Epistemological views:
"I know that I know nothing" (Plato, "The Apology of Socrates")

Aesthetic and ethical views:
"Bach is in all music, God is in each of us" (Joseph Brodsky)

Always willing to consider new ideas.

Interests

Natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology)

Philosophy (epistemology, aesthetics, ethics)

Writing and editing (both academic and fiction)

Cultures, ideas, personal stories, and miscellaneous weird things!

• writing
• books
• ethics
• coach
• music
• biology
• chemistry
• emergency services
• physics
• science
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

BOOKS

Jorge-Luis Borges, Ficciones

J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Heinrich Böll, Ansichten eines Clowns

Венедикт Ерофеев, Москва - Петушки

Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Elias Canetti, Die Blendung

James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Thomas Mann, Der Zauberberg

Boris Vian, L'Écume des Jours

David Hume, An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding

Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or

I like most modernist literature (although I am not a huge fan of Faulkner). I also admire Gustave Flaubert and Vladimir Nabokov for their ability to write clearly and to the point.

MOVIES

Sergio Caballero, Finisterrae

Karen Shakhnazarov, Zero City

Jim Jarmusch, Night on Earth

Ingmar Bergman, Wild Strawberries

Jean Pierre Jeunet, Amélie

Norman Jewison, Jesus Christ Superstar

Andrei Tarkovsky, Andrei Rublev

Bernardo Bertolucci, 1900

Stanley Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I moved around quite a bit and had many strange experiences. Having hitchhiked over 10,000 km, I encountered people as diverse as an Italian mafioso and a German church choir conductor. I saw the Pope in St. Peters square, did the twist on stage with Chubby Checker, climbed in the Alps, swam in an Eisloch, watched the stars in Kathmandu during a nightly blackout and the midnight sun in Arctic Norway, slept on a bench in Central Park and was detained by police in Belarus for no reason. I experienced amazing artwork from all ages, the thoughts of great writers and philosophers. I wrote a novel, and learned much from doing it. I also recently learned unicycling!

Yet, I never cease to be amazed - mostly, by small things. Who knows, maybe my next Couchsurfing host or guest will be my most amazing experience yet? ;)

Teach, Learn, Share

I have taught college courses on calculus, chemistry, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and academic writing/editing. I also volunteer as a writing coach at Berkeley High School. Will be happy to talk science and/or writing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Lithuania, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belarus, Germany, Netherlands, United States