The ERROR Cell
Posted by George Parker onAt the top of every Excel financial model I built was a cell I hoped never to see. ERROR. In my twenties, I worked at a private equity firm in New York City. The hours...
I'm scared. I said.
Posted by George Parker onRocky III, the Marine Corps Marathon, and committing to the fight.
Let's Negative Split This Year
Posted by George Parker onI've been reading the Jack Aubrey novels, which means I've inadvertently learned a lot of 19th-century naval vocabulary. Some of it is completely foreign to me. Aubrey will order someone to haul in the mizzen...
Voir Dire
Posted by George Parker onI'm in my 40s, and yesterday was the first time I'd ever been called for jury duty. It was a serious criminal case in Superior Court. I ultimately wasn't selected, but I spent the entire...
Compound Interest
Posted by George Parker onEinstein called compound interest the most powerful force in the universe.Put a little money away and nothing changes. A year later, still nothing exciting. Five years later, it feels barely worth the effort. Then, somewhere...
Myth of Sisyphus
Posted by George Parker onThe ancient Greeks told the story of Sisyphus, a man condemned by the gods to spend eternity pushing a massive boulder up a hill. Every time he neared the top, it slipped from his hands...
How One Engineer Beat 132 Years of Tradition
Posted by George Parker onThe innovation that ended America's 132-year winning streak wasn't a bigger sail—it was a revolutionary keel hidden beneath the water.
Why Blue Changed the World
Posted by George Parker onThe flashlight you carry on early morning runs almost didn't exist. Or at least, not in the form we know today. An LED—short for light-emitting diode—is a tiny semiconductor that turns electricity directly into light....
What Is an LED? The Engineering Breakthrough Every Runner Uses
Posted by George Parker onIf you run before sunrise or after sunset, you've probably trusted an LED. It's in your headlamp. It's in your watch. It's in the taillight clipped to your running belt. You probably use LED technology several...
For Now
Posted by George Parker onThe best scientific ideas are simply the best explanations we have today.
A Runner's New Year
Posted by George Parker onMost runners have two New Years. January 1st and the Summer Solstice.
He solved the CIA's puzzle by hand. Nobody knew for years.
Posted by George Parker onA story about doing the work for its own sake — something every runner gets.
Indiana Jones Wasn't Ready Either
Posted by George Parker onThe people we admire often figure things out as they go.
The Asymptote
Posted by George Parker onSome of the most worthwhile pursuits in life don't have finish lines.
The Best Miles Aren't Race Miles
Posted by George Parker onThe older I get, the more I realize I had the reward backwards.
