The Attitude Problem

“‘I AM,’ said the man to the universe. ‘I KNOW,’ the universe replied. ‘But, this fact, does not put me under any obligation.’” We humans are born with our human traits already in place (e.g., curiosity, desire to associate, and deal with other fellow humans, while at the same time, tending to be selfish and…

The Tragedy of Humankind

We humans are amazing, awe-inspiring creatures —  as justifiably declared by Sophocles, one of the ancient Greek “Shakespeares.” We are not only intelligent, contemplative, curious, and able to use symbolism and language, but able to dream the future. And, through the invention of the scientific method, we have discovered the patterns and laws that govern…

Let’s Talk About Geniuses

“There is no genius without a touch of madness”  Aristotle  Indeed, all very creative people do behave oddly. Often defined as weird, we even use in describing them other more pedestrian terms; such as, nutty, etc. Let us first define genius as one who is able to think in alternatives, discern new patterns in nature, create…

The False Promise of Going on A Diet

I have mentioned the subject before but is needs repeating — If one of your resolutions in the new year is to go into a diet, please don’t. Studies and observations at large have shown that implementing such a decision is worse than useless. Not only do you punish yourself for a few days or weeks,…

Opioids and Us — A Perfect Storm

Recently with opioids, we are facing a perfect storm. Let me explain. When atmospheric conditions are just right (like temperature, wind, and atmospheric pressure) and they act in unison, the result is what we call a “perfect storm” in terms of catastrophic intensity of the size of the resultant hurricane. Our opioid crisis in America…

The Killing of the Children

Ironically, a few days ago I was writing an article with the heading, ”….and the pursuit of happiness” — which will appear in a future issue — when the news arrived that 17 high schoolers in Florida were gunned down. They were shot in their school by a depressed, despairing, miserable teenager who has been…

“…And the Pursuit of Happiness”

 “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” said Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers in his immortal proclamation, heralding the independence of our country. Well, life and freedom one can understand but “happiness”? How do we pursue it? What is happiness anyway? Our third President certainly had the resources to be happy; but, he…

Gossiping About Gossip

As I have mentioned many times in the past, we humans are complicated creatures. There exist two separate groups of inborn traits in us, which together make up our human nature:  one making up the individual part of ourselves (selfishness, calculative-ness, aloofness, etc.); and the other making up the social (altruism, compassion, social interactions, cooperativeness,…

Muddy Water

Dedicated to my friend with the angelic smile…   It was a night full of stars and calmness, past midnight. The chill was already piercing my bones. And yet, it was beautiful because it was calm, and my soul was at rest… I was alone, quite alone at the estuary of the Axiós, wrapped up…