The changing landscape of baby names
Baby names are more unique than ever before. In 2020 the percentage of babies who got a top-10 most popular name was down to 7 percent. Compare that to the…
Wordle metaphor
My first guess in today's Wordle was the equivalent of being born as a white, straight American man with no physical disabilities or mental illness. Lots and lots and lots…
Jeans are fine, dummy
I know people whose employers allow them to wear jeans on specific days if they make a donation to a charitable organization. These employers, I think, are quite dumb. If…
The hero of my dream
I had a home invasion dream last night. Two men and a woman broke into my home, which wasn't really my home but some large, well appointed apartment purporting to…
A much appreciated gift for the future
Advice I've been giving parents of young children: Purchase your children's domain names ASAP. When my kids were born, I purchased claradicks.com and charliedicks.com. I've also purchased elyshadicks.com and the…
Students aren’t my friends?
When speaking to my class as a whole, I offer refer to them as "friends." My former colleague, Donna Gosk, suggested it as a replacement to "boys and girls" long…
Elysha is a zagger
I've often argued that Elysha is a nonconformist of the highest order. And it's true. There are lots of evidence of this fact, but the ultimate proof is me. She…
Give me some unsolicited advice
I was in New Haven last night, performing onstage for the first time in a long time. As part of the International of Arts & Ideas, I competed in a…
Leaded gasoline made Americans stupid
Exposure to leaded gasoline lowered the IQ of about half the population of the United States, a new study estimates. The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Proceedings of the…
Pandemic Polarization
This video is 15 minutes long, which can be an eternity on the internet, but it's well worth your time. It's a fascinating look at how the polarization of the…
