Category: Opinion

Four medieval villagers whispering and reacting to rumors swirling as sticks and stones in the town square

Sticks & Stones: Is gossip all bad?

Growing up in the Protestant Christian Church, gossip was routinely criticized for its harm and divisiveness. Pastors regularly debunked the adage “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”. Words can and do hurt people. But is gossip sometimes helpful?

Cartoon character dancing energetically at a street dance battle surrounded by cheering crowd and colorful lights

Naive, Defensive, & Uncultured: Being Square in a Shapeshifting World

I briefly discuss the challenges of distinguishing between AI-generated content and genuine articles, societal pressures to integrate marketing and entertainment into content creation, and the balance between being yourself and changing yourself in a rapidly-evolving world.

The Trouble with Hegemony: US-Iran War is Driven by a Desire for Influence

Hegemony is dominant influence, not violence. A county can be influential without being violent. But the quickest way to expand power is through violence. And violence often comes with the territory of hegemony.

Memoirs of a Speculator: Asking Google Gemini about the biggest individual stock loss of my short life (QVC Group)

We are currently in the midst of an artificial intelligence arms race. Chat GPT already has a pay wall. Do you think Google Gemini or other AI systems are going to provide this type of information for free forever? If you’re a retail speculator (like me) you should probably be setting aside some time to ask an AI platform about the stocks that make up your portfolio… It’s not going to be free forever…

“Show me [the data].”

What would happen if we took it upon ourselves to show not tell? What if we politely ask for a link to the data supporting a person’s point of view? What if we held ourselves to higher standards of [empirical] evidence? Why don’t we take a lesson from the skeptics and turn the Show Me State motto into a mantra for empiricism?

Opinion: Renee Good’s Tragic Death Demonstrates Systemic Societal Failures of Both Uniformed & Civilian Training, Preparedness, and Response

Renee Good’s tragic death demonstrates systemic societal failures of both uniformed and civilian training, preparedness, and response. I am hoping for a just verdict in this case and more insightful context to be revealed before a jury in a court of law. What is clear to me is that many quick (fast-thinking) decisions were foolishly made in this incident, and it should be used as a training video for (1) how not to approach and endeavor to stop a vehicle and (2) how not to respond to a law enforcement officer.