Dec 8, 2022A Handbook for Designing Smarter, Wiser GroupsThe Science of Crafting a Utopian Society Tectonic shifts are stirring in society. People are questioning norms and beliefs inherited from prior generations. Companies and employees are no longer loyal to one another, as the average adult holds 12 jobs in their lifetime. A large proportion of society no longer lives near family and friends, which accounts…Psychology8 min readPsychology8 min read
Jun 2, 2022How to Raise Virtue ProdigiesLeveraging Curiosity in Conversations While walking my 9-year-old daughter Violet to elementary school, we pass “the little physicist in the Radio Flyer Red Wagon.” Always in matching pajama tops and bottoms. Always pulled by his grandfather.1 The little physicist parks the wagon in front of a speed bump. The grandfather…Parenting3 min readParenting3 min read
Mar 11, 2022Rethinking Trigger WarningsQuick Note: I rarely write on Medium. Migrate to my Provoked newsletter. Having just published a book on questioning dysfunctional social norms, rules, and authorities (The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively), I’ve noticed how many problems exist in conventional thinking. We treat children and adults as…Psychology6 min readPsychology6 min read
Apr 7, 2021An Ode to Those Who Believe Both Political Parties Suck and Neither Represents Our ViewsThree months after the presidential inauguration and I am still waiting for Democrat and Republican platforms to prove that there is a home for people like me. I am a pragmatist. I am a scientist. Outside of close friends and family, my trust is conditional. I voted for Democratic Presidential…Wellbeing5 min readWellbeing5 min read
Jan 8, 2021What Not to Do Following the Assault at the United States CapitolIf the education system refuses to acknowledge conservative leaning and liberal leaning students as people who want to be educated and people who can acquire knowledge and critical thinking skills, you will get divisions instead of understanding. There are some bad ways of educating: Dismiss students who don’t think like…Diversity2 min readDiversity2 min read
Jan 1, 2021What Does Awareness of Mortality Influence? Forward Thinking Reflections for 2021For all my friends who survived the cluster fuck of 2020, I hope this is a better year. For our family, we lost two of the great ones. Irreplaceable. Vortices never to be filled. Phone calls never to be returned. Cravings for contact that produce often unbearable unscratched itches. Awareness…Wellness2 min readWellness2 min read
Oct 25, 2020How do you teach youth about tolerance in the age of Trumpism?Four weeks ago I talked to my father-in-law on the phone about overzealous sports parents in Northern Virginia. The dad on my 13-year-old daughter’s soccer team who feels compelled to whistle multiple times per game whenever his kid is not running fast enough for him. The dad who rings a…Politics7 min readPolitics7 min read
Sep 26, 2020Do You Really Support Demographic Diversity? You are Being Tested in 2020Brace yourself for an unpopular thought — if you ever sent a post, meme, or statement supporting women leaders, asked for more women leaders, or liked a post that someone else sent supporting women leadership, then why aren’t you celebrating Amy Coney Barrett as a potential Supreme Court nominee? …Women Leaders2 min readWomen Leaders2 min read
Jun 16, 2020A few thoughts on squandering human potentialBe careful of bracket creep when throwing around the words racist sexist and evil. Eventually the words will mean nothing other than someone expressed an opinion you disagreed with. The consequence: you won’t be able to discern who does and doesn’t have bad intentions. …Racism2 min readRacism2 min read
Jun 12, 2020The Psychological Challenge of Changing Systemic RacismWith reluctance, a few thoughts on this long overdue movement to deliver on the promise of fairness and equality across racial (and other demographic) lines. If you don’t create space for people to present their nuanced views you won’t hear about them. And you’ll think there is more support for…Racism4 min readRacism4 min read