Musings
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The Fortunate Optimist
Many will — and indeed have — rightly point out that the only reason I am a fairly optimistic person is that I have lived a comparatively easy and privileged life. But I think that is how it should be — why should I be so grim when I have been so lucky? Why should… Continue reading
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On Counterfactual Thinking and Negativity Bias
It seems that humans can’t help but think about the inevitable “what ifs” that we encounter in life — how things would have turned out “if only” some factor or another was different. This is known as counterfactual thinking, and it is often problematic not only because we wrack our brains with regret for having not… Continue reading
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Disconnected
Studying war has always been strange for me. I’ve been doing it for many years, both for school and out of personal interest. My major, international relations, came into being shortly after the end of World War II, precisely to figure out the origins of human conflict and how to resolve it (obviously, it now… Continue reading
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Thoughts of the Day – 10/23/2012
The idea that our public education system is dysfunctional is pretty much a given nowadays. Indeed, just about every Gallup poll concerning education shows that Americans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the quality of American schools. Yet 77% of parents award their own child’s public school a grade of A or B, which is the highest… Continue reading
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The Olympics
While I still enjoy watching the Olympics, I’m still disappointed by the strong correlation between wealth and performance: for obvious reasons, the top performers are almost always the countries with the most money and resources. Thus, the majority of events end up being contested mostly by the same dozen or so countries that have the… Continue reading
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Thoughts of the Day
Another day, another senseless act of violence (in reference to the recent events in Colorado). No one ever goes to a mall, theatre, or school expected to be gunned down for no good reason. We don’t wake up thinking this day will be our last. We go about our lives completely oblivious to the fragility… Continue reading
About Me
Humanist | Bibliophile | Writer | Wiki Editor | World Citizen | Esquire (J.D. / LL.M.)