Endurance. Perseverance. Persistence. Inner strength. Each of these virtues draws praise in an era that worships the rugged individual who conquers circumstance with dogged will and fortune (but mostly dogged will). Three months after the US presidential inauguration, the shine of “resistance” has dulled. So has the popular hope that we can abbreviate the next four to […]
Sagan on Illiteracy
The gears of poverty, ignorance, hopelessness, and low self-esteem mesh to create a kind of perpetual failure machine that grinds down dreams from generation to generation. We all bear the cost of keeping it running. Illiteracy is its linchpin. Even if we hardened our hearts to the shame and misery experienced by the victims, the […]
Humankind as Plague
Big Think‘s Tauriq Moosa revisits Alan Weisman’s World Without People. Star Trek fans might recall Q’s first trial of humanity on The Next Generation. Moosa asks: how could we justify human existence to such aliens if evidence for our value is limited? Are We a Plague? Well, That Depends Climate change and imported disease may […]
