stupidity and a lack of critical thinking skills (or stubborn self delusion) are different things. Half of all humans are of below-average intelligence. The problem are the ones on the right side of the bell curve who don't use what they've got to good effect.
Since you bring up critical thinking ...
When I talk to people across the country who hire our college graduates in healthcare fields, I hear a similar story. The graduates know the technical aspects of their professions, but do not have the requisite skills in communication, critical thinking, and teamwork.
This is one of the primary reasons we refined the pedagogy we use in our college. For all classes, we place students in teams and in the classroom they spend their time communicating with each other to solve real-world problems (critical thinking). The other primary reason is to focus on how adults learn in the workplace. Adults in the workplace don't learn to solve problems by being subjected to hours of Death by PowerPoint and then being 'tested' some weeks later. Working adults learn by being given a problem and then access to resources to solve the problem for which they are held accountable for the solution.
I agree, but I also think that public education's abandonment of the arts and humanities over the last 30 years is hurting us.
No doubt our society is missing out by diminishing the emphasis on the arts and humanities. We sort of 'sneak' it into our college's culture by having the 'empty' wall space in our building serve as rotating art exhibits. We are able to bring in people from across the campus and around the community to view art created by the community of artists in East Texas.
Numismatist Ordinaire See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
@logger7 said: @Insider2 curious what your history has been as distinct from Skip Fazzari at ICG? And what happened with regard to the handicapped icon? Does anyone know who insider1 is?
Skip is a very close life-long friend. When that wannabe joined CU he picked the wheelchair. After about a year as an unknown poster he was practically "outed" by another authenticator so he posted his bio on the web site. It has since disappeared!
He lost his wheelchair when trying to figure out what the badge for photogenic was. Several members made him a new wheelchair icon. I was his mentor. After all I've done for the guy, I'm disappointed that he is more influenced by the CU members and listens less to me. He learns new things about coins every day and now he is becoming my mentor.
He posts as "Insider" on another site. Insider1 is an alt. So is Insider3 and Insider4. Insider5 is his wife. I think Outsider1 is his girlfriend. Both of them just lurk to make sure he plays nice.
@giorgio11 said:
While I don't disagree with anything you say, I am surprised you omit languages from your point. Languages, music, and mathematics are each ways of organizing and presenting information, each using small units organized according to rules (or exceptions) to create a larger, meaningful result. Did not many of your math/music students also show linguistic aptitude or polyglot tendencies?
Kind regards,
George
An interesting question, George. I have never noticed an extraordinary aptitude for languages among math/music students who are US citizens, nor have I seen a particular hunger for the study of language among math majors. But it is true that many of our STEM students are of the Asian continent or are middle-European. They come to us already bi-or-multi-lingual. And mathwise, they come very well prepared. The linkage of which you speculate might be more apparent to me if we offered linguistics instead of language and culture studies. (Your question has reminded me that way back in the late 1980s, my college instituted a general education requirement that every student take a quantitative course. Elementary Greek appeared among those courses that counted. As brand new department chair, I wrote to the Dean, asking for the rationale. My only reply was the removal of the course from the list.)
As an academic, surely you have urinated on manuscripts (or grant proposals), authored by others and sent to you for review? That is an honored academic tradition.
The fact that some of you can get laid with those heady backgrounds boggles my mind
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@mustangmanbob said:
Uncle Sam came knocking, and made me a deal I could not refuse. Airborne Ranger Infantry man, toured the world, but not the nice garden spots.
Uncle came through afterward and paid for my education, and would up with a degree in Nuclear Physics, For a while I worked on SIngle Pulse Single Use Power generators (those things that North Korea et al are setting off and rattling the world a bit), but eventually moved over to semiconductors, as the size of the components has reached the atomic level. As mentioned before, one of my areas had 30+ SEMs and other types of inspection equipment.
God blessed me in this work with patent and stock option type stuff, so I have retired, and spend a lot of time on mission trips, primarily installing water systems in impoverished parts of the world. Clean water, in the village, saves a lot of lives,and time, as women (young girls) would walk for hours a day to get water, and often were kidnapped, and even best case, stopped going to school.
Lawyer for 34+ years. Primary practice includes litigation defense of local governments, cities, counties, schools and law enforcement. Doesn’t seem to relate to coins at all, but my grandparents got me started at a young age. First deal as a kid was when I bought 3 1970 mint sets from the mint. Price sky rocketed when they came out. Didn’t think that could last, since they made so many of them, so I traded 2 for a gem bu set of silver Roosevelt’s. Still have those and the remaining 1970 mint set. After that I had the bug. I am a small time collector and I read these forums daily, but rarely post. I just read and learn from all of you! Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
@Insider2 said: @Oldhoopster said: "Coin World used to have a counterfeit detection column that used a lot of micrographs (I think @Insider2 may have been doing the column at the time, but it’s been awhile). In short, I cut out some pics from one of the columns, did a short write up on how microscopy was used in counterfeit detection, and got an A+.
