[This post is part of a series on empathy gaps. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Now we are familiar with empathy gaps — that when you feel one emotion you generally can’t conceive of your motivations when feeling a different emotion. We get how insidious they can be[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on empathy gaps. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] As usual, understanding ourselves better helps us overcome the problems of empathy gaps — that when you feel one emotion you generally can’t conceive of your motivations when feeling a different emotion. Yet[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on empathy gaps. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Yesterday I talked about the effect that when you feel one emotion you generally can’t conceive of your motivations when feeling a different emotion, nor do you realize you can’t, also known as[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on empathy gaps. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Did you know you undermine some of your best efforts to do challenging things, especially involving personal change? You do. We all do, through an effect that makes sense when you get it,[…] Keep reading →

If you know me in person you probably know I’ve lived in the same apartment for thirteen years, longer than anyone I can think of has lived in one place except my father. I haven’t moved partly because I love the West Village, partly because I couldn’t stand the process of moving. Moving disrupts your life, takes a ton of work, and fills your place with dust. Meanwhile, over the[…] Keep reading →

I posted the following on a forum someone started on race, a concept I think everyone knows has no scientific foundation. I thought I’d share it here. I’m not trying to answer everything about race, just to give an alternative perspective. Talking about race is sure to lead to nonsense Some people call Judaism a race. When some people hear my father was born and raised Jewish and my mother[…] Keep reading →

I remember as a kid in the 70s being taught a policy to turn off lights when I was the last to leave a room. People put stickers on light switches with that message. I don’t see that message that much any more. People seem to generally project that saving energy is better than not saving energy, but I see the idea more used to market selling products than changing[…] Keep reading →

Do you like music, art, literature, innovation, invention, creativity, entrepreneurship, and things like that? Then you probably liked the document I mentioned a few weeks ago about problems with copyright and how to fix them. I considered it well thought-out and felt it proposed ideas that would improve the country. I was surprised to see it coming from the type of hard-core conservative that supports corporate welfare. Until the group[…] Keep reading →

Sometimes when I talk about how I don’t eat meat or avoid leather people will comment Josh, you know animals aren’t people. If you think they’re at the same level as us, you’re missing something. They’re implying we’re more advanced than animals. I respond I’m not elevating them to a higher level. I’m not that impressed with us. I find thinking about us as animals gives me more insight to[…] Keep reading →