If you could save five lives for the cost of one person’s life, would you? What about saving five lives by murdering one person? These are thought-provoking moral dilemmas explored in the podcast “Driverless Dilemma” on the National Public Radio show Radiolab, which was originally broadcast on September 26, 2017. Most people say “yes” to
When I was in high school in the 1960s, I often wondered how that era would be remembered — would it be the Atomic Age or the Space Age? Now it appears the best label would be the Transistor Age. I was reminded of that when I read that October 18, 1954, was the first
You’ve heard of the saying “Don’t judge anyone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes”? I grew up in a mostly rural area with no minorities. When I was in high school, the black sections of communities in our area were like a parallel universe. As an adult, I’ve always tried to be empathetic,
Today I’ve been reading about the NFL players and owners meeting discussing proper procedures for the national anthem. I don’t want to get into that specific subject, but as a military veteran, I do have definite thoughts about patriotism. Realizing that this nation has its problems, I believe patriotism includes calling attention to those problems
In view of all the discussions of patriotism these days, I thought this subject was apropos. Contrary to what some people believe, the Founding Fathers had nothing to do with the Pledge. According to The Writer’s Almanac, it was first recited en mass on October 12, 1892. It had been written in August 1892 by
Harvey Kurtzman , the creator of Mad magazine, was born in Brooklyn on October 3, 1924. As a youngster Kurtzman began drawing comics. He even sent some “very bad” drawings to Walt Disney. It wasn’t until he saw college humor magazines that he realized that was the style that best suited his talents. Kurtzman started
I’m going to introduce this topic with a teaching story. Several years ago I had a one-day high school job as an intervention specialist. Normally I would help other teachers, but this day I had a dedicated classroom where students could come for help as a kind of supervised study hall. When it was lunch
Somehow, I’ve ended up with a whole drawer of plastic cutlery. I’m not sure how, they’ve just accumulated over the years. What a waste of plastic! Fortunately for the environment, I’m not the only one who feels that way. Bakey’s, a company in India, is mass-producing edible, biodegradable spoons. In a country that reportedly discards
Despite what you’ve read — or seen in the movies — many think the most-feared pirate was actually a Chinese woman. Her name was Ching Shih (widow of Cheng), nicknamed Madame Ching, and she lived from 1775 until 1844. Her territory was the China Sea in the early 19th century. She began as a Cantonese
Today a quick unpublished poem — WWMPD? I survey the bedroom as I stare in dismay. Each place that I look, things are in disarray. Toys scattered about, all over the floor. I can’t even walk around anymore. The beds are unmade, pillows scattered around. There’s no sense of order at all to be found.