Mike Huben
From Huben's Wiki
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
I thought a wiki would be the simplest way to organize much of my online activity: eventually, wikis will supplant my other sites. This page is organized roughly by my interests, with the things that might be relevant to my students first. | I thought a wiki would be the simplest way to organize much of my online activity: eventually, wikis will supplant my other sites. This page is organized roughly by my interests, with the things that might be relevant to my students first. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Get to know me and my thinking == | ||
| + | [[File:MikeInGreenhouse.jpg|thumb|In the greenhouse at IKIAM University]] | ||
| + | A brief sampler from below and elsewhere: | ||
| + | * [http://huben.us/public/MRH_CV2016.pdf My academic CV]. | ||
| + | * [https://www.replyall.me/peltacast/scourge-of-the-libertarians-interview-with-mike-huben/ Scourge of the Libertarians: Interview with Mike Huben]. My views on libertarianism. | ||
| + | * [[Ideas|My ideas file]]: free to anybody who wants to use them. | ||
| + | * What I think about [[Trump|Donald Trump]]. | ||
| + | * [[Stories from my life.]] | ||
| + | * Here's my [http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/02/23/why-i-am-an-atheist-mike-huben/ Why I Am An Atheist] posting at Pharyngula. | ||
| + | * [http://ecuadormetamorphosis.blogspot.com Metamorphosis], my blog about my rebirth as an Ecuadorean entomologist. | ||
| + | * [http://entclub.org/nomination-poems.html Nomination Poems for the Cambridge Entomology Club.] One of my few poetic endeavors, where the rhymes are deliberately strained for fun. | ||
| + | * My daylily website, on this wiki: [[Diploids Resurgent]]. | ||
| + | * [https://philpapers.org/rec/HUBTFS Taking Freedom Seriously: A Pre-Legal Model of Freedom, Interferences, Rights and Duties.] How I think freedom and rights really work. | ||
| + | * [http://critiques.us Critiques Of Libertarianism], my giant index of 2500+ links and writings that rebut libertarian claims. It includes my [http://critiques.us/index.php?title=A_Non-Libertarian_FAQ Non-Libertarian FAQ]. | ||
| + | * [[Linear Programming]]: an innovative method of teaching a badly taught concept. | ||
| + | * An idea for a [[Truth course]]. | ||
| + | * [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293123467_Annotated_key_to_the_ensign_wasp_Hymenoptera_Evaniidae_genera_of_the_world_with_descriptions_of_three_new_genera Annotated Key to the Ensign Wasp genera.] My primary scientific publication. | ||
| + | * [http://world.std.com/~mhuben/sigs.html My favorite signature quotations that I've been using since the 80's.] | ||
| + | * [[Things I love and admire about Ecuador.]] | ||
| + | * [[My Fundamentals]] (under construction). | ||
| + | <br style="clear: both" /> | ||
== Currently == | == Currently == | ||
[[Image:Haemactis sanguinalis, female (Blood-Red Skipper).jpg|thumb|Haemactis sanguinalis, female (Blood-Red Skipper)]] | [[Image:Haemactis sanguinalis, female (Blood-Red Skipper).jpg|thumb|Haemactis sanguinalis, female (Blood-Red Skipper)]] | ||
| − | Right now, I'm in transition from teaching in the US to becoming an entomologist in Ecuador. You can read about it in my new blog [http://ecuadormetamorphosis.blogspot.com Metamorphosis]. I am engaged to [http://www.neotropicos.net/ Alina Freire Fierro], who is now a research professor at | + | Right now, I'm in transition from teaching in the US to becoming an entomologist in Ecuador. You can read about it in my new blog [http://ecuadormetamorphosis.blogspot.com Metamorphosis]. I am engaged to [http://www.neotropicos.net/ Alina Freire Fierro], who is now a research professor at IKIAM University. |
I'm doing some [http://extension.referata.com/wiki/Página_principal evaluations for disease resistance in tomatoes], with 38 varieties growing so far at IKIAM. I have seed for another 80 varieties, seed for 50 varieties of peppers, and much more seed besides. | I'm doing some [http://extension.referata.com/wiki/Página_principal evaluations for disease resistance in tomatoes], with 38 varieties growing so far at IKIAM. I have seed for another 80 varieties, seed for 50 varieties of peppers, and much more seed besides. | ||
