I want to compile a list of things that when you talk about them people feel compelled to tell you all about them, like they’re experts. I’ll also note that most such people talk about things they read that couldn’t possibly cover the topic thoroughly. More importantly, they rarely experiment and find out on their own. I don’t know how many people have told me not eating meat is bad[…] Keep reading →

We might as well figure out ways to think about dying because it’s going to happen to all of us and people in our lives. Sorry if I broke the news to you and brought you down, but I figured you knew already. I’ve written before my main thoughts on mourning, mainly based on a Taoist passage, quoted in my post, “Thoughts on mourning.” Like you and everyone else, as[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on my daily exercise and starting and keeping challenging habits. 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.] Emotionally, I don’t want to do burpees nearly every single time I do them. As you probably know, I do twenty twice-daily. Starting is never easy.[…] Keep reading →

I overheard some people talking about another group as “douchebags” with “popped collars” who called everyone “bro” or “brah.” Okay, I get that some people can find others annoying, but to call them douchebags is just mean. You’ve insulted others for other reasons. People call others losers, sluts, assholes, and so on. More importantly to you, if you’ve ever insulted someone or thought about it, which covers everyone on the[…] Keep reading →

New York City is having the most mild summer I can remember. We’ve barely hit ninety degrees and that was at least a month ago. Since then we’ve had cool, spring-like weather most of the summer. The other evening walking with friends, I noticed how loud the sounds of window air conditioners were in the small streets of the West Village. The temperature and humidity outside couldn’t have been more[…] Keep reading →

[Last week I posted a five-part series on a mental model I have for how our passion and attraction grows and wanes over time and the consequences of that pattern, according to the model. Today I’m posting them all in one post.] Day 1: Introducing a new model: Passion and Attraction I’m starting a new series today on a new model, this time on passion and attraction. Everyone I showed[…] Keep reading →

Time I put a lot more time into making the graphs and writing the posts of the past week than usual — at least a couple full days just graphing before writing a word. Why Why did I put so much time in? Not because I didn’t have lots to do. Because people who saw early versions of the graphs told me it helped them better understand Their intimate relationships[…] Keep reading →