When I applied for a software job at a well-known communications company, I wrote a little program that calculated the national debt. It was rather whimsical, a drawing of a billboard sign with the national debt racing ahead in real time. It worked, and I got the gig. Absorbed
I wrote a blog a while back about the personality differences between the past and the future. Using the Five-Factor Model, I noted that they were quite different, their personalities radically divergent. This was a disconcerting realization: does this have to be so? Is it such a good thing
Jordan Peterson during his 2017 Discovering Personalities lecture spoke about something that I found intriguing: …Let’s say I wanted to get to the podium, and there’s a footstool in my way right there. I look at this part of the environment. I’m going to have slightly more
People often ask me what my characters do when they are off-screen. I can honestly tell them that I simply do not know; I am entirely dependent on the visitation of my muse, Clio, an inspirational creature born in ancient times. She comes and goes on her own schedule,
If an individual is immortal and no one else is, he faces the very serious problem of outliving everyone else. After a while, is it worth it to make new acquaintances? Could a person survive the inevitable pain of constant loss? I circumvented this problem when I designed my immortal
(This is the last of a four-part series.) I often find it easier to host a party than to attend one. First, I know all the guests, so there is no awkward small talk needed to learn about a person. Most importantly, I am forced to mingle. A host
(This is the third of a four-part series.) If you have read the previous two essays and are feeling a bit more confident, it is time to put that newfound social competence to work and help your fellow partygoer. We aren’t born minglers; it’s something we pick
(This is the second in a four part series) As I mentioned in my previous essay, my go-to method of “benevolent release” was to offer my conversational partner a drink. But does that really work? I would dutifully go and get the drink and return. That unfortunately puts me
(Part one of four) Whenever I am at a cocktail party, I always find it awkward to leave a small clique of attendees. I know the purpose is to circulate or, as the technocrats label it, “mingle dynamics.” Everyone else is aware of this also; otherwise, the hostess will observe
From 2020 to 2024, cancel culture was in its most virulent form resulting in loss of livelihoods and reputation. It certainly hasn’t disappeared and cancel culture is still going strong in first-amendment-challenged Europe, but it has weakened into a free speech imbroglio in the U.S. Here
How do you describe human behavior and personality? With words, of course. And as it turns out, we have lots of them. The 100 billion Homo sapiens who have been on this planet for 50,000 years have diligently spent their time developing all sorts of words to describe all
As human beings, we are not well-equipped to be immortal. We need food, water, and air. Our biology seems to have a "use-by date" ingrained in our DNA, leading inevitably to our demise. We must also consider our psychological frailty; if a human being is isolated