Let’s start with the basics: What exactly are semiconductors, and why do they matter so much? Imagine you want to control the flow of electricity—like turning it on, off, or even controlling how much flows through. Semiconductors are special materials that can do just that. They’re not quite like copper, which easily lets electricity flow, and not

But the lesson of the past several hundred years of science is that there are things that can be figured out by formal processes, but aren’t readily accessible to immediate human thinking.

Research shows prisons in the United States run smoother with gangs than without them.

Maybe his Midwestern upbringing and the tiny college he went to encouraged his self-reliance and taught him that the surest kind of knowledge is what you construct yourself.

A good structure is something you can trust. It relieves you from the burden of remembering and keeping track of everything. If you can trust the system, you can let go of the attempt to hold everything together in your head and you can start focusing on what is important: The content, the argument and the ideas.

As the old saying goes, “You can do anything once you stop trying to do everything.”

Inherent in the strategies of the bad guys in the tournament were two mistaken assumptions. The first was that later rounds would be like earlier rounds. Yet many programs, including TFT, paid attention to prior moves and responded accordingly, eventually punishing bad behavior.

“The executive who wants to be effective and who wants his organization to be effective polices all programs, all activities, all tasks. He always asks: ‘Is this still worth doing?’ And if it isn’t, he gets rid of it so as to be able to concentrate on the few tasks that, if done with excellence, will really make a difference in the results of his o

The same traits that make people a nightmare to deal with can also make them the people who change the world.