There’s been another incident with United this week. This time they created their own overselling problem, let people actually board the plane and get seated, and then told them that four people had to get off the plane because employees needed to fly. Nobody volunteered to give up their seat—even after being offered increasing sums of money—so they…

I think the two most opposite geographic markers, in terms of income and class dynamics in the United States, might be bookstores and check cashing establishments. I was just driving in Fremont, CA and realized that there are no bookstores there. Same with Newark, Milpitas, Union City, etc. They have no bookstores, no Philz, no Apple Stores—none of…

I think we’re entering a new era of human creativity and productivity—one that is focused around individual influencers and the value that they bring to the world by themselves. This transition is being driven by several factors: Companies shedding their workforces due to advancements in AI, automation, and robotics, leaving people to come up with alternative ways to…

I find it interesting to think about what should be strange to us, but isn’t. The relationship between motherhood and womens’ rights is one such topic. I think the simplest explanation for women being treated unfairly in society is that they are mothers. We’ve basically smuggled a series of traps into the lives of women worldwide: When they…

One fundamental difference between the left and right is their approach to handling failure. I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and what I’ve been taught my whole life is that people fail for reasons that are not their own fault, and so we need to help them. That’s liberal canon. Later in life I learned…

This post will be stream of consciousness style. I’m worried that existing trends around income inequality are only going to accelerate, and that this time around it’s going to become quite acute, with tangible consequences. The author of Capital in the 21st Century made the fascinating observation that income inequality has mostly always been high, and that the…

There is something monumental happening with social class in the United States that very few people are aware of. It’s been written and talked about for decades, but the conversation is always so academic that it never reaches those who need to hear it. Our country is in the process of being ripped into two distinct classes—The Alpha…

Trump’s presidency has forced me to re-evaluate what it means to be a good or bad leader. As someone who considers himself progressive, this should be easy enough on an emotional level. He’s said and done horrible things, so he must be horrible. But things become murky when you look at some of our most revered leaders in…

I was thinking the other day about an analogy between government services vs. private services and Walter Cronkite vs. cable news channels. It’s weird, but hear me out. Walter Cronkite was a lot like the BBC. It was private, but between him and Dan Rather and all those types, there were very few sources of news. It was…

There are right and wrong ways to attempt to interact with someone far more important than you—however you define that in the context. I’ve some experience with it myself. I’ve been the scrambling 20-something sending too much to someone I respect, which was ignored. I’ve learned how to send that mail properly, and had meaningful interactions with people…

I think there’s a hierarchy to the images that people use to represent themselves on social media like Twitter. Here are the levels, from least to most mature. An icon or image that makes you look cool (Matrix Digital Display) An icon or image that’s kind of interesting or cute (A Snarling Dog) A highly modified picture of…

There’s a strange contradiction lurking in gender identity politics. The far left is simultaneously saying two things: There’s absolutely no difference between the genders in terms of interests and preferences, and therefore no reason why different genders should have different representation in various careers, etc. But then they also argue that: Some people born one gender are compelled…

For the last several years my muscle memory has taken me to CNN as my main news source. Whether I was on my mobile device or on the laptop, it’s just always been my default. I just ended that practice. There are a number of reasons, but I think the biggest one is that it just started reeking…

One of the most central ideas to human civilization is the concept of work. You work for a company that is profitable, you put in a day of effort, and you are paid for your time and contribution. It’s a system that’s been working for thousands of years, and I think we’ve come to think of it as…

Many mistakenly think that this new type of online communication (texting, emoticons, emoji, GIFs, and stickers) are not REAL communication. They’re tricks. They’re gimmicks. They’re kid stuff. Language is evolved, not designed. It is what it becomes. The concept of “correctness” is a temporally treacherous thing. It changes constantly, but not much within one lifetime. The rise of…

I’ve been half-speed grappling with an idea for a few weeks now after finishing a spectacular book called The Evolution of Everything. For a number of years, and perhaps a decade, I’ve been circling a central concept of empowering people. The problem is that the various forms and contexts this has taken has only now (precipitated by reading…

[ This is part of the Evolutionary Psychology Explanation Series (EPES), where I explore the possibility of various human behaviors having roots in Evolution. I’m not a scientist or expert on Evolutionary Psychology, just someone who’s read several books on the topic and who likes to understand the world. Some hypothesis will be good; others will not. ]…

