Science
Not quite immortality, but 95 is a decent start.
If you know me at all, you know that an enormous part of my mental energy is directed at my relentless fear of death. It is more constant and overwhelming than you could ever imagine. And perhaps for good reasons. Two near-death experiences (one and two) involving paramedics and CPR and an armed robbery that resulted in…
Read MorePerspective
I hate broccoli and kale and cabbage, and the reason is science. Maybe.
My least favorite vegetable is broccoli. It is unpalatable. It’s followed closely by kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. I hate them all. I would like to like them. I really would. But I don’t. I can’t imagine why anyone likes these green, leafy monstrosities. Yesterday, I may have figured out why I hate these…
Read MoreThe tragedy of the philtrum: Join me in elevating it to its proper status in the American lexicon.
The philtrum is the space on your face between your nose and your mouth. It’s that vertical groove that drops from the nose and to the lips. It’s the place where hipsters grow mustaches and noses drip in the winter. You probably didn’t know this. Or if you did, you recognized the word but probably…
Read MoreI think my wife married me to compensate for her lack of a sense of direction.
I’ve always been able to navigate well without a map. Years ago, in a time before GPS, I brought Elysha – who was still my girlfriend – to Rhode Island to visit my mother. When we arrived at my mother’s building, I suddenly remembered that she had moved across town just a week before. In…
Read MoreStupid people think they’re smart, and smart people think they’re not. Most important: They can’t help it. This explains everything.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias that causes incompetent people to believe they know more than they think they know. Unskilled individuals suffer from a false sense of superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than is accurate. This bias is the result of the inability of the unskilled to recognize their own ineptitude.…
Read MoreArrogance may be the perfect replacement to an extra hour or two of sleep
Some fascinating research seems to indicate that dwelling on how tired you are might actually make you more tired, and your perception of the quality of your sleep (regardless of reality) can impact your performance the following day. I’ve always argued that one of the reasons that I’m able to sleep fewer hours than most…
Read MoreMy possibly petulant “I told you so” climate change Kickstarter idea: I need your feedback. Am I an idiot?
Earlier in the week, I wrote about the sound byte being used by Republicans in response to questions about the existence of climate change: “I’m not a scientist.” Variations of this ridiculous statement include: “The science isn’t all there yet.” “I’ve heard arguments from both sides of the scientific aisle.” House Speaker John Boehner: “Listen,…
Read More“I’m not a scientist” is a perfectly acceptable response to climate change questions, as long as you’re willing to acknowledge everything else that you are not.
Republicans who have found the denial of climate change too ridiculous and inconvenient to continue to perpetuate have turned to a new strategy. In response to questions about climate change, they have adopted a single sentence sound byte that they are repeating with disturbing regularity. “I’m not a scientist.” “I can’t comment on climate change…
Read MoreHow I Function on Less Than 6 Hours of Sleep (and how you could, too)
Alexandra Damsker, CEO of Kira’s Kiss Desserts, explains how she is able to function on less than six hours of sleep. As a person who also sleeps less than six hours every night, I utilize many of Damsker’s strategies, and I’d like to add a few of my own. First, Damsker suggests reducing your television…
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