A recent study suggests that when wealthy people have more direct exposure to poverty, they may subsequently express less support for redistribution. I explore why that might happen, and what a “reverse” version of that study might reveal
The personality traits that predict telling dirty jokes, walking around naked at home, and singing in the shower
Which type of romantic relationships break up least, which break up most, and why the pattern doesn’t match most people’s assumptions
Thoughts on the New Atheism movement (Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett) of the 2000s and their profound effect on the religiosity of millennials, particularly those already prepared to be skeptical of faith in the wake of 9/11
Humiliation, outrage, shock, etc. gets amplified online, while millions of normal, successful interactions remain invisible
The convenient excuses young males make to avoid asking women out on dates
Why people are mentally better equipped to handle rejection if it comes from a potential employer than a potential romantic partner
A comparison that exposes how irrational this can get: imagine sending five résumés, hearing nothing back, and concluding you’re unemployable for life
If your unstructured free time is spent entirely on scrolling and consumption, you become hard to like because you’re hard to be curious about
I push back on the standard excuse (“people are exhausted after working all day and don’t have time for hobbies or creative interests”) by noting most people aren’t doing backbreaking or extremely mentally taxing work; they’re often just mentally anesthetized and tempted by convenience
I tell a story from my early twenties: practicing German lessons while refreshing my juggling skills in my apartment, trying to keep my body busy while my brain did the boring work
A lot of men don’t fail because they lack options, but because they actively kneecap themselves out of some misplaced fear of looking like they’re trying too hard or seeming uncool
Join me for my next live video in the app.
