The classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago and Biden’s Delaware residence have been all over the news lately. It’s the kind of story I usually try to avoid. It’s too depressing to read about how full of idiots our government is. But the headlines have been everywhere, so I have questions. Maybe someone following the story…
There was an article at Psyche.co called “Mental disorders are brain disorders“. The thesis is that thinking of mental disorders as a separate category from other physical disorders is hindering patient care. The author, Christian Jarrett, says that many people don’t think so because the causes of mental disorders are “outside the body.” Then, he…
There are lots of things that I don’t understand. In this post, I’m thinking about the everyday, mundane things that I don’t understand. I’m not talking about things like genetic engineering. That is something I don’t understand, but it is also something that I never encounter and have no reason to understand. These are things…
The culture war is a veritable bonanza of logical fallacies. There are tons of ad hominems, straw people, slippery slopes, red herrings, and false dilemmas. These fallacies are not confined to one side or the other. This just seems to be how the culture war is fought. Of all the fallacies that get thrown around,…
Liam Kofi Bright wrote a fascinating article called “White Psycodrama”. (Available here: White Psychodrama Final Version (philarchive.org)) In it, he describes three archetypes involved in the culture wars: Repenters, Repressors, and PoC Intelligentsia. He argues that the culture wars make us all worse and that the only way to improve things is to opt out…
Mega Million was won by someone who bought a ticket in Maine. The prize was $1.35 billion. For me, at least, that’s an unfathomable amount of money. Can you imagine it? Clearly, no one needs that much money. The question is, would you want that much money? My answer to that question is no. And…
Women complain all the time that their clothes rarely come with pockets. I’ve always found it baffling that they don’t come with pockets. I mean if women want pockets in their clothes, there’s a demand. It seems like someone could make a fortune supplying that demand. So, my question is simple: Is there an actual…
I got a letter in the mail today from my dentist. It was to inform me that their practice will no longer be accepting my insurance. They were nice enough to tell me that if (if?!) I wanted to find a new dentist, they would forward my records to a new practice. Of course I’m…
For most of my life, I have been unable to nap. According to my parents, even as a baby I didn’t nap. I had always heard how great naps were. People would awake from a nap feeling rested and refreshed. At least that’s what they said. I don’t know what reason they’d have to lie,…
Have you ever heard a song where they set up an obvious rhyme and then don’t deliver on it? The most famous example I can think of is the song “In Summer” from the movie Frozen. Olaf sings, “Winter’s a good time to stay in and cuddle/But put me in summer and I’ll be a…