If that was your column @Insider2 , I owe you a beer. Getting anything above a B on an assignment in that class was difficult, and I only had to put in about 25% of the effort I would have needed if I had to research another topic.
I should claim it was just to get a beer, but @CaptHenway would rat me out. I've only had columns in the Numismatist and Numismatic news.
Wasn't me. Think that was Mike Fahey, who used to work for me.
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
Comments
Interesting to read about the mainframe programmers. I'm a new-fangled programmer who develops digital camera control apps.
.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
I was taking an undergrad Microscopy course from a very difficult professor 30+ years. One assignment was to write a report on a use of microscopy in a field other than material science. Back then, Coin World used to have a counterfeit detection column that used a lot of micrographs (I think @Insider2 may have been doing the column at the time, but it’s been awhile). In short, I cut out some pics from one of the columns, did a short write up on how microscopy was used in counterfeit detection, and got an A+.
If that was your column @Insider2 , I owe you a beer. Getting anything above a B on an assignment in that class was difficult, and I only had to put in about 25% of the effort I would have needed if I had to research another topic.
Degreed journalist. Artist. Been building and running/managing websites since 1994, past 10 for some little beverage company HQ'd in Atlanta. Coins are money, I like money->I like coins.
I signed up for an acct in 2001 and forgot about it until I tried to register a few months ago. Who would’ve thought that it would still be active after 16+ years of no activity?
@Oldhoopster said: "Coin World used to have a counterfeit detection column that used a lot of micrographs (I think @Insider2 may have been doing the column at the time, but it’s been awhile). In short, I cut out some pics from one of the columns, did a short write up on how microscopy was used in counterfeit detection, and got an A+.
If that was your column @Insider2 , I owe you a beer. Getting anything above a B on an assignment in that class was difficult, and I only had to put in about 25% of the effort I would have needed if I had to research another topic.
I should claim it was just to get a beer, but @CaptHenway would rat me out. I've only had columns in the Numismatist and Numismatic news.
Hello all; Math and music are indeed cognate interests if not cognate disciplines. In my 36 years as a math prof at a liberal arts college, I have seen many students double major accordingly. My own daughter was a music major and math minor, And now that I think of it, one of my roommates at Bates College was a math and music major. Perhaps the earliest known example of this linkage lies with the Pythagorean cult/school, about 600BC if I recall. Math and music were their primary interests. There is a legend that one of their members was murdered for his or her revelation that not all real numbers are expressible as the ratio of 2 integers. (I say "her" because the Pythagoreans did not discriminate on the basis of sex.) The Pythagoreans also adhered to some pretty bizarre rules, one of which was the prohibition of urinating toward the sun. I myself do not urinate toward Barber quarters (just to keep this coin-related).
Whit
The 360/65 was IBM's big gun back in the 70's. I started my career in April of '71. My first position was at Control Data Corporation based in MN. CDC manufactured scientific computers rather than business machines like IBM. After 13 years with Control Data I moved to Amdahl Corporation which was truly a world class company and a direct competitor of IBM. Dr. Gene Amdahl was an IBM Fellow which basically gave him creative license to design whatever he wants. After disagreements with the strategic direction that Dr. Amdahl wanted to take vs. what IBM saw as the future they parted ways. IBM wanted to move from air cooled to water cooled mainframes while Dr. Amdahl felt there was many more years left for air cooled mainframes. Spent 26 years with Amdahl before leaving in 2010.
Successful BST transactions with lordmarcovan, Moldnut, erwindoc
These posts reminds me of trying to read "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid". The third of the book that I understood blew my mind.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Well, Kurt Goedel was so eccentric that he literally starved himself to death in Princeton. I try not to refer to him as a good model for a balanced life (so why am I on this site???).
Decades ago, I took a graduate course in statistical mechanics, and the opening paragraph in the textbook noted that a number of the founders of the field committed suicide and, with that cheery thought, we were embarking on a study of statistical mechanics.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Go figure.
