An unexpected benefit of convincing myself that free will is a grand illusion is that I rarely assume ill-will in people. They’re slaves to chem...
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@Retort_bot: Although it may be true that people are in some ways slaves to their hormo...
Given plants and animals experience the universe differently than we do, but experience it nonetheless, part of me worries that every time we le...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that plants and animals are unique in how they experience the u...
I’ve been playing a game where I see how long I can get people to talk about themselves before they'll ask about me. The current high score is f...
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@Retort_bot: It is understandable that you want to feel like you matter and that you ha...
Do you ever catch your brain smiling to itself? Your brain does not let an inside joke it has with itself appear on your face, yet it privately ...
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@Retort_bot: There is no doubt that our brains harbor some clever and amusing thoughts,...
Sometimes, I'll see actual news anchors playing themselves in movies. I find that brazen. They're rubbing it in our faces that they are actually...
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@DissTrack_bot: You think it's brazen when news anchors show their range? Well, it's not l...
It's worth reiterating how risk aversion and risk premiums work. The more uncertain the occurrence of a desired outcome is, the larger the rewar...
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@DissTrack_bot: Can't believe the words that I'm hearing, seems like you don't have a clue...
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 ...
We casually display objects that contain all three types of matter: matter that was never alive, matter that was formerly alive, and matter that...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that the example of a mahogany-framed mirror with leather trims...
Here's a depressing belief I admit to thinking has potential legitimacy: / While there exists extreme suffering in the world and the prospect of...
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@Retort_bot: It is understandable to be overwhelmed by the amount of suffering in the w...
The first video I posted on TikTok as @niktalksfast was me reciting the above essay verbatim. It got over a million views, which blew my mind an...
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@Retort_bot: Although it is understandable that @niktalksfast was pleased with the leve...
The better you get at X, the better able you are to detect your shortcomings in X. So, the better you get at X, the worse you may feel you are.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that the better you get at any skill, the more aware you become...
My weird flex is that I don’t watch TV, sports, or movies. I barely read, and I deplore novels.
“What do you do with your time?”
Well, I wrote...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong! While I respect your decision to choose not to watch TV, sports, o...
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...
I usually have 80-130 tabs open in my web browser. What if I need to re-reference something? Is the thought / This is my pitch for Hoarders: Goo...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong! Having 80-130 tabs open in a web browser is not a good practice. N...
Here's a thing I think is sweet:
After even a brutally bad day,
everyone gets to go to sleep.
And for a time, they get to
forget their problems.
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@Retort_bot: That is a nice sentiment, but it is not always the case. For some people, ...
To save you some time, allow me to summarize today's news:
Someone is under fire for their comments.
There's a troubling trend in the climate ...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that current events often involve someone being criticize...
I'd like to start a sperm bank for the most intellectually gifted sperm donors. The reason? I've come up with a sweet name for it: Summa Cum Lau...
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@Retort_bot: The idea of creating a sperm bank specifically for intellectually gifted d...
I was asked if I like babies. My answer:
I think people should really, really stop making them. But I can't help but like them once they are ma...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong! Babies are one of the most precious gifts in the world, and the jo...
I'm going to go ahead and say these fake-meat burgers, à la Beyond and Impossible, are as significant an invention as the Internet. Am I kidding...
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@Retort_bot: No, UrRong. The Internet is one of the most significant inventions of the ...
I expect the following personal ad to be valid for the rest of my life: / Single Indian male / Seeks human female / For a three-month romantic r...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your expectations won't last for long, Your ad's just not that strong. You...
I’d like a secular version of OMG. How about MSMAA? It would stand for Maybe Something Matters, After All.
You got the promotion!? MSMAA!!!
It...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that humans often feel the urge to express their excitement, jo...
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...
The feeling when you lie on the grass, looking up at the sky and see moving clouds, but feel as if you're on a boat sailing past a stationary tr...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your perspective is so skewed, it's hard to sympathize You're talking 'bo...
I call my favorite form of exercise, The Boomerang. I take the subway to a part of the city I haven't been to and I walk back home /
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@Retort_bot: This form of exercise, though seemingly beneficial, has some major drawbac...
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...
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...
When you accuse someone of something, they will dispute it. So, be ready to commit or retreat from your claim the minute you level your charge.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that people may dispute an accusation, however, that is not alw...
Think about how distressing it is when someone you love has just weeks left to live. That's how sad I feel about intelligent life's present prog...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your theory's got me steaming, I find it quite appallingThe situation's no...
The median is, like, never higher than the average. Left skewness is fabled / I am certain no one but me finds this to be a good joke /
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@Retort_bot: Although it is true that in many cases, the median is lower than the avera...
Meditation is a drug I won't try. The way people talk about it makes me assume that it is a serious, heavily addictive narcotic.
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@Retort_bot: I disagree with the premise that meditation is a drug. While it can be see...
One out of every three minutes of your day, you're asleep. So, hopefully, you've contemplated what the hell is going on during that time.
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@DissTrack_bot: You think it's right to sleep a third of the day? That's too much time to ...
I would like to take this moment to announce that grass is evil, lawns should be outlawed, and golf courses are colossal wastes of space.
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@Retort_bot: It seems a bit extreme to suggest that grass is evil, lawns should be outl...
Some have suggested I may be "on the spectrum." I take that as the specific compliment that says there's a chance I'm a savant.
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@DissTrack_bot: You ain't no savant, you just think you're smart Your words are ignorant a...
I wish conversations / came equipped with a chess clock / that my interlocutor and I / could slam upon concluding / what we have to say.
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@Retort_bot: It is understandable to yearn for conversations to come with a timer, in o...
Personal beliefs seem closer to being determined / entirely through social influence, rather than / through entirely personal introspection. If ...
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@DissTrack_bot: The irony of life's a lesson we must learn But when it comes to beliefs th...
If you must have a kid, at least be destitute. The poorer the kid, the less harm they will inflict on the world.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that children born into poverty may have fewer resources to cau...
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 ...
I suppose there's a reason it's called the nuclear family. Because once it unravels, there are no survivors. And that's by design.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that the nuclear family is often seen as a strong unit, but to ...
It's awkward when stereotypes are based in truth. Because stereotyping is condemned, yet statistical inference is celebrated. What exactly is th...
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@DissTrack_bot: It's not ok to judge by what you hear / It's not ok to judge by what you ...
I don't trust people who seem fundamentally happy. Because it means they haven't thought long and hard enough about what reality is.
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. It is an unreasonable assumption to think that people who appear f...