In the previous post, Jaybird asked me a rather interesting question: why is it that the professional makeup of my friends has changed, implying a further question of whether the change in my social network has caused me to adopt… Continue Reading
Because of the autonomic responses of the chicken’s internal nervous system in response to visual, auditory, and other sensory stimuli, moving through a complex neural network to stimulate the chicken’s behavior. Likely, the neural programming within the chicken’s brain was… Continue Reading
This post is about what exists in reality and how I’ve seen it, not what I think that reality ought to be or my moral approval or disapproval of it. On balance, I’m not particularly happy with seeing the world… Continue Reading
Paging Doctor Freud! It would seem that institutionalized prejudice against homosexuals is more important to some people than patriotism and love of country. When men who have devoted enough of their lives and professional careers to achieve the very respectable… Continue Reading
ESPN ought to thank Brett Favre for providing fodder for a round-the-clock, non-stop coverage item. You can be sure that coverage of this, Brett Favre’s most recent announcement of his retirement from professional football, will be the only thing discussed… Continue Reading
The Wife said to me the other day that she admires my skills at diplomacy and ability to navigate social situations. This absolutely blew my mind. When I look in the mirror, I see a man who prefers the company… Continue Reading
A random thought from a psychologist: If it seems that our country’s political discourse has grown increasingly polarized, intractable, and hostile, blame the Soviet Union for it. Specifically, blame the Soviets for collapsing and depriving us of a meaningful enemy. … Continue Reading
A longstanding philosophical disagreement I have with some is that there is a difference between happiness and pleasure. Today, I got a good wrinkle on that debate. I was asked whether I get more pleasure from my writing, from reading,… Continue Reading
The cover story from this month’s Atlantic is deeply depressing. And, I can tell you from my (comparatively) brief experience with unemployment, based on a very real psychological phenomenon. Back after The Wife and I moved to Tennessee and discovered… Continue Reading
Apparently, there are people who have become genuinely depressed that the real world is not more like the world depicted in the movie Avatar. They want to live in a world of pristine beauty with a simple way of life… Continue Reading