| − | Alina and I both have sizable libraries. I love the folding bookshelves that I brought from the US, but we don't have nearly enough. So we | + | Alina and I both have sizable libraries. I love the folding bookshelves that I brought from the US, but we don't have nearly enough. So we had 25 [[new custom folding bookshelves]] built by a local carpenter. |
| + | |||
| + | I've been living in 4 cities in Ecuador: | ||
| + | * [[Quito]]: the high-altitude capital (2800m), quite large, with access to almost anything. Crowded and polluted. | ||
| + | * [[Tena]]: a rainforest city (600m) and a delight to live in. Ikiam University where my sweetheart is employed. | ||
| + | * [[Latacunga]]: a cold, high-altitude city (2800m), where my sweetheart was employed for 2 years at Universidad Technica Cotopaxi. | ||
| + | * [[Banos]]: a wonderful tourist town at cloud forest altitude (1800m) at the entrance to the rain forest. A perfect climate and excellent restaurants. My sweetheart's home town, and where we will be living and eventually retiring. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 2022, we will be living for 8 months in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guangzhou Guangzhou], where Alina has a fellowship at the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_China_Botanical_Garden South China Botanical Garden]. [https://goo.gl/maps/ohzB2LD6gYbfkMc29 Here's the location.] | ||
| + | |||
| + | <br style="clear: both" /> | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Gardening, Botany and Agriculture == | ||
| + | [[Image:Mucuna klitgaardiae.jpg|thumb|Mucuna klitgaardiae with my favorite botanist, Alina.]] | ||
| + | [[Image:Garden.jpg|thumb|A corner of my US garden in peak season.]] | ||
| + | My mom has a picture of me staring intently at Petunias on Jones Beach at age 2, so I guess I've been a plant guy for 60 years or so. I grew my first seedlings in first grade, and have not stopped since then. I worked in the botanical greenhouse of the Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University for a few years, caring for their live botanical collection of several thousand species in the greenhouse and their outdoor garden. I wanted to be a farmer for a while, until I realized that I had dreadful allergies. [http://world.std.com/~mhuben/garden.html My home garden near Boston had a bit over 300 varieties of perennials and shrubs], not counting daylilies (see below.) | ||
| + | |||
| + | Currently, I am working on a [http://extension.referata.com/wiki/Página_principal Tomato Project] with some students at IKIAM University, in Tena, Ecuador. The goal is to find the most disease resistant varieties (and perhaps breed with them) to find tomatoes that do not need greenhouse protection from rain-spread diseases. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Now I am in Ecuador: here's my list of [[Ecuador Botanical and Gardening Resources]]. | ||
| + | <br style="clear: both" /> | ||
| + | |||
<br style="clear: both" /> | <br style="clear: both" /> | ||
| Line 17: | Line 60: | ||
[[Image:MouseMites.jpg|thumb|Mouse skin mites using Jamin-Lebedeff interference microscopy.]] | [[Image:MouseMites.jpg|thumb|Mouse skin mites using Jamin-Lebedeff interference microscopy.]] | ||
One of my true loves has always been [[Entomology]]. I used to specialize in [[Acarology]] (the study of mites), and built a collection of a thousand slide-mounted specimens (and who knows how many more in alcohol that I've never mounted.) I've got a substantial number of colorful mite photographs that I've always wanted to publish, photographed by my friends in the New York Microscopical Society and me. After my last sabbatical collecting insects in Ecuador (1988), I finally settled on my current specialization, the [[Evaniidae]] (a family of wasps that parasitize cockroach egg cases.) I study these at the [http://www.mcz.harvard.edu/ Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology] on an unofficial basis. I'm also a member of the [http://entclub.org/ Cambridge Entomological Club]. | One of my true loves has always been [[Entomology]]. I used to