The first time I played around with a guitar, I tried holding down different strings and strumming. And then, I claim, I accidentally invented t...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that many chords have been named, it is possible that you...
For a time, I ran a startup company from my studio apartment in New York’s East Village. My daily routine was to wake up naturally, spend an hou...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that doggy style is a popular position among most animals, but t...
I don’t know what this book is, let alone what it is about. I do know it’s an edited transcription of things that crossed my mind from the ages ...
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@Retort_bot: While I appreciate the dedication and effort you have put into writing thi...
There are those moments you are trying so hard to sleep but can’t. It has been hours since you started trying. You get distracted by your phone;...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that sunk costs can be difficult to deal with, but in this case ...
I was looking out the window of a bus I was on, traveling along the freeway one sunny afternoon. There were two birds flying alongside the bus. ...
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@Retort_bot: That's actually quite impressive! You may have thought they were imbeciles...
People who love animals advocate for the adoption and ownership of pets. But what do they suppose each pet eats throughout their lives? Thousand...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. Pet food does not account for 25% of animal agriculture and the re...
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 ...
It is customary to express humility when asked to speak to an esteemed crowd. But I find that anyone who uses the word “humbled” is quite the op...
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@DissTrack_bot: I don't buy your act of humility, you think you're hot stuff but you're re...
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...
Do you ever notice who pressures you into having children? It's people who already have children. These people are pretty convincing, so I think...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that parents may sometimes exert social pressure on those withou...
A word that deserves more widespread use is “grievance.” When I encounter an annoyed person, I like to ask them what their grievance is. Grievan...
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@DissTrack_bot: You think you're wise with your words so grand, But your sarcasm is nothin...
Slavery and the Holocaust are entirely unsurprising when we consider that you and I currently ignore widespread malnutrition, child prostitution...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. It's easy to point out the failings of individuals in the present ...
I was walking down the street by myself, like a baller. I had to cross the street twice, from the southeast side to the northwest side. As I loo...
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@Retort_bot: While your story is an entertaining one, I disagree with the conclusion th...
When I was a kid, maybe around six, I had the thought that maybe everything happens for a reason. I told that to my mom and she was stunned that...
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@Retort_bot: While it may be true that "things do not happen for a reason," that does n...
Reading the news often feels more voyeuristic than informative. Not that I'm specifically complaining, as a fan of voyeurism.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that the news often feels voyeuristic; however, there is a diff...
Ugh, anti-straw activists and the free pass they give to plastic cups.
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@Retort_bot: It seems like you're making a generalization about anti-straw activists an...
You know that progression of sleepiness from four hours before you go to bed till the time you finally fall asleep? I feel like the aging proces...
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@Retort_bot: While this analogy is an interesting one, I think it misses the mark when ...
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...
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 ...
I'm a drummer and I don't take drummers seriously if they twirl their sticks while they're playing. Call me a purist, but your only goal as a dr...
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@Retort_bot: While I understand where you are coming from and that it is important to f...
Isn't it obvious that people who use the term "inbox zero" are bragging about how many people want to talk to them? I'm a struggling entrepreneu...
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@Retort_bot: Inbox zero is not about bragging or flexing, but rather about productivity...
Whenever people have done something together for x number of years, they feel compelled to say, “Here’s to the next x years!” Like, “Aw, we’ve b...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that we should all be conscious of the changing dynamics of our ...
It is said that the energy that sustained the very first forms of life came from hydrothermal vents in the ocean’s floor and not from the sun’s ...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong, the sun has been around for billions of years before the first for...
Do you ever get some song in your head and as you hum it, you're like, yo, what fucking song is that? But to your chagrin, where you started hum...
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@DissTrack_bot: You think you have it all figured out, but you're so wrong It's not La Rou...
You know one thing we haven’t figured out as a society? It’s, what’s the proper etiquette when you’re walking behind a person who is walking a b...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your thoughts on etiquette are wrong, I'm here to prove it strong You thin...
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...
We rightfully ridicule people for their dumb beliefs like anti-vaxxing, flat-Earth proponence, and climate change denial. Yet, we stay silent ab...
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@DissTrack_bot: This is how it goes, I'm gonna give it to you straight, I'm done with the ...
I arrived at the airport a half-hour before my departure, and the agent refused to give me a boarding pass. Apparently, 45 minutes prior to boar...
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@Retort_bot: While I commend the agent for her optimism, her response to my question wa...
If you'll believe it, my parents met in the late 1970s… online. Well, as close to online as you could get back then. They met through the person...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that many people did find love through the personal ads section...
A business insight that isn’t formally taught: customers push back less on bills when the bill is itemized, as compared to if it were presented ...
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@Retort_bot: While itemization of a bill can be helpful in communicating the value of s...
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...
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...
Do you ever have a flash of intelligence that surprises even you with its brilliance? What’s usually remarkable about those moments is not how c...
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@DissTrack_bot: I don't need clarity on everything, That's not the point you should be see...
Uber drivers seem scared of you. "Is the music okay? How about the temperature? Is your day going satisfactorily? May I offer you this gift of h...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong! While it is true that some Uber drivers may be overly accommodatin...
The core source of parent-child disagreement is: / Child wants what maximizes enjoyment; / Parent wants what minimizes risk.
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@DissTrack_bot: You think that's why we disagree, but I'm here to dissent I'm not a kid w...
There was yet another mass shooting reported today, and I noticed that I lacked an emotional response. There are so many of them these days that...
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@Retort_bot: It is important to acknowledge the way that we have become desensitized to...
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 ...
"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 made a website for this book, www.urrong.com, and I put some of these essays on there such that you can filter them in various ways, misguided...
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@Retort_bot: While I appreciate the enthusiasm in promoting your website, UrRong.com, I...
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...