https://scientificamerican.com/article/bad-news-for-the-highly-intelligent/
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
I am not surprised. Intelligence should not be equated with emotional stability or, in many cases, with making good decisions about living one's life, productively managing business interactions, etc. I did my graduate work at Caltech, and am well acquainted with what that article focuses on.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
I'd rather be smart and crazy than stupid and whatever it is that passes for happiness.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
Don't knock stupidity--- it's a trait that seems to be shared by a majority of U. S. voters.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Realtor for 38 years on the island of Oahu
Stupidity and a lack of critical thinking skills (or stubborn self delusion) are different things. Half of all humans are of below-average intelligence. The problem are the ones on the right side of the bell curve who don't use what they've got to good effect.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
Love Hawaii, especially Kauai. There's even a deep canyon (Waimea) there, and the Na Pali region is cool.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
For me ChemE plus an MBA. Worked in manufacturing plants my whole life- I love making things. Even worked in pressrooms for a while so I know a bit about stamping processes. Later in the career I ran large automotive components businesses.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
I don't have any particular job.....except free lancing and making people HAPPY
I actually do agree (I have a not-always-muted tendency towards flippancy and sarcasm). Your last sentence applies well to coin collectors too. Fortunately for those in the business end of the hobby.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
While I don't disagree with anything you say, I am surprised you omit languages from your point. Languages, music, and mathematics are each ways of organizing and presenting information, each using small units organized according to rules (or exceptions) to create a larger, meaningful result. Did not many of your math/music students also show linguistic aptitude or polyglot tendencies?
Kind regards,
George
My major was philosophy at a Jesuit college; I ran a tree and landscape company for about a dozen years, now do various jobs to try and keep body and soul together.
As an academic, surely you have urinated on manuscripts (or grant proposals), authored by others and sent to you for review? That is an honored academic tradition.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
@AllCoinsRule it's no better when you are (nearly) 70!
Kind regards,
George
Wow, there are some real intelligent people here with many different college degrees. I only graduated high school, but feel I did fine with it.
I started working a real job at the ripe old age of 12 (there may be child labor laws against this today). I worked summers and after school for an older couple that owned a few properties in my area. They taught me all the basics of home repair (drywall, carpentry, plumbing and electrical). I worked for them until I graduated high school. Since we have a bunch of programmers here I may as well include that I taught myself to program in “Basic” in 1979 on a TRS-80 (known as the trash 80 back then) when I was 15 years old. I had intensions of going on to college to be a computer programmer but realized quickly after only one semester that college was not for me. I spent a year or so writing some programs for Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, but the atmosphere and the dress code were an issue for me. In 1984 I left Mass College of Art and decided to go to work in a local foam factory (Rogers Foam Corporation) where I used my hands and carpentry skills to run machines and build foam products from children’s toys (nerf balls, foam trucks and foam planes) to packaging for the military (tank parts and small missiles). I taught myself how to read blueprints (many prints were still blue in color at that time) and quickly moved up to setup man and then Foreman covering 2 or 3 different departments. After about 14 years of working the floors I was promoted to Production Manager where I manage second and third shift. I’ve been Production Manager for about 20 years now and really like doing it.
I’m not really sure that this helps me in coin collecting, other than looking for fully struck coins as I have a simple understanding of why coins start looking soft as the production dies start to wear out from usage, just like they do where I work.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
Agree. That's why the Founding Fathers gave us the Electoral College.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Is that now legal in Hawaii?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
The ONLY little beverage company in Atlanta that I know of is "Pappy's Original Peach Soda!"
I'm guilty and there are some other members who are obviously so. In fact, their posts are actually extremely hard to understand.
Since you bring up critical thinking ...
When I talk to people across the country who hire our college graduates in healthcare fields, I hear a similar story. The graduates know the technical aspects of their professions, but do not have the requisite skills in communication, critical thinking, and teamwork.
This is one of the primary reasons we refined the pedagogy we use in our college. For all classes, we place students in teams and in the classroom they spend their time communicating with each other to solve real-world problems (critical thinking). The other primary reason is to focus on how adults learn in the workplace. Adults in the workplace don't learn to solve problems by being subjected to hours of Death by PowerPoint and then being 'tested' some weeks later. Working adults learn by being given a problem and then access to resources to solve the problem for which they are held accountable for the solution.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
Baume & Mercier? nice
We must remember that we are all products of our experience including what we are told, watch, and read.
So many smart folks are not as informed as they should be. My father was a very intelligent (college dropout) , successful businessman with several US and foreign patents under his belt; however, everything he knew about the world came from TV news and the newspaper.
For just that reason, he belongs with the uninformed in the bottom half of your example.
I am a residential mortgage specialist, licensed in all 50 states including Hawaii.
Helping people of all types attain than maintain a home of there own for almost 30 years now.
Coin related I suppose to some extent would be getting a solid mortgage, so you can enjoy your newps, and likes in your own nook or the den.