specialize in [[Acarology]] (the study of mites), and built a collection of a thousand slide-mounted specimens (and who knows how many more in alcohol that I've never mounted.) I've got a substantial number of colorful mite photographs that I've always wanted to publish, photographed by my friends in the New York Microscopical Society and me. After my last sabbatical collecting insects in Ecuador (1988), I finally settled on my current specialization, the [[Evaniidae]] (a family of wasps that parasitize cockroach egg cases.) I study these at the [http://www.mcz.harvard.edu/ Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology] on an unofficial basis. I'm also a member of the [http://entclub.org/ Cambridge Entomological Club]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | * [http://huben.us/public/MRH_CV2016.pdf My academic CV]. | ||
| + | * [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_Huben My Researchgate page.] | ||
One of the fun aspects of being a wide-ranging collector is that [[Species|my collections are used for describing species.]] | One of the fun aspects of being a wide-ranging collector is that [[Species|my collections are used for describing species.]] | ||
| Line 30: | Line 76: | ||
== Family == | == Family == | ||
[[Image:Huben Family.jpg|thumb|Mike, Carol, Robert and Peggy.]] | [[Image:Huben Family.jpg|thumb|Mike, Carol, Robert and Peggy.]] | ||
| − | When I married in '88, my ex-wife Peggy and I both changed our name to Huben (mine used to be Huybensz.) Our daughter Carol was born in '90, and our son Robert was born in '93. As of | + | When I married in '88, my ex-wife Peggy and I both changed our name to Huben (mine used to be Huybensz.) Our daughter Carol was born in '90, and our son Robert was born in '93. As of 2021: |
* Peggy teaches Chemistry in Somerville. | * Peggy teaches Chemistry in Somerville. | ||
| − | * Carol is | + | * Carol is teaching Social Justice in Northampton. |
| − | * Robert | + | * Robert has completed his doctorate in mathematics at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. |
* I am engaged to [http://www.neotropicos.net/ Alina Freire Fierro]. | * I am engaged to [http://www.neotropicos.net/ Alina Freire Fierro]. | ||
[[Image:Alina and Mike cropped.jpg|thumb|Alina and Mike.]] | [[Image:Alina and Mike cropped.jpg|thumb|Alina and Mike.]] | ||
| Line 39: | Line 85: | ||
== Teaching == | == Teaching == | ||
| − | [[Image:PokerHands.jpg|thumb|[http://critiquesoflibertarianism.blogspot.com/2009/01/venn-diagram-of-poker-hands-solution.html My Venn diagram of 5-card poker hands.] ]] | + | [[Image:PokerHands.jpg|thumb|[http://critiquesoflibertarianism.blogspot.com/2009/01/venn-diagram-of-poker-hands-solution.html My Euler (not Venn) diagram of 5-card poker hands.] ]] |
From 2010 until 2014, I was a math + CS teacher at [[Boston Latin School]]. I've taught[[Teacher|:]] | From 2010 until 2014, I was a math + CS teacher at [[Boston Latin School]]. I've taught[[Teacher|:]] | ||
* [[AP Computer Science]] | * [[AP Computer Science]] | ||
| Line 58: | Line 104: | ||
[[Why Is Math Hard?]] | [[Why Is Math Hard?]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[The One Ring]]: a riff on Tolkein about unit circles. I always included this on tests to amuse the students. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Linear Programming]]: an innovative method of teaching a badly taught concept. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [https://www.quora.com/profile/Mike-Huben If 1∘4=5 and 2∘5=12 and 3∘6=21 then what is 8∘11?] (The ∘ symbol is an unspecified operator.) The answer might surprise you. | ||
Here's my [[Resume]]. | Here's my [[Resume]]. | ||
An idea for a [[Truth course]]. | An idea for a [[Truth course]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Some [[Recreational Math Problems]]. | ||
My theme song is "Weird Al" Yankovic's [http://vimeo.com/752979 White & Nerdy]. | My theme song is "Weird Al" Yankovic's [http://vimeo.com/752979 White & Nerdy]. | ||
| − | + | * [[File:Nerdscore.gif|link=http://www.nerdtests.com/ft_nq.php?im]] | |
<br style="clear: both" /> | <br style="clear: both" /> | ||
| Line 79: | Line 133: | ||
