I have an academic friend who went through a postmodernist phase, as he admitted later, to liberate himself from the shackles of orthodox Marxism. He read Derrida and thought he understood him. After a while, though, he started reading a biology textbook because “in addition to being interesting, it might actually be true.” The whole … More Science Denialism on the left

An actual conversation: “So you’re a doctor, a physician?” “Yes, I am.” “Can I ask you a question? Is it possible to get mild food poisoning? I think I accidentally ate dinner with a fork that touched raw chicken, and I feel mildly ill.” “It’s not my area of expertise, but I imagine if you … More Skill Sets

  Finding the right barber can be one of life’s greatest challenges. The first barber I have any memory of is Cliff, the barber in the neighborhood I grew up in. Cliff loved sports and talked sports incessantly. The Harlem Globe Trotters were staring to make a splash in the 1950s, and Cliff often said, … More Barbers

We all fall victim to magical thinking at some point. For some, of course, magical thinking is a way of life; for others, exploiting magical thinking is a way to make a living. Many naturopaths, faith healers, fortune tellers, and the like may combine the two, believing in what they do as fervently as those … More The Coffee Table

For many of us, especially in the more privileged socio-economic sections of society, life is just one long self-improvement project that we know in our hearts will sooner or later end badly. As someone said, despite our best efforts to eat right and exercise regularly, mortality is holding steady at 100%. There is no end … More Staying Fit

Years ago I was working out three days a week at the university gym, which was a short walk from my office. My workout partner and I did some running, but mostly we lifted weights. Once when I got back to my office after the workout, I suffered a sort of short-term memory loss. For example, … More Machismo