Jim Williams grew up in Southern California, in Poway and Escondido, just north of San Diego.

At Carleton College, Jim studied math and physics and was taught how scientists think. And he longed for the Southern California sunshine. At U.C. Berkeley, Jim lived two blocks from the Oakland Black Panther headquarters and learned about blacks' problems with cops. And he got a Ph.D. in mathematics.

At Berkeley and later at BGSU and the MITRE Corporation, Jim published research in topology, algebra, category theory, logic, automated deduction, information security, and the integrity of medical information systems.

After retiring, Jim became curious why his doctors thought medical marijuana could help with his prostate cancer. He learned that CBD, THC, and a dozen other cannabis compounds are relevant to serious illness.

The result is a book on cannabis compounds for medical conditions such as arthritis, intractable pain, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcoholism, heart disease, and cancer.

In writing citations and references for the book, Jim developed a groundbreaking citation architecture that features citations whose references show up as mouseover notes. The notes are annotated with icons automatically gleaned from links to the referenced works.