Discussion Pyramind: A new framework for constructive discussions of high-conflict topics
Category: Social issues
An evening in the life of a thinking person among the masses
The electronic house music thumps underneath, in the basement. Five of us partygoers are sitting in the front parlor, away from the fray. An elliptical wooden coffee table separates us, a too-small rectangular piece of cardboard mostly covering it. One of the parlor people has been entrusted with staffing the front door (keep out the… Read More An evening in the life of a thinking person among the masses
Legal Originalism
(16-minute read) Canonization of written law creates three problems over time: social realities and ethical norms naturally evolve to be incongruous with a static legal code, new behaviors and technologies arise that weren’t contemplated by the original authors, and internal inconsistencies in the text come to light. The Hebrew Torah (“law”) exemplifies these problems: Evolution… Read More Legal Originalism
Paternalism, Autonomy, and Milk
(7-minute read) Liberal-minded people love to ridicule the internal inconsistency of right-wing social conservatives: conservatives’ defining values are limited government, individual liberty, and privacy . . . but nonetheless one of their core goals is federal government control over private medical decisions. They deify individual choice and (the myth of) meritocracy . . . but… Read More Paternalism, Autonomy, and Milk
Voce Clamantium Ex Vacuo
A personal case study in post-truthism (7-minute read) Two strangers are about to leave our weekend mountain cabin to go backcountry skiing on the Colorado continental divide. They’re from out of state, have never lived in Colorado (where our distinctive snowpack is more lethal than elsewhere), and lack the avalanche certification that we Colorado backcountry… Read More Voce Clamantium Ex Vacuo
Kiteboarding and Climate Change
(3-minute read) Colorado’s traditional four-month snowkiting season on Lake Dillon only lasted two months this year. It started late, and now it has just ended in mid-March — before the time of year we typically consider to be peak winter here in the high Rockies. Decent snowfall this year may have temporarily quelled ski resorts’… Read More Kiteboarding and Climate Change
Obesity is not a choice
Obesity isn’t a “choice”: it’s neither rational nor conscious. The late 20th -century revolution of behavioral economics enlightened us to the fundamental ways in which the human brain fails to respond rationally or consistently to information. We came to a radical new understanding that “free will” isn’t actually free. We also realized that “unregulated markets”… Read More Obesity is not a choice
To those indifferent to a Muslim Ban
Because you don’t think it affects you personally (6-minute read) An indignant acquaintance demanded to know why I “of all people” am so upset about the latest of Trump’s outlandish executive orders. That person did not object to my participation in the recent Women’s March, but they are befuddled by my response to what is… Read More To those indifferent to a Muslim Ban
The Very First “Nasty Woman”
(4-minute read) The first woman was also the first “nasty woman”. [I refer to the misogynist insult—famously leveled by Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton in the October 2016 presidential candidate debate—now co-opted as an empowering feminist battle cry.] Just as women still experience today, the mythical first female human was punished for the sin of having… Read More The Very First “Nasty Woman”
The Lost Generation
(15-minute read) I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by frustration, hungry eager underemployed, driving Uber through the streets at dawn looking for a way to lean in, overeducated businesswomen burning for the promised opportunity to apply their energy to dynamic work in the machinery of the economy . . . A lost… Read More The Lost Generation