When I say "transhumanism," I'm not talking about inhabiting Mars or becoming a multi-planetary species. I'm talking about the philosophical position that human limitation is a fundamental error.

A book about presence, written by someone who seems barely present with or tolerant of the reader's actual experience of reading it: that's the central irony I kept returning to, and I was never quite able to shake it.

The American school system is no stranger to harsh criticism. And at the end of this school year, the most anticlimactic to date, I'm left wondering what we are actually asking students to come to school for, and whether that still makes sense to them, to their generation.

There is a very specific thing the vast majority of the world wants, and the sophisticated word for it is reconciliation.

It's really no woman's fault that she feels the need to diet, obsessively work out, or take a drug to lose weight. It is what is not-so-subtly asked of all of us. Especially now, in the most conservative era we've lived through in quite a while. But this is where everyone's got it backwards.

It happened to you not long ago: A friend you haven't seen in entirely too long was up and at it, ready to make plans. You talked to them for a while. You found a time and place that agreed with both of your schedules. They were so excited, and you were too - you've been missing each other deeply. The days passed, and there was a small voice in the back of your head that you ignored; one that said "They're going to flake. They always do." Sure enough... How about this: Work t

There's another kind of tragedy here, one that takes place on an individual level - the same one I find myself grappling with at this very moment. Why must I wait to hear what my chosen media outlet says about this - or anything, for that matter - before I can form my own opinion?

And the solution is going to start with some tough, tough love.