Skip to main content

The Who Was - Series

In this episode, the Who Was? - Series . . .

With over 250 titles, Penguin Random House Books Who Was? - Series tells the incredible stories of trailblazers, legends, innovators, and creators.

Are you a bibliophile, an individual who loves and frequently reads books (a bookworm)? What is it that compels you to pick up a book? Is it the cover, is it the title, how about an interest in a specialized subject, or just - perhaps it's a whim?

One of my ultimate goals with these podcasts is to reach a young audience. I've found that reading children's books is a gratifying and educational experience. Yes, even grown-ups can understand difficult concepts. To my surprise, both children and adults seem to appreciate the experience.

With education such a hot topic in the news right now, we need to be reminded that whether it's going to school, visiting a museum, or online learning, the goal of education (both young and old) is to nurture an interest in learning. William Butler Yeats said it best, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

And what better way to light a life-long intellectual flame than reading. Allow me to introduce you to Penguin's Who Was - Series.

It was late November; I had been racking my brain trying to come up with our 2021 extraordinary Christmas podcast story that we record for our young nieces, nephews, and friends with young children. Last year we recorded and produced The Grinch. I don't know how to say it, but somehow it seems to me, reading aloud to children is rewarding as can be.

While browsing the gift shop during a recent visit to The Griffith Park Observatory, I stumbled upon Who Was Albert Einstein, a children's book with a colorful, bold caricature cover image of Einstein. At first, I didn't think much of it and left the shop. Going back to view exhibits, I decided to sit next to the statue of Einstein in the Gunther Depths of Space exhibit.

Placing my hand on my chin to imitate Einstein and gazing into space, it hit me; education, children's books, 8-12-year-olds.

Wasn't it the Cal. Tech physicist Richard Feynman advocated learning a subject so thoroughly that one could explain it to a 12-year-old?

Here are the four key steps to the Feynman Technique:

  1. Choose a concept you want to learn about
  2. Explain it to a 12-year-old
  3. Reflect, Refine, and Simplify
  4. Organize and Review

That's it. I practically ran back to the gift shop and purchased the book—a whopping $3.99.

Here is the introduction to the book Who Was Albert Einstein? by Jess Brallier.

(Audio pages. 1-2).

Learn more about the entire collection at whohq.com. You can purchase any of these books from amazon.com, just search for "who was book series." With over 250 titles, there's bound to be something that will fascinate you, check them out.

If you have a question or podcast suggestion please email me at pball@sbcglobal.net or click the link https://anchor.fm/patrick-ball/message you can leave us a voice message.


I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; see you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

Confidently Wrong: The Art of the AI Tall Tale

In this episode, A chat with Adamas the Chef on hidden recipes causing digital hallucinations. Pull up a chair and pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee—and please, for your own sake, taste it first. We need to have a quiet chat about why your computer sometimes decides to reinvent reality with the confidence of a five-star chef who has clearly lost his mind. In the world of technology, we call it a  hallucination . It sounds pretty dramatic, doesn’t it? As if the computer decided to ignore your instructions altogether in favor of a vivid, technicolor imagination that simply hasn’t met reality yet. But in truth, an AI hallucination isn’t a breakdown; it’s just a very confident, very polite mistake. Think of it like our friend Adamas , the Chef. Adamas is a master of the kitchen, but he is also a bit of a romantic who refuses to say “I don’t know.” When you ask him for a classic recipe he hasn’t made in years, he doesn’t stop to consult a cookbook—that’s far too pedestrian. Instead, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Opening Day Magic 2026 . . .

It’s back. Baseball—yes, baseball ! If you’re someone who finds themselves inexplicably drawn to this peculiar ritual, let’s be honest with each other: it’s a bit odd, right? I mean, 162 games. That’s a lot of hot dogs, a lot of standing around, and a lot of grown men in oddly tailored trousers spitting with remarkable precision. And yet, here we are, poised on the precipice of another season. Thursday, March 26, 2026, to be precise—Opening Day. It’s a curious thing, this Opening Day. You walk into a stadium, or turn on the TV, and suddenly, everyone is infected with a highly contagious strain of . . . Optimism . It’s a spectacular form of collective amnesia. All of last year’s fumbles, the endless losing streaks, the existential dread of watching your bullpen implode in the eighth inning—poof. Gone. It’s entirely replaced by a wide-eyed, childlike belief that this year, finally, the baseball gods will smile upon us. The Cycle of Hope and Despair As a Cubs fan, I know this cycle intim...
Post a Comment
Read more

Overcooking the Grid

In this episode, terrified of smart toasters, yet demanding infinite electricity for potato personality tests. Pull up that chair again, and let’s hope your coffee is safe this time. In our last chat, we talked about our well-meaning but occasionally delusional AI friend, Chef Adamas, and his penchant for hallucinating blueberries into your Carbonara. We learned how to manage his quirks by keeping our “digital pantry” organized. But today, we need to look past the chef and take a hard look at the sheer size of the kitchen we are building for him. And folks, that kitchen has gotten completely out of hand. Down in Louisiana, tech companies are currently building an artificial intelligence data center the size of 70 football fields. It is a four-million-square-foot digital brain that requires so much electricity they are building three new natural gas power plants just to keep the servers from literally melting down into a puddle of expensive silicon. And what are we using this god-like, ...
1 comment
Read more

Vintage Vinyl

In this episode - Vintage Vinyl . . . Turntables are making a big comeback; why? Listening to music should be a multi-sensory experience. Harmony, rhythm, and the deep expression of emotion. Like a warm, gentle rain in the springtime cascading around you the room is filled with a resonant, rich, melodic sound. My emotions welled up, and tears come to my eyes. Ok, I get it, we need to step back to get some perspective here. Recently a visit to Lou's Records in Encinitas, California, inspired me to dig out my Vintage vinyl LP record collection. I selected the Carpenters Singles 1969- 1973 . This musical duo reigned from 1969-to 1982 with the rich, full melodic voice of Karen Carpenter. They were one of the biggest-selling groups of the 1970s. "No fewer than ten of their singles went on to become million-sellers, and by 2005 combined worldwide sales of albums and singles well exceeded 100 million units." The tactile sensory experience of music begins with the album cover it...
4 comments
Read more