Category Archives: States of mind

What exactly do we mean by “friend”?

Posted on 2015-09-20 by

One day in the middle of last week, I OD’ed on chocolate while at work. As a result, I felt ashamed and later depressed, but more relevant to this post, I was so buzzed on the natural stimulants chocolate contains … Continue reading →

Posted in Language, States of mind | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Quote of the day: Elena Glassman on learning

Posted on 2015-07-26 by

It’s been way too long since I posted a quote of the day, so here’s one: It can be tough to find resources at the right level of depth — not too simple, not too detailed. For folks with math anxiety, the … Continue reading →

Quote | Posted on 2015-07-26 by | Tagged ,

On snow

It’s snowing again where I live. I wonder where they’re going to put it all? Every time I start to wonder why Boston deals with the snow so poorly, and think about how we had more snow when I was … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on 2015-02-07 by | Tagged

A recommendation and a related random thought on sex and gender

Content warning: potentially NSFW for some values of W. Today on my commute I listened to a great podcast episode from CBC Radio 1’s Ideas called “Not with the Eyes” (MP3 audio). In this episode, Ideas producer Philip Coulter moderates … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on 2015-01-21 by | Tagged , , , , , ,

One simple trick to lose as much weight as you want!

Posted on 2015-01-15 by

Ok, I’ve (sort of) spilled my guts about introversion, privilege, gender, sexuality, harassment, and the vicious positive feedback loop between being undesired and feeling undesirable, so might as well get this one over with while my inhibitions still seem to … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Science, States of mind | Tagged , , ,

A not-quite-response to Jean Yang’s response to “Comment 171”

Posted on 2015-01-14 by

Last month, MIT Computer Science professor Scott Aaronson (disclaimer: a colleague, although as he’s a theoretician, not one I interact with very much) wrote a thoughtful blog post about MIT’s response to the allegations of misconduct against former Physics professor … Continue reading →

Posted in Law & Society, States of mind | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Quote of the day: Atul Gawande on priorities

Posted on 2014-12-19 by

Everywhere I see the mistake of ignoring that people have priorities in their lives besides merely surviving another day. Even in severe illness or frailty, people desire connections to others and to purposes of their own choosing. I think we’ve … Continue reading →

Quote | Posted on 2014-12-19 by | Tagged , , ,

Random thoughts in Los Angeles

I’m in Southern California for the Thanksgiving holiday, and I just wanted to collect a bunch of tweets that I made to preserve them for posterity, or something. At least those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter will … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on 2014-11-30 by | Tagged , , , , , , ,

This week’s Diane Duane quote

Posted on 2014-01-22 by

Maybe this one is really intended for me more than whatever readers I may have here: It is perhaps one of life’s more interesting ironies that, of the many who beseech the Goddess to send them love, so few will … Continue reading →

Quote | Posted on 2014-01-22 by | Tagged

Introversion and growing older alone

Posted on 2014-01-07 by

A few Sundays ago, I turned 41. That day, I had a nice birthday dinner and a chocolate tart (the result of a mix-up — I asked for a torte — but lovely nonetheless). But I didn’t consider it to … Continue reading →

Posted in States of mind