Artificial Intelligence. Maybe it’s just me, but the name itself—Artificial Intelligence—strikes me as a bit odd. There is something paradoxical about pairing what is synthetic with what is uniquely cognitive. But that’s a thought for another time. To say that AI is dominating the news cycle today is to state […]
“Don’t judge a book by its cover!” It’s one of those familiar sayings we’ve heard so often that we could probably finish the sentence before someone else has a chance to say it. Mom said it. Teachers said it. We know the principle. And yet, despite how often we’ve heard […]
Flying can—and usually does—test the limits of human endurance. Our most recent trip did not disappoint. The penultimate leg of our journey took us from New York to San Francisco—two cities that, in their own ways, can feel like centers of the universe when it comes to financial and technological […]
As is often—no, always—the case, travel never fails to deliver a life lesson or two…or three. Our most recent trip took us abroad, which, in addition to the excitement of seeing new places, came with the familiar requirements of international travel: packing—what to take and what to leave behind—and making sure […]
On July 4, 1776, a group of colonists affixed their signatures to a document declaring independence from their king. The opening words of that declaration have been memorized by countless schoolchildren and adults alike: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are […]
Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Maybe that’s why I find myself feeling a bit melancholy. It has been twenty-five years since my mother passed away. Mom. Mama. Time is a thief. Certain memories rise to the surface more readily than others when I think about the incredibly strong, […]
Why? It’s a small word. Just three letters. But it may be the question we ask more than any other. Yesterday, I walked through a hospital entrance that felt much heavier than usual. A group had gathered—friends, family—standing close, holding each other up. Some were crying. Others were quiet, eyes […]
There are certain places that seem to live on everyone’s lifetime bucket list: the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids at Giza, the Great Wall of China. The list is long. And somewhere near the top would surely be that enormous chasm in northern Arizona — described at various times as “an […]
It’s often said: if you don’t want the truth, stay off the bathroom scale. Don’t ask a child what they really think. And by all means—don’t ask A.I. to analyze your writing sample. Because if you do, you’re going to get the truth. Straight. No chaser. On this Valentine’s Day, […]
Sale, sale, sale! Buy, buy, buy! It’s that time of year when the television seems packed with longer commercial breaks and the inbox fills with more ads than actual mail. Everything shouts the same message: Look! Want! Buy! It was ABBA who sang: Money, money, moneyMust be funnyIn the rich man’s […]
