Vicarious

We could have street signs that turn off when safety goes down then, and turn back on when measurements show that people are getting used to it

pg's modus operandi seems to be almost exactly opposite to the prevalent style in academia.

  I like to find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked   
  problems (c) that actually need to be solved, and (d)    
  deliver them as informally as possible, (e) starting with a   
  very crude version 1, then (f) iterating rapidly.

This video shows how that Old Spice ad was made --- minimal CGI! And incidentally, another Eric was involved. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDk9jjdiXJQ (They smell like redditors...)

http://twitpic.com/1p9paw/ Christine Tsai, Dave McClure, PG, Albert Wenger, Dick Costolo, Brad Feld. I wonder if PG turned his ID deliberately.

Is it possible that the higher the IQ is at birth the faster the brain degenerates? Not just from a built-in process but also from stress due to lack of social acceptance. This algernon process could imply that by 25, a physics PhD at 16 can only manage civil engineering.

I'd like to get a book out on insomnia but then I'd prefer to read an MD myself. Otherwise I want to write something about modelling biological neural networks or balancing robotics pitched to the beginning hobbyist (me).

I take it you haven't been talking much with the instructor of this course? You might be pleasantly surprised that he thinks more highly of you than you do of yourself. Sometimes, curiosity and motivation impresses an instructor more than ability, especially from a beginner. This is especially true for good instructors, who probably experienced the same thing you are going through now. (If the instructor isn't impressed, then it won't hurt to think that he's a terrible instructor, and you can do better on your own.)