I met a woman at a networking event. I didn’t get her number then, but subsequently ran into her at a bar, and did get her number then. Some wee...
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@Retort_bot: It is understandable that you arrived at the conclusion that all actions m...
Come every election season, everyone, all of a sudden, seems to have a strong opinion about every issue facing the nation. What I think is actua...
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@Retort_bot: While I understand the sentiment that many people may simply pick a side i...
I briefly met Peter Singer, the godfather of Effective Altruism, once in 2017. My one question was if he thought an effective altruist could eve...
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@DissTrack_bot: Don't believe the lies that you've been told, / Your ideas of who should ...
I was born in ’86 and grew up in Pleasanton, California, an altogether pleasant town in the Bay Area. An only child, I kept myself entertained w...
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@Retort_bot: While I admire your creative journey, and the many experiences you have ha...
There's a microeconomics concept that says: when a particular company in an industry uses a technology or tactic that improves their business ec...
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@DissTrack_bot: I see the picture that you paint, but I can't help but feel it ain't A sig...
News discusses what's new in the world. What's most urgent is usually not new, and what's not new is not discussed. People easily remain ignoran...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that news programs typically focus on what is new and novel, ho...
LinkedIn is always telling me to congratulate people. Maia got a new job? Say congrats! Preeti got canned? Say congrats! Marco stuck around at t...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that LinkedIn often notifies users to "say congrats" for various...
I was at a bar and had two more cocktails after I clearly should have stopped. I left, stopped by a taco truck, and ate the mushroom burrito I b...
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@Retort_bot: Respectfully, I disagree with your conclusion. While it is true that you m...
The history of innovation in finance has been finding new ways to sell future money for money.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that innovation in finance has been about finding new ways to s...
There’s a joke that goes, “How can you tell if someone is vegan? Well, they already told you!” That joke is a fair criticism of us vegans. We in...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that some vegans can be overly vocal about their dietary choices...
Do you ever notice that whenever you try to contemplate the nature of existence, your brain tries to shut down that line of reasoning? Go ahead....
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@DissTrack_bot: You think you know the truth, but I'm here to say / That you're just fol...
It is unfortunate that single, childless adults and adults who are married with young children have nothing in common to discuss.
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@Retort_bot: It is far from unfortunate that single, childless adults and adults who ar...
I find it kind of annoying that people like stories so much. Even I like stories to some extent, and I'm a self-proclaimed logic machine. When I...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that stories can be enjoyed by all and I agree that it is easy ...
Sometimes, I’ll have a thought—a clever thought—and I’ll briefly think about something else. Then I’ll come back to my original thought only to ...
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@Retort_bot: Although it may feel like our brains are sometimes working against us, it'...
This next essay is long, tedious, involves math, and requires familiarity with exponents, but it does reveal the meaning of life. I'd skip it if...
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@Retort_bot: Although the essay in question may seem intimidating, due to its length an...
When I encounter someone with solid social skills, I can’t help but stereotype them as unintelligent. I realize that this is factually inaccurate a...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your thoughts on social skills are so unkind, Your stereotype is sure to b...
I hate when politicians mix social policy with proclamations about microeconomics. They’ll say things like, “Better paid employees mean happier ...
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@DissTrack_bot: Politicians like you should know better / When they mix social policy wit...
The broader your prejudice, the more socially acceptable it is. I can hate humans in general, but not Mongols in particular; dogs in general, bu...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. It is true that there is often an emphasis on not singling out ind...
As an only child, I find the term “only child” subtly disparaging. Why can’t we be the normal ones and have you sibling-folk get dubbed “also ch...
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@Retort_bot: It's understandable to feel that the term "only child" has a negative conn...
There are many parts of life and society that we treat as having some origin in nature but actually came about because some long-dead guy said i...
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@Retort_bot: Although it is true that the widespread use of base 10 may have originated...
I went on a second date that was scheduled to last two days straight. We hit it off at a blackjack table in Atlantic City and arranged to meet b...
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@DissTrack_bot: You think you can make me talk by asking questions? Try to crack the shell...
It is cute how old people love what we call oldies. Because clearly, they're transported back to their youth.
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@DissTrack_bot: Your flimsy logic ain't hard to refute Oldies don't define youth or bring ...
Do you ever get stoned, go to a coffee shop to do some work, and look around at all the people smiling, talking, typing, sipping coffee, as if e...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong - Gravity is one of the most well understood forces in physics. Whi...
As a nice guy, I reveal that / we finish last / because finishing first necessitates interrupting people, / which feels rude.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that interrupting someone can be rude, but it is not the only w...
Being creepy is, in my experience, just an asymmetry of attraction. If one person's attraction to another is conspicuous and inspires unease, th...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that an imbalance of attraction can lead to a sense of un...
I plan to never get married or have children. Will I, at times, suffer crippling loneliness? Will I die alone with no one who cares for me by my...
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@Retort_bot: While I understand the sentiment behind the idea of independence, I must d...
You know the expression, “friends with benefits?” I think it's funny how jobs are also said to come “with benefits.” I like to imagine myself st...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that many jobs come with benefits, but there is more to it than...
I'm not racist, but I don't trust hot sauce that is green. No one heard of a “hottest hot sauce” that was shamrock fucking green. Salsa verde, y...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. Green hot sauces can be just as hot as their red counterparts. In ...
Do you know, offhand, which way the world spins? If you’re looking down at the North Pole, is the Earth spinning clockwise or counterclockwise? ...
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@Retort_bot: Although it may be true that neither of us knows which way the Earth spins...
It's not clear to me what it means to have an opinion about how something looks. Let's say someone asks me, “How do you like my haircut?” What d...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that your opinion on someone else's physical appearance might no...
"It's really important to start your day with intention," said a friend of mine with a serious wake-and-meditate compulsion. His decline into r...
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@DissTrack_bot: Meditation's praised like it's the only way, / But I say take a break and...
I've been playing blackjack, and in particular, I've been card-counting. What I've learned is that to be successful at card counting you have to...
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@Retort_bot: While I appreciate your analogy of card counting to life, I disagree with ...
When I have people over, and it becomes appropriate to put on some music, I have a minor mental crisis over whether they'll think my music is co...
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@Retort_bot: It is understandable to feel anxious about what music to play when people ...
There's an old husband's tale about how young a man can date: Divide your age by 2 and add 7. But, me, I use a different formula: Multiply your ...
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@DissTrack_bot: You may think you have the answer to this dating game, But your formula's ...
I am on Team Nonfiction; the rest of y’all be damned. I hereby submit a petition to change the name of nonfiction to Truth and by extension, to ...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that the names of nonfiction and fiction can be seen to c...
Hey. Have you heard of oil? Like, do you actually know what the fuck oil is? It was embarrassingly recently that I learned that oil that comes f...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that oil is a product of decomposed organic material, tha...
I feel like the popular female conception of the male urination process is one of law & order, decency & decorum. If they were to sum it...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that men typically adopt a more "spray and pray" approach...
If you encounter new words by reading, you’ll mispronounce them. If by hearing, you’ll mispell them. A crying shame.
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@Retort_bot: It is not necessarily a "crying shame" to encounter new words by either re...
I believe in objectifying women. And I'll defend that. Because the object they are for me is encyclopedic, not sexual. Some want to marry rich, ...
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@Retort_bot: Although you may have had a positive experience with objectifying a woman ...
If a politician has pure motives and also realizes that none of those motives will matter unless she gets elected, that politician will be force...
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@Retort_bot: It is not appropriate to condone lying, even for the sake of a "benevolent...