Month: November 2007

The other day I was flipping through the channels on TV and came across an old Marx Brothers movie, A Night at the Opera. It’s a 4-star classic comedy. I watched for a bit and was astonished at how unfunny it is by today’s standards. What qualifies as humor has…

Most people would agree that in a hypothetical world where you had to kill one person from your own country (a stranger to you) versus one person from some other country (also a stranger) you would kill the foreigner. But what if the question were, for example, a choice of…

I’m in a bad mood today. To cheer me up, I am inviting one of my critics to a one-on-one debate, to be posted in this blog. If you think my views on any particular topic are stupid, make yourself known in the comments and I will debate you in…

There’s a big spread on the front of the New York Times business section today, written by Brad Stone, about my lack of management skills. It’s more entertaining than whatever drivel I was planning to spew today, so I direct you to it: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/business/11dilbert.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Here’s a question for all philosotainers. Are we better off if Pakistan is ruled by a relatively rational and reasonable dictator pretending to be an elected president, who is an enemy of Islamic fundamentalists, as is now the case with President Musharraf, or by a real democracy that could end…

It’s important to have goals. My goal is to win a Nobel Prize. I’m not fussy about which one. It could be for physics, chemistry, psychology, medicine, peace, or even that squirrely one for economics. I can rule out literature, because sooner or later the judges would read something I…

I was just talking to a friend who said he booked a trip to Ireland on Aer Lingus. This made me wonder what would happen if that airline merged with, oh, let’s say Continental Airlines. This new company, potentially named Conaerlingus, would get people’s attention. But would you be concerned…

When you see people who are struggling in life, you probably feel an urge to help. You might talk yourself out it, because you have your own problems, or you don’t know how to help in any lasting way, or there are just too many people in need. But you…

Did you read about the Zimbabwean female athlete who has a penis, a vagina, and a last name of Sithole? That’s what I call covering all the bases. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4249949.stm The athlete claims she was born with both male and female sex organs, and a traditional healer made the penis “disappear”…

Last week I appeared “live” in the virtual world of Second Life to promote my new book. (Have I mentioned it?) My avatar (a character that looks like me) answered questions in a theater packed with other avatars. Then I let them come on stage and kick my in the…

Sometimes, just to test my point of view, I like to take the opposite side and defend it. For example, I think attacking Iraq was a huge mistake. So today I will make my best argument for the other side. First, you have to separate the outcome, which is unknown,…

There are a lot of Christians in the world. They seem happy with their choice of religion. There are a lot of Hindus too, and they seem just as happy. It’s the same with the Buddhists, atheists, and Muslims. Your choice of religion, or no religion, seems to have no…