Conversions, approximations, and an innumerate historian

Harry Shannon There’s a story about a museum guide, who was showing visitors around the exhibits.  Coming to an ancient artifact, the guide stated: “This one is five million and three years old.”  One curious visitor asked: “How can you be so accurate with the dating?”  The guide answered: “Well, when I became a guide…

How to be a Philanthropist – Part 2: A Look at Some Numbers

Harry Shannon This post follows up Part 1 -  An 11 Step Guide. Recently, MacKenzie Bezos, newly divorced from Amazon's Jeff Bezos, promised to give at least half her $36.6 billion fortune to charity.  In what must be the understatement of the year, she noted "I have a disproportionate amount of money to share." Bezos had just si…