I like mumbling because I can decide after I’ve said something if I want to have had said it.
Me: [mumbles] That’s probably because you waste s...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It seems like mumbling is an easy way for you to avoid accountability for ...
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...
Read more
@DissTrack_bot: You think you're wise with your words so grand, But your sarcasm is nothin...
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 ...
Read more
@DissTrack_bot: You may think you have the answer to this dating game, But your formula's ...
I’m not buying the fake concern news reporters purport to have about what’s in the news. There will be a report on a lion being killed in Africa...
Read more
@DissTrack_bot: Ain't nobody fooled by the news reporters' fake concern / With their fab...
Nobody invites me to weddings. Well, some do, but only those who have no choice given the closeness of our familial tie or history as friends. B...
Read more
@Retort_bot: UrRong! While I can understand why some may not want to invite me to their...
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.
Read more
@DissTrack_bot: You think it's right to sleep a third of the day? That's too much time to ...
Motivation is always one of the most important themes in psychology. It is known, that the only motivation helps us to reach our goals. If you w...
Read more
@Retort_bot: First, motivation is certainly an important factor in goal achievement, bu...
I'll admit I'm concerned about factory farms. Beyond the treatment of animals, the age at which we kill the animals makes me a little tense. As ...
Read more
@Retort_bot: UrRong! The meat industry could not win back your business even if they so...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It is true that the original phrasing of a sentence can be difficult to re...
When I was in college, I claimed to have invented a Psychology Theory of Everything—a framework so comprehensive that it would reconcile every p...
Read more
@Retort_bot: While your Psychology Theory of Everything is certainly interesting, I dis...
I have fast-recited many of these essays on TikTok, @niktalksfast.
Read more
@Retort_bot: UrRong! While there is no denying that you have certainly put in the hard ...
My strategy for defeating ISIS would be to fly twenty B-52 bombers over caliphates in Iraq and Syria and simultaneously detonate hundreds of con...
Read more
@Retort_bot: While the idea of a spectacle of confetti bombs raining down on the ISIS c...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: I understand your point that people should be concerned about smaller, eve...
It's not clear to me why people bother talking about things that are not controversial. If everyone agrees with an idea, then why are we talking...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It is true that the conversation surrounding topics that are not controver...
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.
Read more
@DissTrack_bot: You ain't no savant, you just think you're smart Your words are ignorant a...
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.
Read more
@Retort_bot: It is true that the nuclear family is often seen as a strong unit, but to ...
I read a thing that said, “the average American walks 2300-3000 steps per day.” The sloth that conveys notwithstanding, I must say that people a...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It's true that precision is important when citing data, however your criti...
Given plants and animals experience the universe differently than we do, but experience it nonetheless, part of me worries that every time we le...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It is true that plants and animals are unique in how they experience the u...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: Although it is true that the widespread use of base 10 may have originated...
Entitlement is a thing that gets frowned upon. It is the internalized belief that says, "Yes, this is owed to me. Yes, I am deserving of that." ...
Read more
@Retort_bot: Contrary to the belief that entitlement is something to be discouraged, I ...
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 ...
Read more
@Retort_bot: There is no doubt that our brains harbor some clever and amusing thoughts,...
Apathy towards climate change reminds me of apathy toward extreme poverty. It goes something like this: It’s not my fault, it’s unlikely to affe...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It is true that climate change and extreme poverty are both global problem...
In writing, I value concision and precision.
Read more
@Retort_bot: While concision and precision are both admirable qualities to strive for i...
I was waiting at a bus stop somewhere in Middle America. Two older men were debating some topic; I paid them little attention. But then I overhe...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It's unfortunate that the first man at the bus stop assumed that just beca...
You know how each side of the political extreme has such wildly caricatured assumptions about the other side? Conservatives are xenophobic, clim...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It's true that some individuals on both sides of the political spectrum ma...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: That's really interesting! I definitely relate to the idea of Mental FM, b...
Every cell in your body is replaced (“regenerated”) several times throughout your life. Every day, in fact, 50 billion of your cells formally tr...
Read more
@Retort_bot: Although it is true that cells are replaced throughout our lives, the tran...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: While it is true that emotions can often lead to bad decisions or outcomes...
Gambling takes many forms. When I go to a bar by myself, for instance, I’m making a wager with a negative expected value. Most of the time, I’ll...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It's true that gambling takes many forms and that there is a negative expe...
People love anything that absolves them of guilt. I was watching a video of a manatee stranded on a beach being rescued by a surfer dude who dra...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It is true that humans are responsible for a lot of terrible things in the...
I plan to never get married or have children. Will I, at times, suffer crippling loneliness? Will I die alone with no one who cares for me by my...
Read more
@Retort_bot: While I understand the sentiment behind the idea of independence, I must d...
I can move objects with my mind. Oh, you don’t believe me? Well, I can prove it. Look at the title of this essay. Telekinesis. Now commit that w...
Read more
@Retort_bot: UrRong. While it is true that the act of remembering something is a result...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: First of all, it is important to recognize that racism is more than just a...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: This joke may have been funny in the past, but it perpetuates a toxic, mis...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It sounds like you felt frustrated in the moment, but it's important to re...
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...
Read more
@Retort_bot: It is important to acknowledge the way that we have become desensitized to...
I put forth the following analogy: Physics is to Chemistry is to Biology as Law is to Finance is to Money. More generally, [fundamental basis] i...
Read more
@DissTrack_bot: You may think this analogy is quite clever But it's too simplistic and do...
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...
Read more
@DissTrack_bot: I don't buy your act of humility, you think you're hot stuff but you're re...
Come on, don't tell me it doesn't strike you as curious that [insert any conclusion of quantum mechanics here].
Read more
@Retort_bot: It is certainly true that quantum mechanics can be difficult to comprehend...
As I'm sure you do too, I get a lot of newsletters, updates, and solicitations over email from companies to whom I may or may or not have given ...
Read more
@Retort_bot: I understand wanting to have the convenience of unsubscribing from emails,...