The classic trolley problem, in ethics, asks whether an action that causes harm is preferable to an inaction that causes more harm. While useful as a thought experiment, I have issues with it; namely, that the problem has almost no relevance to real life--or even to the artificial life we sometimes construct for ourselves ( Read more... )

Let's talk about the election ( Read more... )

For Love of the Game

It's go time.

House lights down,
batter up,
take your marks,
start the clock.

Breathe.

Wait.
Where are the butterflies?
Where are the nerves?
Why aren't I scared?

Action!
Play ball!
GO!
Shuffle up and deal!

Okay. Let's play.Something's not right ( Read more... )

Game TheorySeveral years ago, during a National Scrabble Championship, I became a minor celebrity ( Read more... )

(Disclaimer: Words were written at 3am, and may not be coherent or good.)

Set to the tune of Leonard Cohen's version of "Hallelujah". May he rest in peace. (Are God and Satan staging a battle of the bands this year or something?)We've lost our way, from end to start ( Read more... )

MessengerI scamper down the stairs, trying to catch the train as it pulls into the station, but I know it's futile. I hear the chime indicating that the doors are closing while I'm still a good fifty feet away, and sure enough, they slide shut before I can even get within range to stick my arm in ( Read more... )

"Reminders"He said he could make me a star ( Read more... )

"Uncomfortably Numb"The normal routine on summer weekdays, at least during the summer before I left for college, was that I would call my mom at work when I woke up. So the fact that the phone woke me up at 8:00 was a little strange, especially since I wasn't usually up at that hour ( Read more... )

AblazeEvery light comes from fire, whether it be the sun in the sky, the spark of electricity, or the passion in someone's eyes. Many flames have come and gone, but one fire--the greatest fire the world has ever known--has burned for twenty centuries, and shows no sign of being extinguished ( Read more... )

UntoldWalk down the street ( Read more... )