I made a pitstop on the way to the library to Blaz!ng Bagels (that name will be left uncommented).  But here is their logo:

Best Bagels East of New York, huh?  Since when is Bellevue east of New York?

I thought perhaps that it’s just an expansion from a New England company that I was unaware of, so I googled them and came to find their site.   And nope.  Only other location listed is in Redmond.

I guess if you keep going east from NY, you’ll eventually get to this area…

In the midst of studying for a DiffEq midterm, I decided to distract myself with even more diffeq studying.  Perhaps you remember this lovely post from which I received some good discussion.  I guess I am developing a “history” of distracting myself from math with more math.

I presented myself with a more interesting problem: what is the level of caffeine in my bloodstream at any given point in time?

I’m having trouble modeling this, so perhaps my fellow diffeq nerds out there can come out of the woodwork for me.  This will be sitting in my head for a while so please, help me put myself out of my misery!

So here are the variables (I either googled them or knew them off hand):

Amount of caffeine in 1 30 mL shot of espresso: about 100 mg
Initial consumption of coffee: 16 oz drink with 2-30 mL shots of espresso
Time it takes to consume: 15 minutes (chug!)
Rate of caffeine absorption into bloodstream: 99% of caffeine is absorbed in 45 minutes (only rate I could find), although can reach a peak within 15 – 120 minutes
Rate of caffeine processed out of bloodstreem: half life of ~3 hours

Let C(t) = amount of caffeine in bloodstream at any period of time in hours
C(0) = C₀
dC/dt = rate in – rate out

rate in = 200mg/16 oz * 16oz/15 minutes = 40/3 mg/minute with a maximum of 15 minutes

Now I think this is where I’m tripping myself up:
rate out = C/2^t/3
concentration / half life of three hours

So then:
dC/dt = 40/3 – C/2^t/3
but then that leads me to
C(t) = 40/3*e^2t/3/ln(2) * ò(e^2-t/3/ln(2)dt) + c*e^2t/3/ln(2)

Ugh.  This is where I gave up.  Well I tried drawing it out, but I kept focusing on “ok, so I consume about an ounce a minute.  So that first ounce will be absorbed by the 46th minute, to which my body will start getting rid of it before the second ounce is absorbed.”  I guess I shouldn’t dwell on it.

One positive that’s coming out of – I can have fun applying diffeq to stuff that actually matters.  Come on, physics? really? There are much more interesting problems than when a ball will fall if tossed straight upward from the ground at an intial velocity of 96 ft/second… <cough>

While occupying my usual spot at the library, I came across a posted quote on an adjacent table attributed to Albert Einstein:

“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”

I’m quite fond of it, and I think it encapsulates my current attitude.

While I am still adjusting to the horrific transit system in the Greater Seattle area, I’m trying to spin a positive on it.  I’ve been given the gift of time, woo…

So now I’m reading.  A lot.  But it’s great – I’m completely enthusiastic about enhancing the field of economics through borrowing from other science disciplines, i.e. psychology, decision sciences, physics and thermodynamics.  A while ago I came across complexity economics, which is based on complexity science and the notion that there is no sense of equilibrium within closed systems (the traditional view of economics) but rather open, dynamic, adaptive and complex system that evolves.

In an effort to educate myself on the foundations of complexity science (I am still trying to get a grasp on entropy), I picked up Deep Simplicity by John Gribbin.  With his digestible prose, I breezing through this, but fully involving myself with an eye for application with economics.  This sh*t is awesome!

More specifically, he draws up Lorenz and his discovery/development of the butterfly effect (coincidentally, or not, there’s a behavioral sciences/econ book called the Butterfly Effect that draws on complexity sciences.  I should pick that up again).  What was interesting with Lorenz is his discovery was that it is painfully difficult to forecast weather without the precise initial conditions.  Lorenz was playing on these new fangled devices called computers in the 50s when he made the realization that if he inputs numbers that aren’t precise, that is, that aren’t to the “correct” or appropriate amount of decimal places, the forecast/predictions will progressively be off of the more precise input in a nonlinear fashion.  If he couldn’t get the exact initial conditions (which would be decimal places off to infinity), he could not predict weather beyond a few days.

This is what came to be known as the Lorenz/butterfly effect.  I’m not sure how best to describe it…..so, I won’t.

My actual point is that I can see the Lorenz effect being applicable to the realm of economics.  First, it has to be impossible to model “the economy.”  Macro/micro economic models simply can not contain every agent, every being, every cent, every decision.  At best, models use probabilities and samples, and supposedly economists settle for this.  But as I read this book, models based on probability, samples and approximations are crude, so much so that it hardly gives a solution pointed in the right direction.  What if economists were to push the mathematical limits of the foundation of their science and rather than have the idea of economics be a social science, have a sense that it’s a hard science, like physics.

