"There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in."     Leonard Cohen Is the glass half full or half empty? It’s the age old question. There has been much handwringing about an authoritarian takeover of the world and even of the United States. A few...

 “Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves.” City of LiesHistorically Republicans have been in favor of smaller and limited government while Democrats have supported a larger and more activist government. In recent years that framework has changed in...

 It’s been quite a shock at my age to discover that the values I’ve lived by all these years are wrong. I grew up in the fifties and sixties. We didn’t have personal computers or smart phones to guide us so we lived according to the popular maxims of the day. For...

 To compare Donald Trump to Viktor Komarovsky does a disservice to Komarovsky. Trump lacks Komarovsky’s best qualities and embodies the worst. However the comparison is useful in that it explains Trump’s success and the dangers that may lie ahead for us and for...

 People tend to overestimate the impact of future events. That is, they predict that future events will have a more intense and more enduring impact on their personal lives than they actually do. Psychologists call this the impact bias. Harvard Psychologist Daniel...

 There’s no denying these eight-legged segmented micro-animals are pretty cute. But the real allure of the tardigrade lies in its incredible hardiness. These small creatures have been subjected to all manner of supposedly unliveable conditions – from temperatures near...

 There are seven reasons why God doesn’t give a shit about us.First off we’re just lumps of mud he played with once when he was bored of being God.The six other reasons are, wellMaybe not sixBut some for sure.Like cockroachesIf you see one there are lots more lurking...

 Election Day, November 5th, looms ahead. Some fear armageddon. Others look forward to a golden age. Voters are divided into teams. We view the future through different colored glasses, red or blue, and we choose an elephant or a donkey for our mascot.Path dependence...

 A barn owl lives in a snag in the redwood forest outside my bedroom window. His screeches keep me awake at night. I toss and turn in the darkness. My wandering thoughts coalesce into a dream as sleep takes me without warning or notice. My dreams are calm and clear, I...

 Is America great?When asked, the majority of poll respondents were split between two answers: “yes” (46 percent) and “it’s complicated” (48 percent).“America has always been great for some but not for all.”“America is not great but has the potential to be. We have...

 The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.       William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Change can be difficult but it is inevitable. Think of yourself. You are constantly changing whether you know it or...