The political upheaval that put Donald Trump into the White House has left me pondering.  Why did so many women ignore his sexists attitude when they voted for him? Why do his supporters remain loyal, insisting he is fulfilling his promises, when by any objective measure, he has betr

If I had a dollar for every diet I’ve encountered in my life, I’d be a rich woman.  Some diets, like Mayo Clinic, South Beach and Atkins, focus on weight loss.  Others make suggestions for a healthy life.  Mediterranean, microbiotic, vegetarian, raw food diets have all been tou

Because we live in a chaotic universe, Robert Lowenstein believes we invent narratives to make sense of our surroundings.   (“The Stories We Fall For,” by Roger Lowenstein, Fortune, March 15, 2017, pg. 30).  I’m inclined to believe him. The world really is of our making. Here

The current political climate in the United States can only be described as jaw-dropping.  At the moment, all eyes are focused upon our newly elected president who seems to have come from nowhere to gain both the nomination of the Republican Party and the White House. By no means sho

When politics gets  tough, American’s cope by using laughter. John Stewart and Stephen Colbert lead the way, of course.  Michael Moore and Rachel Maddow get in a few good licks, as does Garrison Keillor.  But for street genius, there’s nothing like a protest sign. Here, I’ll

Just as science and art have long debated the social consequences of their activities, (Blog 2/10/17), it’s time for technology, the Sixth Estate, to grapple with its responsibility. Not only are its innovations transforming society, but they are doing so faster than in the past, ef

A magnet given to me by a friend sits on my refrigerator door.  It reads, “If you don’t take care of your body, where will you live?”   Anyone who doubts good nutrition is important only needs to look at the role it played in the development of our species. As writer Suzana H

I am wary that nerds are swallowing too many algorithms when I read interviews like the one recently published in Wired.  (“The God Complex,” by Olivia Solon, Wired, March 2017, pgs. 18-19.)  Yuval Harari has written a new book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, in which h

We’ve all heard versions of the Cherokee saying, “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.”  The adage describes empathy, the ability to  identify with the experience of others based on our own. The more experiences we have, the greater our emotional I. Q

A few years ago, the father of a friend, a man in his mid-80s, required surgery under general anesthetic.  The procedure was a success, but the elderly man began to suffer periods of disorientation and eventually developed full-blown dementia.  Eventually, he was sent to a nursing h