Are humans too arrogant, too ignorant … too myopic to regard the big picture, to see the forest for the trees? In the past couple of weeks, a series of wasted opportunities suggest yes; and expose a hazardous future outlook…
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The infinitely bewildering question — How far does outer space go? — got a brief mention in the newest book by popular astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Yet, despite the encouraging title, To Infinity and Beyond, the explanation presented by coauthors…
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Say songwriters are not poets and you'll get little pushback. Of course Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Lennon/McCartney and a few others have earned critical acclaim for "creating poetry." But, while great lyrics help make overall great music,…
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The intent of this essay is sad and outrageous. It is about mass murders in the United States and how they produce three different types of outrage or indignation. Undeniably the loss suffered by family and friends of the victims…
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Here's an entertaining exercise for anyone who regularly visits an individual with cognitive impairment. Particularly for those frustrated by the monotony of responding to the same questions every 15-30 seconds. The tedium of the continuously looping conversation begins with the…
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What's this, a breach of the universe's space-time continuum? Announced by an eerily familiar screeching noise followed by a repeating dial tone. Tattered, yellowed sheets of paper, one after another, float down into the holding tray of -- wait for…
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By Stuart Greenbaum Woefully antiquated and ambiguously drafted, both the Bible and U.S. Constitution would benefit greatly from some editorial revisions. Since this'll never happen, the next best, maybe even better thing is to improve upon the transcendent rule, the…
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By Stuart Greenbaum Ranked up there with "amazing" and "extraordinary" and "everyone," the adjective "magical" is among the most misused and overused of hyperbolic descriptors. Very rarely is something as suggested not only baffling in the entertaining sense, but profoundly…
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Spend enough time with someone with a broken brain and you might actually learn something. Think of it as addition by subtraction. For example, I’ve learned to appreciate that for individuals living with dementia and severe memory loss the mantra…
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Once upon a time, good communication mattered. Proper use of language was core schooling. A skill we aspired to command. Socially and professionally, strong vocabulary impressed. Eloquence was a virtue. Oratory, a thing of beauty. Until, that is, Donald Trump…
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