I’m Looking At The Man In The Mirror

In 2013, NYMag published this excellent extract from 31 self-improvement books. I’m curious about the veracity of some, such as: “After greeting someone, immediately clap your hands, then raise your handshake hand toward their heart.” What’s the second part of this about? “When your creativity …

Serenity Now!

Several philosophical breadcrumb journeys have brought me back to the Reinhold Niebuhr. And I’m finding that I either agree with, or wish I could agree with him, on a few topics. MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” mentions Niebuhr’s influence on MLK, and transitively, on the …

Here kitty, kitty

BF Skinner and Pavlov pioneered operant conditioning. And animal trainers have used this learning to condition behaviors in dogs, cats, lions, tigers, orcas, dolphins, birds, etc. (For explanations a layman can understand, I recommend Karen Pryor’s “Don’t Shoot the Dog”.) Still, here’s a fun article …

Weirdly Humerus

The things you think are funny, I sometimes can’t understand. I mean to say that I have a particular taste for humor—wordplay, unexpected twists, self-deprecation, underlying empathy…these are the main toolbox. Slapstick, pratfalls, and laughing at other people’s misfortune? Generally those don’t get me laughing. …