What Bostrom Actually Argued I have noticed that people often talk about the simulation argument as though somebody proved that we are living inside a computer. That is not what philosopher Nick Bostrom argued. In 2003, Bostrom published a paper in The Philosophical Quarterly that presented a much narrower and more unsettling idea. Bostrom did
The Simulation Argument Is Stranger Than People Think Read More »
Beauty Does Affect How People Are Treated I have lived long enough to know that appearance can influence how people respond to one another. Attractive people often receive more attention, more compliments, more patience, and sometimes more opportunities simply because other people like what they see. Psychologists have studied versions of this for years, including
Pretty Privilege Is Real, but Beauty Does Not Explain Everything Read More »
A Thought That Stopped Me I once heard someone say that I could have easily lived a life where I did not make it through some of my hardest moments. I had to think about that for a while. At first, it sounded like poetry, the kind of sentence somebody says when they are trying
The Only Life I Was Here to Remember Read More »
The House We Worked a Lifetime to Own For many of us, paying off a home represents a lifetime of work, sacrifice, and discipline. By retirement, that house may also be the largest thing we expect to leave behind for our family. So it can come as a shock to learn that long-term nursing-home care
When the Family Home Meets Medicaid: What Families Need to Know Before a Crisis Read More »
A Man Who Had Always Questioned Reality Long before 1974, Philip K. Dick had already built much of his writing around one powerful question: What is real? His science fiction explored false memories, changing identities, artificial worlds, and government control. His characters often discovered that the world around them was not what they thought it
When Reality Becomes Uncertain: Philip K. Dick and the Experience That Changed His Life Read More »
The Direction of Time Most of us never stop to think about where we imagine time to be. In English, we usually picture the future somewhere in front of us and the past somewhere behind. We “look forward” to good things, prepare for the “road ahead,” and try to put painful experiences “behind us.” Those
When the Past Is in Front of You and the Future Is Behind You Read More »
Questioning a Familiar Phrase We often hear that America is the greatest country in the world as though there is nothing more to discuss. I love this country, but loving America does not require me to pretend America has always gotten everything right. For Black Americans, patriotism has always carried a certain complication. We helped
Is America Really the Greatest Country in the World? Read More »
Why Shoppers Are Asking Questions Walking into Goodwill and seeing a used coffee mug priced at six dollars can make you wonder what happened to the old thrift-store bargain. The question becomes even stronger when donated clothing, furniture, or electronics are priced close to what we might pay somewhere else. Most of us donate because
When Donated Goods Start Looking Like Retail: What Really Happened to Goodwill? Read More »
The Question Behind the Rumor Every so often, a claim makes its way around that Historically Black Colleges and Universities are secretly owned by white people. I understand why somebody might ask the question because the history of HBCUs includes white missionaries, philanthropists, religious organizations, state governments, Black churches, formerly enslaved people, and Black educators.
Who Really Owns HBCUs? The Truth Is More Complicated Than the Rumor Read More »
Looking Rich and Being Rich Are Two Different Things There is a big difference between having money and needing everybody around you to believe you have money. These days, that difference can be hard to see because we are constantly shown wealth through things that catch the eye. We see the luxury car, expensive watch,
When the Loudest Flex Comes From the Weakest Pockets Read More »