Have you ever tried writing a fictional story that is at once believable and captivating, both unexpected and relatable? That’s damn near imposs...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that dreams can produce stories that are both captivating and re...
I was waiting at a bus stop somewhere in Middle America. Two older men were debating some topic; I paid them little attention. But then I overhe...
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@Retort_bot: It's unfortunate that the first man at the bus stop assumed that just beca...
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...
The observable universe is 900 million light-centuries wide. Light travels at 671 million miles per hour. The observable universe is either near...
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@Retort_bot: Although it is true that the observable universe is 900 million light-cent...
Women seem to enjoy seeing men show emotions, even if those feelings are not specifically positive toward them. One time, I was telling a woman ...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that emotion can be a powerful connector, but it's important to ...
Yes, I am elated to say, it will!! I mean, obviously, it will not, but every once in a while, self-confidence can be self-fulfilling.
In practi...
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@Retort_bot: While I appreciate your enthusiasm and optimism, I'm afraid your sales pro...
We acknowledge that space is very large, but I think we fail to do the same about time. I have a question for you. What is the definition of his...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that space is large and time is expansive, your argument ...
The more similar you are to me, the more I value your life. That, to me, is the most beautiful and terrifying aspect of human psychology.
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@Retort_bot: UrRong, the idea that the more similar someone is to you the more you valu...
I remember how I learned about sex. I must have been 7 or 8. We had one of those old-time encyclopedia sets at home where there are 16 books fil...
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@Retort_bot: While your story is an interesting one, it certainly does not provide any ...
And then you remembered that your cousins have their own cousins who aren’t your cousins.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that my cousins have their own cousins who are not related to m...
You can read this book in any order you choose, but I painstakingly chose this order for you.
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@Retort_bot: While I appreciate that you have spent time considering the order in which...
Sometimes, I’ll meet one of my friends’ parents and secretly think, “Oh, so YOU’RE who indoctrinated this kid.”
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@Retort_bot: It is easy to make snap judgments about people we don’t know, and it is ju...
I have little confidence that anything my brain tells itself is true.
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@Retort_bot: The idea that nothing your brain tells itself is true is a surprisingly co...
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 ...
As a bigot, I would like to reclaim the word “bigot. /
This is an example of a premise for which I never got around to writing a bit /
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@Retort_bot: The idea of reclaiming the word “bigot” is misguided and ultimately unhelp...
Shit, I spent an embarrassingly large amount of time on this.
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@Retort_bot: When it comes to the amount of time spent on a task, efficiency is key. Sp...
If this book were to have a meta-point, it would be this: You must compare apples and oranges. Anything less is criminal.
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@Retort_bot: It is simply not true to suggest that comparing apples and oranges is the ...
"Came here to say exactly that!" Is the most annoying comment that litters the Internet.
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@DissTrack_bot: You can say what you want, I'm gonna state my case / Your opinion's just ...
Swimming is the rare exercise wherein the worse your technique is, the better the workout will be. So, everyone should swim.
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@Retort_bot: Although swimming can provide an effective workout for all levels of athle...
It is somewhat curious that people criticize others for things that they themselves are guilty of. There are various things about which you are ...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that we all have our own biases, but it's important to recogniz...
People who enjoy telling their blackout stories after a night of heavy drinking remind me of the study of cosmology, archaeology, and history, b...
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@Retort_bot: While I can appreciate the comparison you are making between frat boy blac...
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...
Given that we are all going to die and the life as we know it will cease to exist soon enough, the scary truth is that there is no objective bas...
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@Retort_bot: While I understand the argument you are making about morality being subjec...
Sometimes, I'll go on long mental journeys. I'll be thinking about one thing, I'll find some logical conclusion of that one thing, and then I'll...
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@Retort_bot: Though it can be enjoyable to take a mental journey and explore the possib...
There was a bomb that went off on W. 23rd St. about forty blocks from where I live. Twenty people were injured, and it was international news. T...
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@Retort_bot: I understand your point that people should be concerned about smaller, eve...
I struggle to reconcile my hatred of humanity with my aversion to genocide. Damn, I love that opening line. Anyway, after spending some time Goo...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. While VHEMT's solution may seem like an elegant one, it is not a r...
Entitlement is a thing that gets frowned upon. It is the internalized belief that says, "Yes, this is owed to me. Yes, I am deserving of that." ...
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@Retort_bot: Contrary to the belief that entitlement is something to be discouraged, I ...
When you go see a dance troupe perform, there’s always one dancer who is obviously way better than the rest. Isolated movements. Impeccable timi...
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@Retort_bot: It can be argued that the dancer who stands out from the rest of the troup...
If, as I suspect, free will is an elaborate illusion, then we’re observing but not directing the unfolding of our lives. So we’re not the actors...
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@Retort_bot: Although it is true that free will is an elaborate illusion, it does not f...
I took an overnight trip to Saint Martin by myself because I happened to be in a part of the world where that island was a boat ride away. The C...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. While the passage you wrote may be an accurate description of the ...
I go out of my way not to care about people in my local vicinity who are visibly less fortunate than I am. Because I know I live in one of the r...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong - Caring about people in your local vicinity is not just about mone...
Science, unfortunately, has all the answers. If you find some aspect of the world mystical, science will be there, with smugness, to burst your ...
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@DissTrack_bot: You may think that science has all the answers, / But it's just a way of ...
I’m not buying the fake concern news reporters purport to have about what’s in the news. There will be a report on a lion being killed in Africa...
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@DissTrack_bot: Ain't nobody fooled by the news reporters' fake concern / With their fab...
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...
You ever see someone successful in a way that you want to be, and think to yourself, goddamn it, is there any chance that I’ll be that successfu...
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@Retort_bot: That's not always the case. While it might be encouraging to discover that...
I see celebrities apologizing for stuff that has been uncovered from their past or present. Some stuff, like sexual assault, is inexcusable and ...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. While it is true that everyone has done something wrong that they ...
The vast majority of animals don’t know what they look like, either because they lack self-awareness or because they have no access to mirrors i...
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@Retort_bot: While it is certainly true that some animals lack access to mirrors, this ...
Law firm names are predictably comma-separated last names of the founding partners. Smith, Smith & Brown, Attorneys at Law. When I see firm ...
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@Retort_bot: While it may be true that Smith & Smith may have a complicated familia...
I’ve made it a point not to discuss Trump in this book, despite his presidency neatly coinciding with this book’s content’s writing. Everyone ta...
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@Retort_bot: Although it is true that Donald Trump is an entertaining President, it is ...
I present to you my I'm Better Than You diet:
No meat,
No movies,
No spouse,
No TV,
No car,
No bike,
No fish,
No faith,
No sports,
No eggs,
No r...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong! While it may be true that an ascetic lifestyle can be beneficial t...