Scientists have estimated the probability of you being born at about one in 400 trillion. Those odds are ten times greater than winning the Powerball and four thousand times greater than being hit by lightning. (As for winning the lottery and getting struck by lightning together, well, our math skills don’t reach that far.) It […]
Why are we writing about snow days in August? Because they are one of the great spontaneous joys of life. There should be more of them, and they shouldn’t be relegated to bleak days of winter. And they’re especially important when the heat index reaches 105. With the right attitude, you can experience a snow […]
Right or wrong, good or not-so-good, sane or mad, making a choice and then committing ourselves to it can be considered the most valuable practice in life. To set out on a course of action and eliminate any route of escape reduces the chance of compromise. The expression “Burn one’s bridge” comes from the very […]
Being human these days can be an amazing experience. Especially when you stop behaving like one. The idea of the “posthuman” (and its subset “transhuman”) originated in the fields of genetics, science fiction and futurology. The fundamental ideas were first discussed by J.B.S. Haldane, a British geneticist in his essay Daedalus: Science and the Future. […]
1. Travel to your local library. 2. Closing your eyes, walk down an aisle. 3. Pull a volume chosen at random from the stacks. 4. Without looking at the book, turn to a random page. 5. Now open your eyes and read the right-hand page. 6. Whatever is on the page, allow it to inspire […]
They say “when you look good, you feel good.” So what change can you make to improve how you feel? According to scientists from Harvard and Boston University, applying bright color to the lips not only makes the wearer feel more confident, others will perceive you to be more reliable and competent than those going […]
Do you ever feel like you’re being held captive by societal norms? (You know, all the nonsense you’ve absorbed over the course of your life from well-meaning parents, teachers and authority types.) It’s as if you were Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver, tethered by ropes. Except yours are internal and prevent you from unleashing the full power […]
Having a special number that has sacred meaning for you is something that’s simple to do, but offers invaluable strength when facing daily challenges like deciding what PIN number to program into your ATM card. One case in point: the number four (“4”) is sacred to the Zia Indians, as this digit embodies the powers […]
Life throwing you curveballs? Sometimes it’s best to sit back and let Jianzhi Sengcan, the Third Patriarch of Zen, remind you that you needn’t be troubled by slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Here are the first stanzas of Sengcan’s “Hsin Hsin Ming,”* containing all the instructions you need for avoiding suffering and removing every […]
Whether you’ve got a cold, or Covid, or melancholia, or something that’s not yet in the medical textbooks, take comfort in the fact that many have been in worse shape — and even survived to become president. Before George Washington concerned himself with the health of our nation, America’s first commander-in-chief had to contend with […]