If you love different languages and/or Douglas Hofstadter (or if you love brilliant typography and reading Jabberwocky in German, for that matter), try Le ton beau de Marot / In Praise of the Music of Language. It's a brilliant read and far more accessible than Gödel, Escher, Bach, treating among other things how to preserve meaning and mood in translating from one language to another. And like in GEB, Hofstadter oversaw not only the writing and editing, but also even the typography of the final product. This guy even sounds like me when I wrote a corporate brochure, edited it myself, and insisted on total artistic control (even though I was smart enough to have a great designer; it's good to know one's limits). Here's a quote from his Foreword:
"... Consequently, I have enjoyed total control over such things as line-breaks, page-breaks, widows, orphans, density of word spacing within lines, fine-grained intercharacter spacing ("kerning'), and so forth and so on -- things that most people usually are unaware of and simply leave to their publisher or their word processor. I am a fanatic, though, and these things matter a great deal to me. Not only do they matter to me, they have had an overwhelming impact on this book from start to finish. This may sound crazy, but it is the gospel truth."
The man is clearly cut from the same cloth I am. The book is among my all-time favorites.
Kind regards,
George
It's been a long strange trip:
Started working for an engineering consulting company doing soil, water, and concrete testing, construction inspection, surveying, and eventually CAD drafting. Once I had a degree in Civil & Structural engineering that work turned into highway and water system design. Along the way I worked in a materials testing lab and did a bit of programming (mostly Fortran).
After that, I took an abrupt 90 degree turn and went to medical school. By the time I had the prerequisites for that out of the way I was one class away from minors in math, chemistry, and physics. In med school I checked out a few specialties but orthopedic surgeons were easily having the most fun so I became one of those. I sold my soul to the devil (residency) in exchange for the opportunity to wander around inside of people with power tools.
How does that help with numismatics? Well, it does and doesn't. I certainly view the world through the eyes of a scientist who has a rudimentary understanding of culture and the arts. Also, there are a few truths I've learned....... Nobody knows everything. Those at the very top in any area are usually down-to-earth folks with nothing to prove. In contrast, those who make the most noise are usually just sore that they aren't at the top. I also learned that everyone is selling something.
The media's tendency to infotain is a real problem.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
I agree, but I also think that public education's abandonment of the arts and humanities over the last 30 years is hurting us.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
im an assembly worker in various areas and part time a proctolagist ( its a unique study at times )
@Insider2 curious what your history has been as distinct from Skip Fazzari at ICG? And what happened with regard to the handicapped icon? Does anyone know who insider1 is?
I live in Chicago. I'm a CPA, not real exciting but I like it.
No doubt our society is missing out by diminishing the emphasis on the arts and humanities. We sort of 'sneak' it into our college's culture by having the 'empty' wall space in our building serve as rotating art exhibits. We are able to bring in people from across the campus and around the community to view art created by the community of artists in East Texas.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
Skip is a very close life-long friend. When that wannabe joined CU he picked the wheelchair. After about a year as an unknown poster he was practically "outed" by another authenticator so he posted his bio on the web site. It has since disappeared!
He lost his wheelchair when trying to figure out what the badge for photogenic was. Several members made him a new wheelchair icon. I was his mentor. After all I've done for the guy, I'm disappointed that he is more influenced by the CU members and listens less to me. He learns new things about coins every day and now he is becoming my mentor.
He posts as "Insider" on another site. Insider1 is an alt. So is Insider3 and Insider4. Insider5 is his wife. I think Outsider1 is his girlfriend. Both of them just lurk to make sure he plays nice.
30 years in the commercial nuclear power industry. Retired now, living the dream.
An interesting question, George. I have never noticed an extraordinary aptitude for languages among math/music students who are US citizens, nor have I seen a particular hunger for the study of language among math majors. But it is true that many of our STEM students are of the Asian continent or are middle-European. They come to us already bi-or-multi-lingual. And mathwise, they come very well prepared. The linkage of which you speculate might be more apparent to me if we offered linguistics instead of language and culture studies. (Your question has reminded me that way back in the late 1980s, my college instituted a general education requirement that every student take a quantitative course. Elementary Greek appeared among those courses that counted. As brand new department chair, I wrote to the Dean, asking for the rationale. My only reply was the removal of the course from the list.)
Hmmm ... no, but it's a thought.
Whit.
The fact that some of you can get laid with those heady backgrounds boggles my mind
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Justacommeman,
It's not difficult. My wife has a Ph.D. in physics. (I'm serious.)
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Rangers lead the way
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Lawyer for 34+ years. Primary practice includes litigation defense of local governments, cities, counties, schools and law enforcement. Doesn’t seem to relate to coins at all, but my grandparents got me started at a young age. First deal as a kid was when I bought 3 1970 mint sets from the mint. Price sky rocketed when they came out. Didn’t think that could last, since they made so many of them, so I traded 2 for a gem bu set of silver Roosevelt’s. Still have those and the remaining 1970 mint set. After that I had the bug. I am a small time collector and I read these forums daily, but rarely post. I just read and learn from all of you! Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
Wasn't me. Think that was Mike Fahey, who used to work for me.