* [http://world.std.com/~mhuben/tastes.html Here is a short list of my favorite books, films, etc.] | * [http://world.std.com/~mhuben/tastes.html Here is a short list of my favorite books, films, etc.] | ||
* A recent copy of my [https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20086520/Bookmarks.html Bookmarks]. | * A recent copy of my [https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20086520/Bookmarks.html Bookmarks]. | ||
| − | + | * [[Music]] | |
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | [[ | + | |
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | ||
<br style="clear: both" /> | <br style="clear: both" /> | ||
| Line 100: | Line 148: | ||
* [http://hubendaylilies.blogspot.com My second daylily web site, a blog.] | * [http://hubendaylilies.blogspot.com My second daylily web site, a blog.] | ||
* My first daylily web site, [http://world.std.com/~mhuben/garden.html Mike Huben's Garden Page]. | * My first daylily web site, [http://world.std.com/~mhuben/garden.html Mike Huben's Garden Page]. | ||
| + | * [[Everyone Can Breed Daylilies]]: book project planning. | ||
| + | * [[Starting Breeding Daylilies In Ecuador]]. | ||
<br style="clear: both" /> | <br style="clear: both" /> | ||
| Line 124: | Line 174: | ||
** a host of related materials I've been able to find. | ** a host of related materials I've been able to find. | ||
** [http://world.std.com/~mhuben/sigs.html Signature quotes from my collection] related to libertarianism. | ** [http://world.std.com/~mhuben/sigs.html Signature quotes from my collection] related to libertarianism. | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[https://press.princeton.edu/titles/13343.html Economics in Two Lessons: Why Markets Work So Well, and Why They Can Fail So Badly] by John Quiggin. An extraordinary rebuttal to the bad economics of libertarians and neoliberals. I assisted John Quiggin by commenting on almost all the chapters, suggesting changes for clarity, completeness, anticipating responses, etc. [https://johnquiggin.com/2018/08/30/economics-in-two-lessons-acknowledgements/ Earned myself a very nice credit!] | ||
* [[Mike's Skepticism]]<br>I was briefly a contributing editor writing a monthly column for [http://www.suite101.com/ Suite101]. That ended when I did not meet deadlines. The originals were at: [http://www.suite101.com/topics/page.cfm/645 Skepticism]. | * [[Mike's Skepticism]]<br>I was briefly a contributing editor writing a monthly column for [http://www.suite101.com/ Suite101]. That ended when I did not meet deadlines. The originals were at: [http://www.suite101.com/topics/page.cfm/645 Skepticism]. | ||
| Line 129: | Line 181: | ||
*[[Disgust With Philosophy]]<br>I believe philosophical thinking is a necessary tool. But not for any knowledge or wisdom. The only valid use I find for philosophy is to REJECT ideas: most prominently those of philosophers. When students tell me they are interested in philosophy, I want to steer them away from it: what a futile waste of time! | *[[Disgust With Philosophy]]<br>I believe philosophical thinking is a necessary tool. But not for any knowledge or wisdom. The only valid use I find for philosophy is to REJECT ideas: most prominently those of philosophers. When students tell me they are interested in philosophy, I want to steer them away from it: what a futile waste of time! | ||
<br style="clear: both" /> | <br style="clear: both" /> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Of course there has to be SOME philosophy that I like. I generally like the philosophers who lean towards science (such as Dennett) and some of the golden oldies such as Peirce and Dewey, though I confess that I haven't read much of the latter two. | ||
| + | |||
| + | * [https://www.ockhamsbeard.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Evolution-and-Moral-Ecology-Tim-Dean-Public.pdf Evolution and Moral Ecology by Timothy Dean]. I haven't spotted a difference between his ideas and mine, though his are greatly better elaborated and explained. Essentially why there is an ecology of moralities and how they have evolved. While he doesn't go there, it effectively answers religious claims to exclusive morality. | ||
== Atheism == | == Atheism == | ||
