My Life

 I'm a fairly reserved person. I don't open up easily to people. I tend to hold my hand close to my chest, hesitant to lay cards on the table. However there have been a few times in my life where I have had a heart-to-heart talk with someone and I find them to be very rewarding. I've been seeing a therapist for over a year now. One thing that I have decided over all the chats I've had with him is that the people I want to spend the most time with are the ones that I feel the closest to. I have many friends (I use the term "friends" more loosely than some, since to me the term "acquaintance" feels very odd) who are fun to interact with, but our interactions are sparse or superficial. I think it's perfectly fine to have these kinds of friendships--in fact, I think they can be very beneficial. But I have decided that for my own well-being, I will not be putting any measurable amount of emotional effort into such a friendship. I want to reserve that

 In 1842, Mormon founder Joseph Smith wrote a letter to editor John Wentworth of the newspaper The Chicago Democrat . In that letter, he included a list of the tenets of the Mormon faith which he called the Articles of Faith. Growing up in the LDS church, I memorized these articles as a child. Since I no longer believe in deities, I often find myself musing about what my beliefs are. The purpose of this post is to enumerate some of those beliefs. Perhaps I'll think of more and add them at a later time. But these are some of my musings on what I personally value. 1. I value the pursuit of knowledge, using the tools of critical thinking, skepticism, and empirical evidence. I know from my time as a Mormon that one of the misconceptions about the scientific method and empirical learning is the straw man of saying that people who do not believe in gods do not believe in anything they cannot see. In fact, I recall a talk from a general authority of the church who pointed out that atomic

I just called both of my Senators' DC offices and left a message asking them to vote no on the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. I have also emailed both of them with the same message. I am sure my messages will ultimately make no difference in their vote on the matter. However, it is with some small degree of hope that if enough people call with a similar message they might change their minds. However, ultimately it is so that I can in good conscience say that I have made a concerted effort to make my voice heard that I do not believe Brett Kavanaugh is fit to sit on the High Court. But the real issue that I would like to blog about is the matter of empathy. The ability to put oneself in another's position has been something I have always heard my whole life as a good thing. I often heard the adage that you shouldn't judge someone until you've walked a mile in his shoes. It seems to me that some people are better at feeling empathy and others, whi

I would like to discuss a stark contrast that I've just been presented with. On my Facebook news feed, I have seen several posts about Donald Trump's statements on 9/11. To me, I think the most repugnant one is that on the day that it happened, he said that his building was the tallest in NYC before the World Trade Center was built and now that they had fallen it was the tallest again. Set aside whether that statement was true, because in my mind that's irrelevant. Just consider that this man had just witnessed the same tragedy we all witnessed. Thousands of people had just died. And he doesn't give a thought to any of them. His only thought is to brag about how tall his building is. A student of mine had missed several days of class. As I usually do in such situations, I emailed him to inform him that he is expected to attend class. His response was that he was having difficulty attending class because he was homeless and sometimes it was difficult to find a place t

A couple students sat with me at lunch in the cafeteria the other day. At one point in our conversation, it came up that I want my students to genuinely learn the material in my courses. This seemed authentically surprising to both students. As I recall, one of them even asked me why. I admit I was taken aback. I understand that many students only go to college to get a degree, not to actually learn. There may be many reasons for this, but I suppose the largest is the pressure from society to get a degree--even if the degree is never necessary for the position that requires it. I have said before, and I still firmly believe, that this is harmful rather than helpful. Pressuring (or forcing) people to go to college who would not have elected to do so on their own--while perhaps granting job security to me--seems to be detrimental to education. While I understand the reasons why students may go to college that are different from actual learning, I cannot relate to it personally. Ye

I feel compelled to voice my feelings on this matter. I wish for it to be understood in no uncertain terms where I stand on the matter. I have been vocal in my opposition to Trump and his policies ever since he first started campaigning for president. I continue in that opposition now and do not see a future wherein I do not oppose him. The matter currently at hand is that of children being torn from their parents at the border. Border patrol has been instructed by the administration to have a zero-tolerance policy and to separate families who are attempting to cross the border. Infants as young as 8 months old are being held captive, forcibly separated from their parents. At least one pregnant woman was among those who have been kidnapped and held in these unspeakable detention centers for weeks so far. I denounce this practice as being immoral, unnecessary, and purely disgusting. It should offend any person with any shred of empathy. It is highly ironic that conservatives who hav