![Mari Andrew illustration: "what it looks like now [squiqqly line]... what it will look like in hindsight [straight paved road]"](https://mackenzian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MariAndrew_WhatItLooksLikeNow.jpg)
Memory helps us to shape our sense of ourselves, and it’s a creative act, not an objective accounting. Psychologists have established what they call “hindsight bias,” a mental quirk that encourages us to believe that today’s outcomes were once obvious and inevitable and that tomorrow’s changes are unlikely. We assume more constancy and less variance […]
Living wisdom
There are people around the world for whom a century isn’t an abstract quantity: it’s the life they’ve lived, plus some. My grandfather, whose birthday is August 11, is one of those people. Robert N. Kennedy will spend Thursday celebrating his 102nd year with relatives and friends, trading memories, and reflecting on all he’s seen, done, and learned. […]
Reclaiming the menu
I spent several hours on Thursday being filmed at home for a series of short profiles on US Adventists. As part of the filming process, I cooked dinner for the filmmakers. So halfway through the afternoon, I chopped up a little onion, celery and carrot, a bunch of collards, and potatoes; I simmered green split […]
