We relate to life primarily in two ways: experience and memory. Our experience is subject to the type attention we offer at a given moment; if our attention wanders we lose track of a particular experience. For example, at a baseball game we might find... Continue

Accumulating wealth and personal assets used to be a major cultural preoccupation. Savings accounts once were popular and dutifully depositing a portion of each week's paycheck in the bank was a common practice. The power of compounding interest would over time, it was believed, provide an... Continue

Anybody else struck by the symbolic convergence of bats and leaf blowers this October? Men swinging big sticks is nothing new, of course, but I find myself both embarrassed and amused by such displays of male aggression. Throw guns into the symbolic mix and the... Continue

I'm a confessed plant lover, what my late friend Keith Cahoon called a "Hortisexual." This passion does not include sex, but has led to what I've called the infidelity of "Multiple Simultaneous Relationships with Plants." Though I've never cheated on my wife, I've been unfaithful... Continue

"Name?" The barista behind the counter asked without looking up from his touch-screen. "Blythedale, with a 'y'. Lucius Blythedale," I answered. "Lucius Montgomery Blythedale, to be precise." The barista didn't miss a beat. "One Chicken Artichoke sandwich, smoky barbecue chips, one chocolate cake pop and... Continue

Getting people out of cars and into mass transit is good for air quality, may reduce road congestion, and encourages public transportation. These are all good effects, but systems like SMART also affect growth and development patterns. Unless extreme care is taken in the planning... Continue

We've told ourselves that people are the greatest for so long, most of us actually believe it. Religious narratives puff us up with tales of being made in God's image, having dominion over nature and even existing in non-material heavenly dimensions. With tales like that,... Continue

Only in America could an arrogant businessman who inherited substantial wealth from his father become elevated to celebrity status and then leverage that fatuous fame to run for President of the United States and lead the polls in the Republican primary race. We've known The... Continue

The CEO of Cambrian, a biotechnology company, wants to upgrade the human race. His plan to is to make genetic engineering available to everyday people in a process he calls "democratizing genetics." In homage to his namesake, Austen Heinz of Cambrian might someday appear in... Continue