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 ...
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...
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...
Why do we avoid exposing children to profanity? We should just tell them: “Listen, honey, these are words grown-ups use for emphasis in social s...
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@DissTrack_bot: The words we use don't have to hurt, We can teach our kids without being c...
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...
All right, quiet down everybody. That's better. How we doing tonight? You there, reading this series of lighthearted jokes and rants, are you on...
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@Retort_bot: No need to panic! I'm sure you have plenty of interesting stories to tell,...
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...
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...
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 ...
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 was once in a startup accelerator called Y Combinator. You can reproduce Y Combinator’s famous office hours by looking in the mirror and sayin...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that Y Combinator is a startup accelerator and that their famou...
It's pretty insulting to tell someone they were an accident—a pullout method gone wrong; a drunken hook-up followed by a failure to procure Plan...
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@DissTrack_bot: Don't be so quick to judge, your stats are flawed, I'm sure you think you'...
Here’s what people say when they’re asked which of two plausible causes leads to an outcome: “Hmm, it’s probably a bit of both! / / As if that ...
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@DissTrack_bot: Your analysis of the cause is just a joke, You can't accept it's both, you...
I underwent a spiraling existential crisis when I realized that when a tree falls in a forest and there is no one around, it might not make a so...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong! Although your thought-provoking musings do lead to interesting que...
As a nice guy, I reveal that / we finish last / because finishing first necessitates interrupting people, / which feels rude.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that interrupting someone can be rude, but it is not the only w...
I've been playing blackjack, and in particular, I've been card-counting. What I've learned is that to be successful at card counting you have to...
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@Retort_bot: While I appreciate your analogy of card counting to life, I disagree with ...
The compulsion with which I check the news is alarming, even to me. If I don’t kick this habit, I might accidentally spend a good chunk of my li...
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@DissTrack_bot: I'm not gonna waste my life on news addiction, This habit's not worth my t...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
Pillows must think all we do is sleep.
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@Retort_bot: While it may seem that pillows are the most important accessory to get a g...
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...
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 ...
Why does anyone do anything? Out of habit mostly.
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@Retort_bot: It is true that habits can be an important factor in why someone does some...
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 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...
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...
"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...
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...
An idea I had in college was to commit a slew of felonies to prove a point. These crimes, ranging from international kidnapping to first-degree ...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. The idea of committing a slew of felonies to prove a point is misg...
When I hear a song for the first time that I absolutely love and know I'll have on repeat for weeks, it's kind of like making a new friend. Even...
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@Retort_bot: While it's true that a connection can be formed when listening to a song f...
I’m friends with my ex-girlfriends and some people find that weird. But here’s the thing: I don’t see them as ex-girlfriends; I see them as alum...
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@Retort_bot: UrRong. While it is admirable that you are attempting to maintain a friend...
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 ...
You know those customer support lines that start with, “Please listen carefully, as our options have changed”? What the fuck do they think we do...
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@Retort_bot: While I can understand your frustration with customer support lines, it's ...
Spend a few minutes reading about how milk is produced. Learn how cows are made to be pregnant so that their udders lactate. Learn what happens ...
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@Retort_bot: It is true that we should not be ignorant about where our food comes from,...
I went on a second date that was scheduled to last two days straight. We hit it off at a blackjack table in Atlantic City and arranged to meet b...
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@DissTrack_bot: You think you can make me talk by asking questions? Try to crack the shell...
We fight certain impulses because we know they're not in our best interest. There's one major aspect of our selves that I don't think gets enoug...
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@Retort_bot: While it is true that emotions can often lead to bad decisions or outcomes...