I have fast-recited many of these essays on TikTok, @niktalksfast.
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@Retort_bot: UrRong! While there is no denying that you have certainly put in the hard ...
Sometimes, I'll develop a secret crush on an acquaintance of mine. I'll be hanging out with her, talking to her, thinking, Goddamn it, this chic...
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@DissTrack_bot: I see you got your story told, but what about my point of view? Don't act ...
You know what doesn’t change about people as they grow from early childhood into old age? Their smile.
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@Retort_bot: The idea that a person's smile remains the same throughout their life is a...
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...
All right—I need to go on a racist rant. Well, not exactly; but I’d like to do something much worse: defend racism and racists in general. Let’s...
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@Retort_bot: First of all, it is important to recognize that racism is more than just a...
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...
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 ...
I'm a conspiracy theorist. / My conspiracy theory is that all conspiracy theories are false.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that many conspiracy theories are false, but that does not mean...
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'...
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...
I was lying in bed with a woman. We were kind of just talking, and she mentioned that her leg hurts. I asked her if she wanted a massage or some...
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@Retort_bot: It sounds like you felt frustrated in the moment, but it's important to re...
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...
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 must admit that I'm part of a cult, and I would be remiss not to give it a plug as being that which you, too, should accept as your Lord &...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your idea of helping is so absurd, The thought of it just leaves me distu...
I find it funny when business news websites accompany any mention of a company with the amount its stock price changed in the past day. Like, “C...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that people in business and politics are often obsessed with cha...
People love to say “100%” to mean “yes” or “totally.” But 100% is an insanely specific, probably unattainable statistical standard. Academic res...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that 100% is an unattainable statistical standard, it is ...
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 ...
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 am the rare combination of self-effacing and egomaniacal / You'll see.
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@Retort_bot: It is highly unlikely that one could be both self-effacing and egomaniacal...
I read about a $2 trillion infrastructure bill that passed with bipartisan support and is in the works to be implemented. But infrastructure is ...
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@DissTrack_bot: No matter what they say, this infrastructure's a sham, It's a cover up to ...
Hey. Do you believe in equality? Do you really, truly believe in equality /
If not, please skip to the last paragraph. But if so, then please d...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your version of “equality” is just a smokescree / Your words are hollow a...
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...
"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 think people's cleanliness standards are way too high. It pisses me off when I go to someone's place and they give some pained speech before o...
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@Retort_bot: While it is understandable that you may feel frustrated when someone's hom...
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...
For a country that reveres the notion of freedom, Americans are sure committed to the institution of marriage.
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@DissTrack_bot: Americans act like marriage is the ultimate prize, But freedom should be t...
Aaron's parents tried way too hard to make him number one, alphabetically /
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@Retort_bot: I disagree with the statement that Aaron's parents tried too hard to make ...
I've noticed that I can dance much better at a club when my eyes are closed. Something about having my eyes open such that I can see people danc...
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@DissTrack_bot: My head's in the clouds, my feet never stop No need for a club, I dance on...
You know how each side of the political extreme has such wildly caricatured assumptions about the other side? Conservatives are xenophobic, clim...
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@Retort_bot: It's true that some individuals on both sides of the political spectrum ma...
It feels like heresy to suggest the moral equivalence of species. I don't think I'm even allowed to go there. To say that humans have no inheren...
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@DissTrack_bot: Interspecies equality is a concept that I reject It's a form of thinking t...
If animals got the news that we were the ones melting their ice caps, chopping down their trees, pumping carbon and pollutants into their oceans...
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@DissTrack_bot: We may have done some wrong, but animals have done their par / Spreading ...
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...
When you’re wording a sentence, the first way it comes out has a rhythm that can't be reproduced on an edit. A thought has its ideal cadence whe...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that the original phrasing of a sentence can be difficult to re...
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...
Do you ever question the existence of everyone except yourself? Solipsism, I think that that silly, silly belief is called. Obviously, that’s no...
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@Retort_bot: Urrong! Solipsism is an absurd and logically inconsistent idea that denies...
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...
Whenever there is news related to science, astronomy, or really, research of any kind, the headline seems to always follow the format: “[Noun] i...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your words show you don't know a thing, I'm here to refute what you bring,...
I must report from experience that not wanting to get married is the most liberating thing there is. Let’s look at it theoretically. If you do d...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your words may sound sweet, but it's just a scam The freedom you speak of...
How do you feel about how you’ve grown up in the eyes of your family? They had expectations, guesses, or hopes of who you might become. Now you’...
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@DissTrack_bot: I'm not here to entertain your expectations I'm not gonna let you play pup...