Other people’s experiences matter, too. — I’m sitting in Starbucks listening to the conversation next to me, as per usual. “This is a real thing with a lot of women. Doctors don’t listen to them. It’s like — a lot of women say this. Doctors don’t listen to me.” A young woman says to her male…

We demonize “copiers” and praise “originality” but humanity prospers through iteration. — Of all the modern-day taboos and social expectations, it’s pretty well known that copying is a big no. …

On social media, tribal epistemology, and cancel culture. — It has truly been a banner week for toxic internet culture. Just a few highlights: Tati Westbrook, YouTube beauty influencer, uploaded a video formally disassociating herself from James Charles, another YouTube beauty influencer. The video — pointing to warrantless allegations of predatory sexual behavior — caused millions of fans to…

The problem with “work smarter, not harder.” — I have a handful of go-to childhood stories, not because they are fun or traumatizing, but because they taught me something invaluable. For example, when I was five the boy that sat next to me in kindergarten insisted that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. I’ll never forget it. …

Objectivism versus Reality — There is no more universally hated philosopher than Ayn Rand — at this point, it’s almost trendy take jabs at the woman. Her philosophy, rooted in self-interest, is seen as antithetical to human nature and therefore devoid of any substantial consideration of real-world applications. It’s a philosophy painted as greedy…

Is there linguistic merit to AOC’s National Action Network speech? — Given her incendiary nature, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) lives with a media target on her back. Her latest debacle comes after her April 5th speech at Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network Conference. …

self-doubt is driving the gender gap in political ambition — Here’s what this isn’t going to be: a women-blaming rant, ignorant of the very real barriers women must catapult themselves over to be successful. Instead, I think it’s important to counter the idea that most people don’t want to elect women just because they’re women. In fact, women are just…

Phenomena I’ve noticed or learned the hard way. — You judge yourself by your intentions, you judge others by their actions. Want to know what you like most about yourself? Think about what you emphasize on a first date. Toxic people don’t exist in a vacuum. Sometimes it’s not that person A is toxic in general, but rather that…

A response to The Racist History of Mispronouncing Names — Three days ago, this tweet by KUOW Public Radio started gaining a lot of attention due to its provocative message: Many people are angrily quoting the article in total disagreement. The two main arguments seem to be: mispronouncing someone's name is not racist white people also get their names…