• The author's research intoan experience with astronomy and cosmology began in elementary
school. He then was part of the group of the first "science nerds" propelled into New York
...view more• The author's research intoan experience with astronomy and cosmology began in elementary
school. He then was part of the group of the first "science nerds" propelled into New York
City's eighth grade skipping Special Progress after Sputnik was launched. His Bar Mitzvah
present was a 2.4 inch refractor and a subscription to Sky and Telescope.
• He then was part of his high school's "Science Corps," receiving multiple awards in national
science competitions. He also after taking a special exam was one of the few New York City
students accepted by Columbia University's School of Engineering to spend his Saturday
mornings there.
• He also was honored as a National Science Foundation Fellow, spending one summer studying
astrophysics and cosmology at the Hayden Planetarium.
• In college, he took extensive coursework not only in literature and mythology but also in
business and economics. A nationally ranked squash player, he graduated with High
Distinction in Psychology and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
• During college and afterwards he worked and traveled extensively. At one point, he was a
management trainee for one of the largest shipping companies of the world in Rotterdam. He
also worked at a military hospital in Israel as well as with a general practitioner in the
"hillbilly" hills and hollows of eastern Kentucky.
• He also while at medical school figured out a way both to get a Master's degree at another
university by commuting there on his motorcycle. Later on, he simultaneously enrolled in an
Ivy League law school while still in medical school.
• After his psychiatry residency he has consulted for and treated many Wall Streeters. He also
successfully paid for his children's educations by successfully speculating in natural gas
options while being a "stay-at-home" dad.
• He had a golf ball sized but fortunately benign brain tumor which was removed about two and
a half years ago. Writing this book at that time got added to his "Bucket List" -- along with his
deciding to go to the Super Bowl if the Giants won the NFC championship (they did and he
did) and relocating to Florida during the winter.
• Despite his brain injury, he this year nonetheless managed to be one of the oldest people sitting
for and passing the Florida Bar.view less