Thoughts

Older people know something that I don't. I have heard often of the man who says what he is thinking, regardless of his audience, airing his thoughts on any subject that happens to quicken his anger or passions. Sons and daughters quickly shush old men like this for fear of offense, and strangers cast sideways glances, dismissing them as senile. Still, these men know something that I don't. They know that the opinions of others are no threat to them. They know that they will go on living in spite of the anger roused in others by their beliefs; and they know that one's beliefs can as easily be shaped by others if he or she is not careful to define them oneself. These men may lack prudence, but they have wisdom. They may express indifference, but they radiate certitude. There is a balance to be had, I suppose, and a time and place for everything; but in a climate rife with sensitivity to the politically correct, it can be both comic and telling to watch one of these older...

In a recent article in National Geographic ( "Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science "), Joel Achenbach attempted to explain why humans have trouble believing the evidence laid out in scientific research. In the article, he cited a phenomenon called confirmation bias , our tendency to adopt the evidence that fits what we already believe. Now, I am a feeling person by nature. Subconsciously, I make choices in my environment based on my emotional reaction to it. Similarly, I have found that the information I remember most is the information I respond to with strong emotion, whether that emotion is humor, anger, shock, or something else. This is why I believe confirmation bias exists: we respond to facts emotionally. However, sometimes we learn information that, instead of confirming what we believe, has the opposite effect. We are introduced to facts that shock us out of our complacency. That shock can jar us into questioning long-held beliefs, and even entire worldviews...

Although many things have happened over the past few weeks, this post will discuss those things that did not. It is in a spirit of gratitude, then (except for number seven below), that I relate those things that did not happen. 1. I did not lose a relative. In short, I could have lost a relative, but I did not. Thankfully, this person is recovering quite well. 2. I did not grade essays. I believe this is the first Christmas break that I have not graded essays. 3. My wallet was not stolen. Perhaps men should not wear pajama pants outside of their homes. Perhaps jeans or clacks are more appropriate. Nonetheless, I did leave in my pajama pants to return a movie. The problem was that the pockets on these pajamas are shallow, so that any items in them are susceptible to fall out. This is exactly what happened. As I turned to get back to my car, my wallet fell out of my pocket just in front of the movie kiosk, a well lit area peopled at the time by two other individuals. I only real...

In July, I wrote about attending the Sacramento State Fair, where Wheel of Fortune held auditions for potential contestants. Each day that the Wheel of Fortune crew were present, there were up to three separate auditions (on the day I attended, there were three). At each of these auditions were hundreds of people, dozens of whom were called to take the stage to talk about themselves and play mock rounds of the show. I was lucky enough to be called to the stage while present. At the end of the audition, all mock contestants were told that they might receive an e-mail or letter from the show within three months, prompting him or her to attend a second audition later. Since the event was in July, this meant that I would receive something by the end of October. However, October came and went, and I assumed organizers were uninterested. That changed several weeks ago, when I received an e-mail prompting me to attend a second audition. That audition took place over three weeks a...

Last week and today mark the twelfth week of the professional football season. Sure, statisticians and football mavens spend their energies predicting the outcome of these weekly contests. Bets run high on these outcomes. Some even consult the wisdom of the current version of EA Sports' Madden football game to predict who will reach and win the Superbowl. Amid this flurry of activity over who will emerge as champions, however, I believe a terrible injustice has occurred. I am certain that I am not alone in noting this negligence. Indeed, there may be many voices who have attempted to speak up about it before, but perhaps they did not have the stage on which to lodge their complaint. To address this problem, I take time today to answer a pressing question. It is this: while we pay such close attention to which NFL team will win each week, what of the mascots? What would happen if the actual animals, people, and inanimate objects were compelled to fight one another? What would the ou...

I jumped the other day. This was not a test of agility, mind you, but an effort to reach something high on a dew-covered pole. It took me four or five tries, but I retrieved the piece of paper taped to the pole, set as a prop for students to examine. Now, to some, this might be a nonevent; but to me, it was a moment of enlightenment. I realized at that moment that my twenty-five year-old self could school me in basketball if ever I had the chance to face him in some alternate reality. While the saying "White men can't jump" is not without merit, there was something more in this lack of athletic prowess. There came with it the understanding that so often creeps up on men, only to stun them with vivid perspicuity of their life position: I am getting old. It must be said from the start that I am not yet old . No, this would be a miscalculation, given man's current longevity. Still, my age and body both tell me that I have clearly moved from the apartment of young adu...

Here is a preliminary list of words that are cool. 1. Gossamer : something extremely light or delicate 2. Exchequer : a treasury 3. Blackguard : a low, contemptible person 4. Transubstantiation : the changing of one substance into another 5. Mendicant : a beggar 6. Zeitgeist : the spirit of the time 7. Ataraxia : tranquility 8. Vicissitude : a change in the course of something 9. Superfluous : excessive 10. Defenestrate : to throw (a person or thing) out of a window 11. Alacrity : cheerful readiness 12. Mercurial : changeable; volatile; erratic