EARTH360

I am a autodidactic polymath, author, and educator. Some of my work has been praised or commented upon by scholars and scientists such as Nobel Prize winner Sir Harry Kroto, philosopher Daniel Dennett, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, author Martin Gardner, biologist Lynn Margulis, skeptic and author Michael Shermer, Douglas Hofstadter, and James Lovelock. A notable book I wrote is: The Invention of God: The Natural Origins of Mythology and Religion. Comments on the book:

I am currently working on another book, (working title) "The Atom and the Soul: The Prehistoric Origins of Science and Spirituality" as well as on a children's STEM fiction book, "Tommy Turtle Goes to the Rabbit School: Book 1, Turtle Math."

Sir Harry Kroto invited me to present my models at the first international interdisciplinary conference on Carbon-60 in 1994.  I also designed a modern-day Stonehenge, called SpaceHenge. I also wrote a paper explaining geodesic domes. I am an advisor to the Lifeboat Foundation. As a swimmer, I was ranked 25th in the world at age 16.

I am a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. One of my advisors at the Air Force Academy was Roger Bate who co-wrote the Dover classic book on Astrodynamics and who also inspired my interest in computer science and AI. While at the Air Force Academy, I was named the Outstanding Graduate in both Behavioral Sciences and Philosophy. I received a master's degree from Purdue in Industrial and Organizational Psychology specializing in Human Factors (Usability) Engineering. My classmate at the Air Force Academy and at Purdue was Captain Sully Sullenberger.

In the Air Force I studied information overload on the pilots and gave a lecture at the Air Force Test Pilot School. However, I felt the Vietnam War was immoral, and I left the Air Force as a conscientious objector. From about 1975-1985 I was a member of the Church of Scientology. (I have not been associated with this church since 1985).

In the 1980's and 1990s, I taught ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged students as a teacher and substitute teacher in the inner city of Los Angeles, including South-Central LA and East LA, for over 20 years. Also in the 1990s, I used my computer programming skills to study highly composite numbers and I wrote a paper about them.

In the 2000s I taught at Otis College of Art and Design (Mathematics for Artists), at Los Angeles City College (Introduction to Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Critical Thinking) at Johns Hopkins University, Center for Talented Youth (Cognitive Psychology), and at Columbia College Hollywood (Science for Film-Makers). Also in the 2000s, I developed a web robot to find jobs for substitute teachers (me).

In the 2010s I taught for 8 years at a national university in China, Xiamen University. I taught Spoken English in the College of Foreign Languages and Cultures and was also loosely associated with the Brain-Like Intelligence Systems Lab and the Multi-Media Lab (editing papers). In my free time, I studied Chinese language, geography, history, and philosophy. Thanks to all my substitute teaching experience, I have taught at 116 different schools, colleges and universities, in every grade from kindergarten through university perhaps (inadvertently) becoming one of the world's most experienced educators.

My current interests are cognitive science, AI, STEM education, and political science. More about Bill

Myself and philosopher Daniel Dennett discussing my first book in August, 2011, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dennett later invited me to an online group of scholars studying evolution and religion and posted that "Lauritzen has some interesting ideas..."