Life Without a Net
human nature
The Avengers: Great Movie, but Disturbingly Violent.
I enjoyed The Avengers. It was a well acted, well directed, intense movie, and I’ll probably see it again on the big screen, which is extremely rare for me. As super-hero movies go, it is as high quality as anything I’ve seen in recent years. (Although personally, I think the first Iron Man will hold up better to … Continue reading
Shania Twain and the Welfare System: America’s Fixation on Beating the Odds.
What could Shania Twain and the U.S. welfare debate have in common? It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but I believe there’s something very profound to be discovered in the comparison. If music is indeed a reflection of our culture, then I believe Shania’s greatest hit reveals a profoundly dysfunctional fixation with … Continue reading
This is Why it’s Wrong to Tell Women to Cover Their Bodies.
This may seem like just another big-haired 80s pop song to you, but it’s way more than that to me. In fact, I’m going to be a bit self-indulgent and say that this otherwise innocuous bit of music trivia is a microcosm of my coming of age, and a perfect example of what I’ve become. … Continue reading
According to science, people are mostly good.
A recent study gives us a fascinating look into how humans “naturally” behave. Scientists collected data from the online game Pardus, which has over 300,000 players, and crunched it through a series of analysis techniques for complex systems. The game is one where the players are free to behave in any way they choose, with no … Continue reading
Atheist Empathy, or “How I Got My Conscience Back.”
I’m going to tread in dangerous territory with this entry. For one thing, I’m going to lay bare a lot of the inside of my brain. And I’m always a little wary of making myself too vulnerable in front of the impersonal, anonymous world of the internet. For another, I’m going to admit something that … Continue reading
Movements, herd mentality, and leadership
”The noble title of “dissident” must be earned rather than claimed; it connotes sacrifice and risk rather than mere disagreement.” – Christopher Hitchens
Conspicuous Consumption
It’s very easy for some of us to jump on the anti-consumerism bandwagon. We look at soccer moms driving their 1.7 kids 2.4 miles to school in their Ford Excessives, and we smugly note that there is not so much as a deep pothole to test their off-road capability. We rail against the excesses of … Continue reading
Do Religious People Make Bad Gamblers?
Every once in a while, I stumble on a little gem. A couple of days ago, I was playing research assistant for a friend, and in the process of tedious data mining, I found this: People, who score high on self-transcendence are viewed as being creative, satisfied, patient, selfless, and spiritual (Kose, 2003). However, Kose … Continue reading
Fifty Years of Science and the Human Spirit
Fifty years ago today, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin‘s Vostok spacecraft spent 108 minutes orbiting the earth. Since then, we’ve made footprints on the moon, and sent unmanned vehicles to all 8 planets. At this moment, the New Horizons spacecraft is racing towards the Kuiper Belt and the dwarf planet, Pluto. We’ve discovered quite a lot in fifty … Continue reading
Meaning and Nihilism
A recent repeat of the “meaning discussion” got me thinking on a slightly different track. The conversation was predictable: Theist: But what do you believe in if you don’t believe in a higher purpose? Life is meaningless without it! Atheist: I don’t need “higher” purpose to have purpose. I make my own purpose and so … Continue reading
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