What if economics had the assumption of chaos, rather than equilibrium?

Oh.Em.Gee.  My mind is being blown and I <3 it.

Awesomeness!

Via http://fashionablygeek.com/

FYI This is my 100th post on this site.  Woo!

I’m sitting in the Seattle Public Library.  I’ve been wanting to come here since it was built in 2004.  It’s designed by Dutchman Rem Koolhaus (awesome name) and Seattleite Joshua Ramus, but it looks like a Swede had his hand in it.  I thought I walked into Ikea, to be honest.

The building has a beautiful atrium, allowing you to look down on Seattle.  But there’s some interesting aspects to this library.  The ceiling literally looks like an insane asylum.  Which might be pertinent if you stay here studying long enough.

(look at the top/ceiling)

And well the whole decor of this place, neon escalators, in-your-face labeling, all reminds me of Ikea.

It’s quite a stunning library.  But, I think I prefer the historic Boston Public Library.

Was it Einstein that said he got his greatest ideas and “ah-ha!” moments while shaving?

I get moments of clarity while showering.  I’m by myself, free from the demands of attention from email, cell phone, people, etc.  I’m only there to do one thing, and the hot water feels so relaxing.  Those moments as my hair soaks up and my skin dampens, it’s just me and my thoughts.  And they aren’t forced.  There’s no expectation of productivity (other than to wash up) when I hop in the shower, and therefore no barriers to creativity or “ah-ha!” moments.

Maybe it’s a function of the water, too.

What the hell:

Starbucks has a specific retail dress code that governs clothing and personal appearance (e.g. no visible tattoos, facial piercing, or wearing of fragrances). The dress code can be made available at time of interview. Do you have any concerns about abiding by the Starbucks dress code?

You know we’re in Seattle, right?

I hated Boston when I came (back).  People are colder, more conforming and high strung. There are too many students trashing the city on Friday nights.  Too many tourists and out-of-town Red Sox fans crowding the Green Line.  Dangerously high Dunkin Donuts to Starbucks ratio.  Too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer, too short of the actual delightful seasons of spring and fall.  It’s a city of pubs, cheap beer, preventative high-heel-wearing brick sidewalks, and full-grown infants as drivers.

I did meet a lot of fantastic, intelligent people, kept some fabulous close friends, and worked alongside brilliant and hilarious minds.  I learned that the straight roads in Boston are the product the city being filled in (e.g. Back Bay) and all winding, nonsensical roads are the old dirt paths from cows and such.  That Edgar Allan Poe was born somewhere in the Bay Village.  That the demonym for Cambridge is Cantabrigian and for Massachusetts is Bay Stater.

I know where to find mango habanero sorbet (effin awesome), an exceptional cup of coffee (by my standards) with fresh brioche, quirky independent films or a resurrection of oldies, the best effin beer in the whole area, nutella crepes, mouth watering burgers with fried jalapenos, crack-laced “San Francisco” style burritos, stunning tiramisu and 10-year port, a geeky dining experience, a romantic tapas restaurant, and the best hangover brunch.

I’ve been inspired to read 700+ page books (this one too).  I got seduced into reading Love Letters daily.  I wrote my first proof in this class along with reigniting a deep-seated passion for math.  I know who is Ken Jennings (and I subscribe to his weekly email).  I learned how to row on the Charles, discovered Phantom Gourmet on TV (i.e. porn for your stomach) and geek humor, and found the most beautiful study hall.

Boston is full of inspiring people.  People that push me to be better, to not settle, and to relax into the nerd that I am.  I cultivated a great interest in economics, but not without a dash of computer science & engineering, electrical engineering, neural systems, medicine, finance, marketing, music, biology, philosophy, political science, education, law, psychology and psychoanalysis, and architecture.

Maybe I like Boston after all.  I’m leaving with an appreciation (although not a change in preference) of Dunkin’ Donuts (who can say no to cream-filled donuts?).  I do like pea coats in the winter and Massachusetts beaches for the summer.  I’m surrounded by the brightest minds, even if they frequent my favorite Friday spots too often.  I welcome questions from tourists as I’m eager to share my short cuts and favorite spots.  Although I can still do without the Red Sox fans.

So – Boston, my friends living in Boston, my favorite places in Boston, I will miss you.  You’ve made a profound impact on me and I am forever changed.  I appreciate the time I spent here, and I eagerly look forward to the chance at returning.  I leave here with fantastic memories, sparked ambition, and self assurance.

And, thankfully, I do not leave with a Boston accent.

Rene Magritte, The Return

Also can be used for Procrastination.

Stunning:

While this shows I have an utterly tiny paycheck, I’m going to miss Boston.