Unpuzzling
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Have you ever had the experience of meeting a best friend after losing touch for several years? You get together over lunch or some activity, and the talk flows between you non-stop, as if you had never been separated. Or perhaps you’ve experienced the joy of joining a project team that clicks. After a brief period of getting to know one another, you “put your heads together” like a well-oiled machine, moving smoothly and quickly. ...

Afghanistan’s post-occupation political landscape is today characterized by an authoritarian regime with unique ideological features, including the most severe restrictions on the freedoms and human rights of any current dictatorship, particularly for women and girls. A few months after the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops in August 2021, Afghanistan’s ruling party, the Taliban, announced that girls were barred from studying beyond sixth grade — or age 13, about the time when young women can begin to ...

Unpuzzling the Nature and Nurture of Your Personality Your personality is the core of your self-identity. What do you know about the personality that make you the person you are?  Do you control it — or does it control you?  Can you change your personality traits if you don’t like them?  How did you end up with the personality you have?  Does your personality influence your political affiliations? The question is simple: who are you? Try answering ...

When Meaningful Words Have No Meaning The late John Lewis, Georgia's representative in Congress and a life-long human rights activist, said this about democracy: "Freedom is not a state; it is an act." This piece of wisdom is inspirational but not operational. What is "freedom"? What "acts" move us toward freedom? Common words, like freedom or liberty, are pervasive. Because everyone uses them according to their own purposes, these highly abstracted idea words have no singular or absolute ...

Catfishing became a popular term with the 2010 publication of an indie film by the same name. As a documentary shot in real-time using smartphone cameras, two film producers, Henry and Ariel, followed their friend Nev’s growing attachment to an attractive woman he met online. The story unfolds with countless Facebook exchanges over several months between Nev, who lives in New York, and his Facebook girlfriend, Abby, who lives in Michigan. After becoming increasingly suspicious of inconsistencies in ...

Science and religion aren’t inherently at odds, but claiming their union is a bed of roses overlooks the thorns. Introduce politics into this already peculiar partnership, and we find ourselves with a whole bush of nettles, guaranteeing a prickly experience for everyone involved. A recent event that occurred in the U.S. State of Alabama has much to tell us about how religion, science, and politics get along in the Land of Conservative Ideology. A ruling ...

In a 1964 case brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, a movie theater owner in Ohio showed a French film, “Les Amants” (The Lovers), directed by Louis Malle. Some viewers were offended, so the State of Ohio declared the film obscene. The theater owner was fined $2500. He fought back. The question before the Court was the definition of obscenity. Was the French film shown in Ohio obscene? In response to this question, ...

In a skit, comedian Richard Pryor plays a husband whose wife comes home early to find him in bed with another woman. The naked woman grabs her clothes and makes a quick escape. The dialogue ensues: Wife: You’re cheating on me! Husband: I’m not cheating on you. Wife: I saw that woman in bed with you with my own eyes! Husband: Well, who ya gonna believe — me or your lying eyes? Have you ever believed in ...

Who doesn’t have a bucket list of nagging problems in their life that they wish they could change? These problems can be small and annoying — or large and debilitating. Small problems might be wishes to improve the quality of your life with minor adjustments here or there. You exercise, but not enough. Maybe you’ve been told to cut back on your sugary desserts, but you love your after-dinner carbo-rush. Or maybe, like me, you’ve spent the ...

A friend of mine is obsessed with physical health and personal growth. He works out daily in a gym, reads the latest self-help books, takes multiple nutritional supplements, and engages in exotic treatments. While visiting his home recently, I noticed on his desk a self-help book by Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD, titled Whole Brain Living (2021). I was surprised I didn’t know this author, so my friend enthusiastically briefed me. Dr. Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-educated neurologist ...