We already know this. People spend a lot of time—maybe too much—on their phones and other devices, and it’s a troubling trend. But who is ultimately responsible for changing the habits and fixing the problem? Does the responsibility lie squarely with individual users to make changes? Should designers and developers of apps and devices make …
Continue reading Getting unhooked: Nellie Bowles on screen addiction and responsibility
What if your very life depended on trusting people that you had learned explicitly to hate, feat, and distrust? Yikes! What a terrible question, right? You may not be able to answer it easily, but most likely you will never find yourself in such a dramatic situation, so no worries. Writer and former publisher of …
Continue reading Trusting the foxes: Rob Eshman on the challenge of opening our hearts
What’s more important to you, time or money? Crazy question, right? But science writer Robert Roy Britt reports on numerous studies that demonstrate that, as his title declares, “time can make you happier than money.” Check out his September 2019 essay published in elemental+, a Medium blog. Britt, “Time can make you happier than money” …
Continue reading Time or money: Robert Roy Britt on life values and happiness
It might be fair to say that dictionaries generally operate in a kind of stealth mode—we probably don’t think about them too often, they’re seldom added to anyone’s wish list, and if there’s a big one in your house, it’s likely used more often as a booster seat for toddlers at the dinner table than …
Continue reading In a word: Debbie Cameron on the role (and the power) of dictionaries
These days, there’s an app for everything—things you never thought you needed (and probably don’t). Christy Harrison, author and registered dietitian nutritionist, contends that Kurbo, a diet app for children, is not only unnecessary but downright harmful. In this August 2019 New York Times essay, she argues that trying to impose weight loss regimens on …
Continue reading No app-etite: Christy Harrison on children and weight loss efforts
In everyday English, to say that someone is thin-skinned means that they’re easily insulted or offended, and it’s usually not a compliment. The opposite, thick-skinned, is said about someone who is not deterred or troubled by criticism, a favorable characteristic. But these metaphoric phrases have been—and continue to be—applied literally and with opposite values in …
Continue reading Skin deep: Linda Villarosa on race-based myths in medicine
Perhaps you’ve seen the message on a bumper sticker; there are a lot of them around. It says something like, ‘If you’ve eaten today, thank a farmer.’ Kate Miller, an Arkansas rancher and beef producer, explains why she won’t be thanking a farmer in this March 2019 essay published in Drovers, a Farm Journal magazine. …
Continue reading No thanks: Kate Miller on farmers and gratitude
Dogs and cats, of course. But pigs, peacocks, and even squirrels? These are some of the animals that people have been bringing with them as “emotional support” on buses and planes, in stores and restaurants, and the trend shows no signs of abating. The concerns of those who claim to need their animal companions at …
“[H]ippies may have been onto something.” Wow, far out. Groovy to hear it. Tessa Love, a Berlin-based writer whose work focuses on the intersection of technology and humanity, asserts that LSD and other psychedelics may facilitate communing with nature in this May 2019 essay in Elemental+, a Medium-hosted blog. Love, “How LSD may facilitate communing …
Continue reading One with nature: Tessa Love on psychedelics and connectedness
Utah Jazz player Kyle Korver has had a stellar basketball career. He was named NBA All-Star in 2015 and has led the NBA in in 3-point shooting percentage four times; fans in all the cities where he’s played proudly sport his jersey. As a popular NBA star, he enjoys a tremendously privileged life. In this …
Continue reading Privilege: Kyle Korver on racism and unawareness
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