Heavily used machines are considered great when the quality of their output is constant with no statistically significant variances over time. In other words, they consistently produce according to their exact specifications especially long after the of expected useful life. We, on the other hand, cannot simply maintain good quality in what we produce. We must continuously show improvement in our results (such as progressively advancing resumes, higher levels of education and achievement, etc.)…

Before I continue my story, I need to tell you about an Armenian cartoon called կախարդական լավաշ which means “the magic lavash (flat bread)”. It gives me great pain that this superb work of art loaded with life’s lessons can only be understood by Armenians. In many ways, my life is the story of the little boy in the cartoon who decides to explore the world to find his destiny. His mother gives him her blessing along with the magic bread which replenishes itself during his journey…

The process of learning a foreign language has a number of stages. Each stage seems exciting, new and impossible to overcome. Yet somehow after we internalize the knowledge, a new stage presents itself in due time. I learned the letters and the most basic constructs of the English language in school, but I was not serious about it until my last couple of years…

How soon can you begin exposing children to fine arts? I feel it is never too early to let them experience and often re-experience the beautiful in life created by others. As we visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston again this weekend, I was reminded how powerful art can be in helping us live beyond our daily routines and struggles. Art is a special nourishment for the mind and the soul. I believe it is required for normal growth, development and maintenance of the human mind…