The Problem with Historical Context
Historical context is an important starting point for understanding the past. But if we are to understand the present, it cannot also be the endpoint.
Knowledge
Knowledge, Wisdom & Curiosity
The 10 Books Everyone Should Read
What are the 10 books that every well educated person should read? It depends on the definition of ‘well educated’.
Shabby Elegance
We never consider that our opulent luxury costs us much more than money; it robs us of our time, it robs us of lives. Expensive things need to be cleaned, insured, repaired, carefully maintained and protected – and then, after a decade or two, much of it must be replaced and updated.
Dead, Dead, Dead: The Thanatocracy
Constitutional fundamentalists, like other fundamentalists, yield thought and free will in worship and submission to the dead authority of the thanatocracy, a system that is dead, dead, dead.
Civilizing Pottery
Pottery is impervious to decay, even when submerged in water or soil for thousands of years. That property is essential; without the invention of pottery, civilization and the modern world would not exist.
Ridiculing Neo-Nazis
Ridiculing neo-Nazis and other extremists is a powerful tool, but one that can also backfire badly. It is imperative that we offer carrots with the sticks.
Demagogues vs the Democracy
To understand who we are today, we need to understand kings, conquerors, and their dysfunctions, and what life looked like in their kingdoms. It wasn’t pretty.
What to Say to a Rape Victim
What do you say to the rape victim, what can you tell her that might help her begin the process of healing? After 30 years in the emergency room, this is my best attempt.
Human Genetic Behavior
…And this is why I have foolishly chosen to discuss the taboos of genetic behavior, and ethnic and sexual norms; not to chain people to stereotypes, but to free us all from them. We must recognize our genetic tendencies in order to design around them, and past them; as Bertolt Brecht noted, “When there are obstacles, the shortest distance between two points is a crooked line.”
Too Many Babies: The Law of Universal Superfecundity
All living things produce too many babies, and not all of them can survive; it’s the Law of Universal Superfecundity. Humans are not exempt.