School Doing a gratitude exercise recently, writing my undergraduate advisor who helped me figure out how to major in physics starting my second semester junior year. Physics is intense so most of my classmates were younger, having known their major since high school. So academically, I was catching up with classmates from when I chose my major. I just finished the major in my last semester and got into Penn[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series of alternative responses to the New York Times column, The Ethicists, looking at the consequences of one’s actions instead of imposing values on others, here is my take on today’s post, “Can I Call My Nonbiological Twins Black Because My Husband Is?” I’m a Caucasian woman married to an African-American man. Shortly after we married, I discovered that I couldn’t conceive my own biological children. We opted[…] Keep reading →

What’s the carrying capacity of the Earth? You started thinking of a number, right? Most people start thinking of some number around ten billion, within a factor of two or so. I meant, what does the concept mean. Most people don’t think of what it means. I didn’t until recently, and realizing what it means changes how I think about it a lot more than I expected. Wikipedia says The[…] Keep reading →

No politician or nation, no matter how belligerent, considers itself the attacker—not the most authoritarian dictator any more than the most democratically elected leader. One simple statement, used by nearly every one, summarizes the trick: We will not attack first, but if attacked, we will defend ourselves. Every leader says it their own way. Once the population believes it, they can feel justified in attacking, feeling and claiming innocence. Neither[…] Keep reading →

With New York City hitting 72 degrees Fahrenheit in late December, part of one of the most extreme month-long temperature deviations ever recorded, people seem to be starting to understand that the climate getting hotter can affect them in their lifetimes. It won’t affect them as much as the temperature hitting thirty degrees too hot in August, though I’d expect people would just turn their air conditioners on higher and[…] Keep reading →

I have my first flight coming up since my experiment with not buying food that requires throwing packaging away, as told in Avoiding food packaging Buying no food with packaging, eighteen days and counting Bought first food with packaging after 2.5 weeks Restaurants make “entertainment for your mouth,” designed for profit, not health. Same with packaged food. Eating at restaurants seems weirder the more healthily I eat. Same with pre-prepared[…] Keep reading →

I adopt new technologies slowly, often not at all before the trend passes. If you’ve ever thrown away something you felt you needed when you bought it and now can’t give away, I believe you’ll find doing so helps you enjoy life more. If you know that the middle of the Pacific, thousands of miles from land, has garbage polluting it, I suggest you consider slowing your adoption too. I’m not[…] Keep reading →