A Question Humanity Has Always Asked I have often wondered what happens in those first few moments after we die. I am not talking about what might happen fifty years later or where some final spiritual destination may be. I mean that immediate moment when the heart stops, the body becomes still, and whatever comes
What Happens in the First Moments After Death? Read More »
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
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When Belief Became Physical I came across a remarkable medical story about a man who believed he had taken enough antidepressant medication to seriously harm himself. Not long afterward, his blood pressure dropped dangerously low, his heart began racing, and his body showed signs of severe distress. He was sweating, trembling, breathing rapidly, and frightening
The Stories We Tell Ourselves Can Reach the Body Read More »
When the Research Became Personal I came across the story of neuroscientist James Fallon, and what caught my attention was how quickly a scientific investigation became a personal one. Fallon was a professor at the University of California, Irvine, who studied brain imaging and became interested in patterns associated with serious antisocial and violent behavior.
The Brain Scan That Made a Scientist Look at Himself Read More »
The Man Who Heard Africa in the Language I recently found myself thinking about Lorenzo Dow Turner, a scholar whose work helped change the way people understood the Gullah language. Turner was not Gullah Geechee himself, but he listened closely enough to hear what other scholars had overlooked. While teaching at what is now South
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Some Conversations Do Not Belong at Work I have heard the old saying, “Loose lips sink ships,” more times than I can remember, and the older I get, the more wisdom I hear in it. The workplace is one place where that saying can save somebody a whole lot of unnecessary trouble. We spend so
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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 »
What Would Make Her Smile Today? I heard somebody ask a simple question that made me think about how easily relationships can become complicated: what is one thing a man can do today to make his partner happier? We spend so much time talking about communication, attraction, commitment, intimacy, and the serious parts of relationships
Love Is Often Hidden in the Little Things Read More »
When the Internet Becomes the Dating Coach I have noticed that dating advice has become almost impossible to escape because everybody with a telephone can now become an expert. Men tell other men exactly how women supposedly think, and women tell other women exactly how men supposedly behave. Some of the advice comes from genuine
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Learning to Care for the Body I Have The older I get, the more I understand that my body deserves care rather than constant criticism. This body has carried me through every season of my life, including times when I asked more of it than I realized. It has allowed me to walk, work, travel,
Listening to the Hunger Beneath the Hunger Read More »