Category: Society
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Vacations
I’m sure I’ve said this before. Vacations are so important. Certainly for me and probably for most people. Even if you have a dream job, chances are it’s still going to be stressful from time to time. Being able to unplug, being able to relax, and experiencing something new is good for us. When I’m…
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Hypocrisy
What a fun word! According to Oxford Languages, hypocrisy is defined as “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform; pretense.” We see it everywhere. An organization may “claim” that they value respect. It’s hard to believe this claim when the organization’s leaders consistently treat…
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Energy Management
A lot of people talk about Time Management. Often, this misses the point. While there are many books and websites with good advice on how we can use our time wisely, few people mention the need to manage our energy. By this, I mean that it’s hard to be super productive when we’re bored. In…
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The Purpose of Writing
Many people write to influence others. While all writing may be at least somewhat influential, that’s not my primary goal. Most often, I write to understand myself. Writing is a form of thinking. If we’re not able to clearly communicate our ideas to others, it’s unlikely that we clearly understand them ourselves. The act of…
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The Benefits of Software
The benefits of software are often one or more steps removed from the software developers who actually do the work. Here are a few examples from my career as a software developer. Why does this matter? Software developers feel good about their work when it is well designed. This is an intrinsic motivator. That being…
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Better?
There are people who do better than me in every area of life. Ramit Sethi is wealthier than me. Lee Smolin, Carlo Rovelli, and others are much better physicists than me. Robert Reich, Richard Feynman, and others are better teachers than me. Linus Torvalds, Donald Knuth, Bjarne Stroustrup, and others are much better computer programmers…
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Positive Changes
We live in a time of change. I suppose that all people who have ever lived would agree. Which is to say that humans have always faced times of change. The question is whether we’re moving our world in a positive or negative direction. In many ways, the world is better off now than when…
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Improving How Society Works for ALL People
If you’re among the 1% of people who make LOTS of money in the USA, you might think everything here is working fine. That’s NOT the case! When 99% of people are not seeing productivity gains reflected in their paychecks, the system is NOT working for our society. While other issues matter, income inequality is…
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The Question of Free Will
Throughout the ages, people have debated the question of whether we have much of a choice in the actions we take. While we seem to have the appearance of Free Will, sometimes we also seem to be bound to our individual fates. I’m excited to see James Clerk Maxwell join in the conversation. The Life…
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Convenience
Modern progress is characterized by a movement toward convenience. Using a telephone is more convenient than sending a telegraph. In some ways, streaming content can be more convenient than watching DVD’s. When dishes and laundry had to be hand-washed, this activity took much more time than when dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers could be used.…