• By Susan de la Vergne At the gym, from my vantage point bouncing on an elliptical machine, I take an inventory of messages. That is, I look around to see how many ideas, products, and people are trying to get my attention while I am trying (somewhat in vain) to mind my own business.

  • by Susan de la Vergne Imagine you’ve been invited to a presentation by a molecular biologist who is planning to tell you, in some detail, about the life cycle and behavior patterns of bacteria, describing research about the ways in which bacteria operate both individually and collectively.