About Guerrilla Scholarship

"Guerrilla Scholar" is a nominal job title of Dr. Sheldon Greaves, the author of Cogito! It is briefly defined as pursuing the life of the mind through unconventional means and methods. This web site is for the promotion and support of independent scholars, amateur scientists, artists, and all those who enjoy the life of the mind but can't, won't, or ought not to do so within the confines of academia.

Guerrillascholar.com is dedicated to the proposition that to acquire knowledge, no matter how obscure, is an essential human activity, and that using our insight to improve the world is the highest expression of the human spirit.


RSS BBC News

  • Car smashes through toilet of pub September 5, 2010
    A pub landlady tells how she discovered a car embedded in the wall of the men's toilets. […]
  • Hameed hits out at fixing 'sting' September 5, 2010
    Pakistan's Yasir Hameed says a meeting he had with the News of the World that was secretly recorded has been "inaccurately reported" by the tabloid. […]
  • US troops summoned in Iraq attack September 5, 2010
    US troops are called in to help Iraqi forces battle insurgents behind a deadly attack on an Iraqi army base in Baghdad, security officials tell the BBC. […]
  • New Zealand assesses damage September 5, 2010
    Officials in New Zealand have been evaluating the damage caused in the city of Christchurch by an earthquake and its many aftershocks. […]
  • Spain's Eta 'declares ceasefire' September 5, 2010
    Armed Basque separatist group Eta says it has decided not to carry out "armed actions" in its campaign for independence, the BBC learns. […]

Fun and Games

Fun and Games

Delightful diversions and sundry ways to waste time with style.

Wargaming

Metal Express. Gaming–the old fashioned way.

I am also working on a set of miniatures gaming rules for small skirmish actions set in ancient through medieval and possibly Renaissance times. The working title is “DEKSA”. Look for more info on this game system as it develops.

Chess

US Chess Federation. A delightful game I am occasionally good at.

An even better resource for learning about and playing chess is a new site called chess.com.

One of my favorite “how to” sites for chess and learning to improve one’s game is Ward Farnworth’s Predator at the Chessboard
which has numerous essays that give clear, lively, easy-to-understand insights into the finer points of the game.

Go

Computers have pretty much mastered chess, but Go… not so much.  An average human can still beat the best computers.

by Mindy McAdams has written a superb introduction to the game:What is Go? Also see her excellent How to Teach Go.

Slate and Shell. Has a good primer on the game.  They also carry books and tools for Go players.

A great place to play go with people from all over the world and learn from top players and coaches is the Korean Go Server (KGS to insiders).

Mathematical Recreactions

No, that’s not an oxymoron.  Solving a tricky puzzle or equation brings its own unique buzz.  At least for me.  Here are some favorite puzzles and brain-teasers:

SOMA. A classic puzzle game invented by Piet Hein.

Here’s a pretty good page on SOMA.  There’s also a cool applet that lets you play with the cube on your computer, although I prefer the analog experience myself.

Originally featured in a classic article by Martin Gardner in Scientific American, Polyominoes is a deligtful game with many possiblities, said to be a favorite diversion of science fiction author and futurist Arthur C. Clarke.  It’s easy to make your own set.  An explanation of the game by Eric Harhbarger is found here.

Here is a link to an applet that lets you play with polyominoes online.  and polycubes. Additional variations on a similiar theme.