nsawaya
How much low-level work should a leader do?
Solid lines signify effectiveness; dotted lines signify fraction of total effort spent on low-level technical work. The person spending...
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NICOLAS P. D. SAWAYA
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nsawaya
Apr 113 min read
Defunct chemical elements
It’s fascinating to learn of what was previously accepted but no longer is. We used to think the world was flat, and we used to think...
nsawaya
Sep 2, 20234 min read
What I wish I knew as a young scientist
Studying science is different from doing original science. The skillset for getting good grades in undergraduate math/sciences classes...
nsawaya
Mar 20, 20234 min read
Computational chemistry/materials: Two separate challenges
Computer simulations are an indelible part of modern engineering and science. Take for instance the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in...
nsawaya
Jan 7, 20234 min read
Working with fossil fuel companies is uniquely unethical
All views here are my personal views, not necessarily the view of any employers, past or present. (A quick reminder: The human suffering...
nsawaya
Feb 5, 20223 min read
Olympic boycotts: Yes to athletes’ rights, but that’s not the point
The Winter Olympics in Beijing have begun, but not without controversy. Late last year the US, the UK, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, and...
nsawaya
Dec 13, 20213 min read
On GHG emissions from China and India
With COP26 having just ended, there remains the ever-present question of whether it is “fair” for countries like China and India to be...
nsawaya
Oct 10, 20213 min read
Review of Yergin's "The New Map"
Daniel Yergin is supposed to be required reading for everyone interested in energy. This specialist has made a name for himself not just...
nsawaya
Aug 8, 20213 min read
We’re not running out of fossil fuels
It’s not uncommon, in scientific talks that have some vague relevance to climate change, for the speaker to say something like, “we need...
nsawaya
Jun 1, 20215 min read
New status quo in climate policy
In climate change policy discussions, for years there has been debate about which types of regulations should be used to reduce...
nsawaya
Apr 19, 20213 min read
Poisoned sandwiches and energy
Imagine that you eat a sandwich for every meal. But there’s poison in the sandwich. A decent amount. Let’s say the LD50 of this poison is...
nsawaya
Feb 19, 20216 min read
The climate denial plague will return
As the pandemic was shutting down California and other states last March, I ordered copies of The Plague by Albert Camus and Love in the...
nsawaya
Dec 20, 20204 min read
Plastics and recycling are not urgent climate priorities
When climate change comes up in conversation, something curious often happens. After the topic is broached someone will state that they...
nsawaya
Nov 2, 20204 min read
Give me the dials: The Social Dilemma.
I just watched The Social Dilemma, the documentary about social media companies. The film discusses the negative effects of these media...
nsawaya
Sep 21, 20203 min read
A new conversational norm
I often see political discussions break down into dishonest disbelief. “How could you possibly think that?” a person says. I call it...
nsawaya
Jun 28, 20204 min read
Review: We Are the Weather by J.S. Foer
On a positive note, We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer contains some of the best climate-related prose I’ve read. There is...
nsawaya
May 11, 20205 min read
Programming In Quantum
I'm unsatisfied with most general interest articles about quantum computation. Even those geared towards physicists and other scientists,...
nsawaya
Mar 21, 20204 min read
COVID-19 Is Irrelevant for Emissions
This week all counties in the San Francisco bay, where I live, declared that residents should “shelter in place” because of the...
nsawaya
Feb 1, 20205 min read
Climate debt and multiplier effects
I was recently asked for my opinion on the do-gooder startup Nori: is it a reasonable way to erase a person’s contribution to climate...
nsawaya
Dec 14, 20193 min read
Emissions: Where to begin?
The largest source of my aggravation in the climate change fight, these days, is not climate denial. Factually, yea, climate denial is...
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