In a recent opinion piece, Clive Thompson begins with the question, “What do you do when you discover you are wrong?” (“Retraction Heroes,” by Clive Thompson, Wired, Feb, 2018, pg. 034.)  He goes on to extol the merits of an evolutionary biologist, Daniel Bolnick, who pub

Recently, there was a dustup at Reed College, my alma mater.  Like elsewhere, the students are balking against the curriculum.  In particular, they resent being dragged through the Humanities, a survey course on western culture that begins with ancient Greece.  To focus

One of the challenges of living at my retirement center is keeping up with the reading recommendations of fellow inmates.  My list is long and growing. Nonetheless, when I heard about an article on brain tumor surgery, one that obliges a patient to remain awake while the surgeon saws

When I arrived at college in the mid 1950’s, I knew nothing about folk music. Pete Seeger was all the rage on campus and when I heard him sing Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, a lump formed in my throat. The song ended, I could do nothing but stand up and cheer. One could say mine

One of my gaggle of 3 older gentleman at the retirement center has died. (Blog 7/15/15) I feel his absence though I’d known him only a few months. He’d been a judge in his working life. His wife had died not long ago and he admitted he didn’t see much point in going on. The rema

I admit it. I’ve been known to talk to myself. Yesterday, I had to get snarky. Three times I attempted to leave the house and three times, I returned for my keys, my purse and finally, my gloves. Exasperated, I bellowed to the four walls, “Hello Caroline. How about joining the par

The Gap is a new book by Thomas Suddendorf that argues the reason homo sapiens stand intellectually above other animals isn’t a matter of engineering but the results of having outlived our nearest competitors. According to the author, as little as 30,000 years ago, “several specie

As the saying goes, “It’s an ill wind that blows no good.”  Despite the war of nerves Donald Trump is playing with  North Korea’s leader, Kim Jung-un, bad political news means good business for some.  Since North Korea launched a missile that could reach the United States,

When I wrote the latest version of my will, my attorney noted I’d made no provisions for my ashes.  Nonplussed, I asked, “Doesn’t the funeral parlor dump them?” As the deceased-to-be, my lawyer’s question struck me as impertinent.  I don’t pay taxes once I’m dead.  Wh

I opened the January issue of Wired hoping to  learn what magical algorithms were on the horizon for the coming year.  What I found was a publication stuffed with science fiction. The editor explained, “to get a greater sense of reality,” he’d turned to stories. (“The Power