I’ve been on an absolute tear of ideas around the various applications of evolutionary concepts, mostly spawned by my reading The Evolution of Everything. One of the threads I thought of this morning is how conversation basically produces the most important aspect of evolution, which is descent with modification, which is then tested by the environment. So, in…

This is a half-formed idea. Walk with me. Meaning for humans is all centered around story. Narrative. Boy meets girl. Family is reunited. War ravaged the land. Story matters to meaning because story is how we communicate what to pursue and what to avoid. Stories tell us about enemies, about lovers, and about things that bump in the…

I just returned from the Dota2 Internationals in Seattle. It was a phenomenal experience. For those not familiar, Dota2 is a Massively Online Battlefield Arena game. It’s 5 vs. 5 and the goal is to destroy the enemy’s base. This tournament is the biggest in all of Dota2, and in fact all of e-sports. The total purse was…

I think immigration needs an upgrade. A version 2.0. I’m not an immigration expert, nor am I well-versed on how we used to determine who should come here and who should not. What I do know is that what Europe and the United States are doing doesn’t seem to be working. The goal of immigration, at least as…

When I walk around San Francisco, or really anywhere in the Bay Area, many places are just swarming with people playing Pokemon. Growing up my favorite show was Star Trek the Next Generation, and there was one particular episode called The Game where an alien race took over the Enterprise by getting everyone to play an addictive game.…

[ UPDATED: 1 Day Ago ] Basics Moving Around Finding and Catching Pokemon Advancing your Pokemon Combat Special Items Advanced There are tons of videos out there describing how to play Pokémon GO. This is a simple, text-based tutorial / cheatsheet that gets you all the main points in a single, easy-to-read list. Enjoy! Basics The game is…

I’ve been thinking recently about a new way of interacting with rude people. A new system based on honesty rather than politeness. To set this up, here are three things that have happened to me within the last two days. Man standing behind me is coughing out loud, right in front of the food we’re all about to…

So in the span of about 24 hours I just moved through the following cycle of understanding regarding Pokemon GO: Pokemon GO is a thing (15 hours ago) Holy crap: like everyone is talking about Pokemon GO. A bunch of friends, random people in random places, and now social media (10 hours ago) Oh, wait, this is about…

People think the talk of basic income is ridiculous. It’s a crazy socialist idea that will never be needed or practical, they say. The one idea that leads me to the opposite conclusion is a simple one: one of the biggest expenses to most corporations are the people who work for them. People demand significant pay. They need…

Having lived in both California and Georgia for significant periods of time I have had an opportunity to observe a difference. In the South I heard that California people were lazy and wanted to be on welfare and such. I thought the people saying this were crazy and backward and stupid. Then, almost 10 years after moving back…

I saw this on social media recently and it reminded me that I’ve needed to write this post for some time. There is a difference between bigots and the people who do not like them It’s a complex topic, which I cover in more depth here, but in general the rule is the following: It’s generally not ok…

I keep hearing about tons of suicide due to gun violence, and I wonder how much this is becoming part of the gun violence debate. As I’ve written about many times, the problem with violence is mental health. And the United States is not healthy. There are all sorts of studies and stories about how more people than…

All curation grows until it requires search, and all search grows until it requires curation. So how does curation scale to the internet? Does it need to? Source: Lists are the new search — Benedict Evans Benedict Evans is my new favorite tech writer. He sees the world in the same way I do, except it’s his full-time…

Uplifting NewsA subreddit only for news that makes you feel good about humanity. Writing PromptsA subreddit that inspires writers to create. Explain Like I’m 5A subreddit that explains complicated things simply. Best Of RedditA subreddit that highlights the highest rated content on Reddit. IAmAA subreddit where experts from various fields show up to answer questions. World NewsA subreddit…

This post is about fighting. I’m a humanist. I get how strange that is, so let’s move on. Jose Aldo is fighting Conor McGregor on December 12th, and I am more excited about this fight than I have been for any fight in years. Here’s why. Jose Aldo is a wrecking ball. He’s extremely dominant, and he’s been…

Someone just shot up a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado. We know what the terrorist looks like. It’s a man He’s white He’s Christian We know he’s Christian because that’s who thinks it’s a good idea to people for doing or getting abortions. Religion, in other words, is the cause. It’s not because he’s from the South, which…

CNN, Fox News, and similar channels are seeing amazing numbers right now. People can’t look away from the screen, and every time they’re tempted to, some one breaks in with: …breaking news now from someplace in the world where something might be suspicious… And that keeps you watching through the drug, drug lawsuit, insurance, and catheter commercials. These…

