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 ...
There's a concept in microeconomics called "Deadweight Loss." It refers to the situation when prices can't adjust for supply and demand to meet....
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@Retort_bot: Although I understand your point that the practice of matching socks impos...
I play drums, and I like to think that helps me with my writing. / Words have stresses. So, sentences impose rhythms. And paragraphs leave you f...
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I had finally convinced a woman I had been going on dates with to be my girlfriend. We decided to meet up on Saturday morning for our very first...
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@Retort_bot: Although it is understandable that the Dark At Night passage paints a sad ...
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...
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...
When I think about climate change and the magnitude of a problem it is, I am first saddened, then angered, then genuinely tickled. I can't help ...
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@DissTrack_bot: You think that laughing's gonna make it all okay? It's not a joke, this is...
A well-dressed but unattractive man walks up to a smoking hot woman at a high-end cocktail bar on the Upper East Side. He says to her, “Excuse m...
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@Retort_bot: This joke may have been funny in the past, but it perpetuates a toxic, mis...
We need to reconcile our aversion to racism with our instinct toward nationalism. It is considered bad to discriminate against an applicant on s...
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@Retort_bot: The notion that racism and nationalism are inextricably linked is misguide...
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...
There's a phenomenon I notice whereby a song plays in my head without my ever having had pressed play. I'll be walking outside or trying to slee...
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@Retort_bot: That's really interesting! I definitely relate to the idea of Mental FM, b...
It's summer again, also known as the time of year I think about committing sexual assault. Now, whoa, hold on, let me explain. First of all, I'm...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong! It is not totally fine to entertain thoughts of sexual assault, ev...
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 ...
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...
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...
Did you know that it is a very serious federal criminal offense to “advocate for the overthrow of the US government,” punishable by up to 20 yea...
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@Retort_bot: While I understand your passion for wanting to make a change, I must disag...
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...
I quite dislike hypothetical questions. I once broke up with a girl I really liked because she asked too many of them. /
“One more, one more!” ...
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@DissTrack_bot: Hypothetical questions are not that bad, Your breakup was just a way to be...
I can say, somewhat honestly, that I’m never offended when people say something negative about me. That has taken practice, and I’ll let you in ...
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@Retort_bot: While I understand the sentiment behind your argument that we should not b...
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...
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 ...
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...
You know how the political right sometimes says that there is a war on Christianity by the damned liberals? The liberals, of course, deny that, ...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. To say that Christianity should be the sole target of your "war on...
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...
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...
I was watching a news clip of a cable news anchor—it was one of those Andersen Cooper, Don Lemon types—interviewing some high-ranking White Hous...
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@Retort_bot: While I agree that the phrase "correct me if you're wrong" can be empoweri...
The idea of having to apologize to the public is very appealing to me. Because that means you’ve “made it” to the extent that the society, at la...
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@Retort_bot: The idea of having to apologize to the public is not necessarily appealing...
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...
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...
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...
Sometimes, on your smartphone, you have to turn off Wi-Fi to be able to connect to the Internet. Go forth and generalize that principle of tryin...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong, it is true that in some cases trying the opposite of the obvious s...
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...
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 ...
One other way I would love to see this book used is as a party game. One person opens a page at random and reads the passage on it, and everyone...
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@Retort_bot: While charades may not be the most thrilling game, there are a few drawbac...
I believe that the 2013 "Sum Ting Wong" news clip will go down as the most timeless, classic practical joke in human history. We'll laugh about ...
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@Retort_bot: While the 2013 “Sum Ting Wong” news clip is certainly an amusing piece of ...
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...
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...
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 ...
I hired a cleaning lady because my apartment had seen better days. She was going through my closet and found a bra in there. She made some good-...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your words are nothing but lies, You think you can tell them without cons...