Michael T. Starks

Author: admin

  • Misplaced Loyalty

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    People want to belong. At times, especially in high school, we sacrifice what’s in our best interest to feel a sense of belonging. I think it’s a mistake to tell someone that you would do anything for him or her. I’m not going to commit murder for anyone! I’m all about being agreeable and doing…

  • Which Is Better?

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    Here’s a quote that’s stuck with me for a long time. “And, indeed, I will ask on my own account here, an idle question: which is better–cheap happiness or exalted sufferings? Well, which is better?” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground While I read a slightly different translation, this is close enough. Whether it’s “lofty…

  • Wide Awake at 4 AM

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    It’s not unusual for me to wake up early. Am I so excited for the Sun to rise that I don’t want to miss it? While my mind is awake, I don’t always feel like my body is getting enough rest. And I struggle with taking naps. Of course, when I’m on vacation, my only…

  • Ambiguity

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    In addition to subtlety, ambiguity is inherent in all systems. Systems are big. There’s no way to know everything about all aspects of most systems. We can find tendencies for how entire systems evolve. We can find insights into how relationships impact system dynamics. We can learn a lot about the elements that make up…

  • Subtlety

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    It’s easy to read headlines and miss out on the whole story. Often, headlines are designed to mislead us. Social media exacerbates the problem. When we react to people fuming about a headline, we don’t always take the time to learn enough about the whole story. There is no contentious issue that lacks subtlety. It’s…

  • Frances McDormand

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    Frances McDormand is a great actress and one of my heroes. I love how she is able to fully inhabit so many different types of roles. Here are some of my favorite movies that she’s done. Her roles in Fargo, Almost Famous, and Burn After Reading are particularly memorable. While I haven’t seen all her…

  • This Nasty Gilded Age

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    I’m excited to share a new song I composed. It’s obviously inspired by current events. Thanks to Robert Reich for keeping me focused on the big picture! I don’t pretend to understand everything that’s happened. I just know that since 1980 or so, most of the productivity gains in our society have not made it…

  • Discoveries

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    I’m fascinated that each scientific discovery tends to happen only once. Granted, a discovery can be made simultaneously by two different people. Both Newton and Leibniz discovered the Calculus without collaborating. Because we keep decent records, once a discovery has been made, no one else is likely to make the same discovery a century later.…

  • The Rainmaker

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    Today, I watched a movie called The Rainmaker, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and released in 1997, based on a novel by John Grisham. It’s a good movie, with an IMDB rating of 7.2 stars. Here’s the thing. It could not be made today. It features Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, and Claire Danes. It’s not…

  • Human Experiences

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    While we are much more alike than different, humans can experience our world in almost unrecognizable ways. The fascinating movie Vantage Point shows how we all get different glimpses of many situations. None of us has the whole picture. That’s why it’s so important to listen to each other. Our own memories of any event…