"When you perceive a truth, look for the balancing truth." -- Lord Acton

"How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress." -- Niels Bohr

What sharp eyes my readers have! Several of you have pointed out something useful -- I...

(This article is dedicated to Mary Boblett Wirth (1920-2001.)

My first coach was my mother.

Don't get me wrong. My dad was a wise, loving, brilliant, funny man. He was one of my best friends. For one thing, he introduced me to science fiction! Dad had a large library...

I never count calories.

I'm at my dining room table, writing this. I just ate a pound of roast beef with rice curry on the side. For dessert I'm having a large piece of extra dark (82 percent) chocolate. Yup, chocolate's on my diet. I eat it every day....

Does your back hurt? Or your neck? Or your hip? Or your knee? Or your ankle? Have you had to give up running or hiking?

What went wrong? Let's start with your potential: Your body is a superb shock-absorber. A whole series of interrelated parts are designed to transmit...

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch...

My running coach is an 8 lb. chihuahua named Bam. She has arthritis. She also kicks my butt! But with great skill and patience, she is teaching me the ancient art of distance running.

Bam inherited this skill from her remote ancestors:

If you've ever seen...