The ”war on Christmas” is an example of how a phrase can mean different things and how people typically aren’t interested in making sure they know what others mean. Also about how Christmas changing from unquestioned background norm to one of many cultural practices highlights the arbitrariness of traditions in ways that can be painful to be reminded about.Read more (3800 words)
On the perils of writing a blog and why I didn’t publish anything for four months.Read more (500 words)
A defense of the phrase ”I could care less” as not just a mistake.Read more (600 words)
Like how an interesting brainteaser can make someone temporarily obsessed, just seeing or hearing a short statement can sometimes cause you to spend hours arguing against it in your mind.Read more (700 words)
Just like we can take partial derivatives of mathematical functions, we can tell partial stories about the world and how it works. The problem is that stories always leave a lot out, and those leftovers might form someone else’s story.Read more (2800 words)
Listening to music in a language you don’t understand creates a different experience. Without the meaning distracting you, you’re able to appreciate the actual sounds more.Read more (400 words)
An explanation of why I love the gaudy spectacle that is the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s pure, unadulterated fun on the surface, and a rich, complex culture underneath. Its history and structure mirrors the society in which it exists.Read more (3800 words)
How having an idea is similar to falling in love and why it sometimes doesn't work over the long term.Read more (300 words)
A response to Nate Soares claiming the year can only reasonably be divided into two seasons.Read more (700 words)
In defense of ”literally” used in non-literal senses. It serves a function, namely to create a literal expression meant to be taken figuratively from one that’s already figurative and therefore can’t be taken figuratively.Read more (1700 words)
Everything Studies 