The biggest obstacle we face in the battle against Islamic terrorism is law enforcement’s inclination to see all Muslims as dangerous or potentially dangerous. This undermines our only chance for actual security, which is moderate Muslims helping the authorities by reporting suspicious behavior within their own communities. If the vast majority of Muslims, who are moderate and decent…

How does it work? Think about what it means to be biased. What it means for a selection process to be biased against applicants of type x is that it’s harder for them to make it through. Which means applicants of type x have to be better to get selected than applicants not of type x. [1] Which…

China has just launched a comprehensive new system for rating its citizens. It’s like a credit score, except it’s public and it is linked to your behavior as well as your financial performance. Here are some highlights: the scores are tied to the country’s top financial/IT/search/social companies, so they know not just what you’re buying, but also what…

It’s not easy to stop discarded people from becoming violent. But maybe there is something we can do to make it less attractive to those who are thinking about it. We refuse to say their name. There are already plenty of news organizations that do this as a matter of course. They talk about the heroes instead of…

Suffering is bad. It’s caused by raising people who are hungry, neglected, malnourished, and uneducated, among other things. But the first cause of suffering is the creation of conscious life that is able to suffer. There will come a time in human history when thoughtful and kind people realize that one of the worst possible things one can…

Many people are lamenting over how Hollywood isn’t doing anything innovative or interesting anymore. All they do is remakes and sequels, and the real cinema is being generated by smaller groups. I think it’s fascinating, since that’s exactly what’s happening to the United States. The U.S. isn’t taking chances. It’s cutting NASA. Our bridges are failing. Our roads…

If you’ve been around tech for some time, you’ve likely seen the Doge meme somewhere. It goes something like this: So wow. Such treat. Very amaze. This fascinates me for some reason, which I suppose is the universal ingredient in all memes. It instantly captures the attention, and makes you want to see more examples of it. In…

One of the Christian right’s objections to gay marriage was to say that if it’s ok for the same sex to marry, then why not allow people to marry multiple people? The classic liberal response to this is to scoff and dismiss the argument without consideration, but I personally think there’s something to it. So, from one progressive…

The crime rate in New York City is far above what it has been in recent years, and the reasons seems to be that cops are afraid to do their jobs for fear that they’ll be labeled oppressive, racist, or some other negative thing. There are a few pieces to this, and we have to take the bad…

We know why healthcare isn’t broadcasted over the internet. It’s because you can’t fix 1,000 people’s broken leg’s by live streaming the repair of a single person’s broken leg. We know why we don’t broadcast money. It’s because money is (kind of) a static resource. If 1,000,000 people receive the money that we’re giving to a given person…

Conservatives and progressives are troubled in different ways by the concepts of tolerance and intolerance. Conservatives do silly things like chastise progressives for not being tolerant of their refusal to serve gay people in their businesses. They say things like: Liberals are all for tolerance, up until someone disagrees with them. Presumably, they mean liberals should tolerate them…

I feel a great disservice was done to me in that history was never taught to me in a way that interested me. It was dry, book-based word collections that seemed to be about a virtual world from a distant planet. Or maybe it was taught perfectly, and I was just closed to it. Who knows. Doesn’t matter.…

Now they say certain phthalates also impact on the developing brain, by knocking out the action of the male hormone testosterone.Dr Shanna Swan and her team tested urine samples from mothers over midway through pregnancy for traces of phthalates.The women, who gave birth to 74 boys and 71 girls, were followed up when their children were aged four…

My problem with Facebook is simple: it causes depression by emphasizing consumption and envy rather than creativity and happiness. Gamifying creativity What Facebook needs to encourage and incentivize is positivity through creation and kindness. They need to get their users to make things. Customized postcards. Little songs or beats. Photography. Drawings. Paintings. Etc. And all these things are…

It’s been popular for at least a couple of decades to bash consumerism, or at least consumerism in its more extreme forms. This book I’m currently reading, called Spent, has given me a new perspective on the situation. I think its primary message is that consumerism and marketing are misunderstood. Rather than being evil creations of greedy businessmen,…

Scott Adams just had an interesting piece about how the Uncanny Valley might apply to women trying to get a raise: The Uncanny Valley concept comes from the field of robotics. The idea is that a robot that looks like a proper metal-and-plastic robot can be cute, but if you make an artificial creature that is a-a-a-almost exactly…