Whimsical Whys
It’s the skeptic who needs to doubt himself, It’s the loser who always wins. The rich don’t know the meaning of wealth, And the fish can’t find their fins.
Can You Dream, Yet Not Make Dreams Your Master?
The danger of having high ideals is that you can become vicious to the people who don’t live up to them (or vicious to yourself, if you don’t manage to live up to them.) I think it’s important to practice forgiveness and love towards human weakness (including your own weakness.) Otherwise, living with high ambitions,…
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How the Hippie Became a Capitalist
I feel like over and over society tells me, “You can go after money and power, or you can try to change the world and serve your society and be a good person.” I have received this cultural message from friends, parents, teachers, coworkers, and the media.
Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Should Unite on a More Ambitious Goal
Both the pro-life and pro-choice are idealistic movements fighting for goals that are far too small, and it makes me sad. As idealists, we should be fighting for the highest possible goal.
How to Keep Zimmerman and Trayvon From Happening Again?
Harvard has an online tool called Project Implicit which can measure your unconscious prejudices. Malcolm Gladwell, a famous African-American author, took the test and it showed he had “a moderate automatic preference for whites.” His result is not unusual; according to Harvard, 70% of people of all races get this result.
If Social Media Sites Were Real Places, What Would They Be?
I feel like lots of people have this feeling of unreality when they socialize on the Internet. When you aren’t speaking in-person, it can be harder to treat someone like they ARE a person.
Crazy Idealist is now a youtuber
I’ve been watching a lot of the vlogbrothers youtube channel, and they’ve created this whole online community around the motto “Don’t Forget to Be Awesome” (typically shortened to its acronym, dftba.) They do a lot of good in the world: raise money for charity, encourage thoughtfulness and laughter, promote creativity by nurturing fledgling vloggers. …
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Poem for my grandfather’s memorial service
I read this today. Richard Cole, 1929-2013 Grandma told me not to write anything too sad, So let’s start with a laugh.
The Asteroid and the Cherry Blossom
My heart makes a slow sad sound As I walk through the mist, Not a beautiful song either, more like the mournful bellowing of a dying dinosaur Echoing across the dust-darkened plain
That Moment Before You Wake Up
We know how to crack the atom, blast into space, and unravel the genome, but we don’t have the foggiest idea WHY we sleep. There are theories, but none have been proven conclusively. It’s a tremendous mystery; why would mammals evolve to be unconscious and inert for long periods, when hungry predators are always looking…
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