KRB

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Perception is reality,” or how something looks is often how it will be perceived. This subjectivity is important because it means that things can be defined differently by different people. The glass is half empty; the glass is half full. Where you are in life is also a matter of perspective. It’s easy to feel defeated, or unsuccessful, or different. But, to…

Explaining Ethics to Robots

Robots have always been fascinating to me. Whether it’s Johnny 5, or the Terminator, or Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, I have always loved stories about robots. And many tales of robots have a theme similar to an old tale about our friend, Pinnocchio, in his quest to be, “a real boy.” Robots in fiction often have this quest to be more human; to understand our emotions and why we do…

In todays world, it’s all about attention. Companies spend millions and industries spend billions. Youtubers, Tik Tockers, Instagrammers, and other social media guru’s fashion ways to grab it. Your attention is a valuable commodity. They have figured out ways to monetize your attention. How long do you look at the screen and what are you looking at and clicking on? It really is exhausting.…

I have this ongoing joke that I tell about my father-in-law, Bryan. The basic premise is that no matter what I accomplish for the day, I lose to him because he got up early. It’s his trump card on anything I do (not really, but that’s the joke). For example, if I say, “I broke this record or won this award today,” he would say, “We’ll that’s good, but I got up at 5:30 this morning.” There is…

Book Reco: #Factfulness by Has Rosling A thread ⬇️

A few years ago I participated in a reader series that focused on the book, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, by Has Rosling. In the book, Rosling presents real data that illustrates how our perceptions of the state of the world are very different from the reality in which it exists. For example, most people around the world have…

The Food Waste Problem

40% of all food in the United States is wasted. What a statistic. Imagine if 40% of all your effort, of all your work, was wasted. Farmers work hard to produce the food we eat and half of that effort never ends up being used for its intended purpose.How does this happen? It happens in many ways. It’s hard for farmers to gauge what the market will bear, so they have to over produce with the hope…

The Dread of Inaction

You know what you need to do.But, you dread to do it.The thing is not causing the dread.It’s the inaction that is causing it.Once it’s done, the dread goes away.Don’t let inaction prolong your dread.Because it will if you let it. KRB

Fixing a car is complicated AND expensive.Navigating the legal system is complicated AND expensive.Navigating the tax system is complicated AND expensive.Navigating the healthcare system is complicated AND expensive.Navigating the higher education system is complicated AND expensive.Buying a house is complicated AND expensive.You ever ask yourself why certain things are so complicated?Chances are…

Reality (or something like it)

Pop culture is littered with ideas about reality, but probably my favorite pop culture philosophical reality reference comes from The Matrix. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since the film was released, but it really blew me away in a number of ways. The CG was top notch and the story was fantastic.

However, the deeper philosophical roots of the movie speak to the nature of reality.

I’m…

Hate can’t beat Hate

It’s a little counter-intuitive, the idea that hate is easy and that love is hard.

I’ve thought about love for most of my life, trying to understand it and what it really means. I know that I feel love deeply. I think love is a little different for every person, that’s one reason it’s such a mystery. Love is as unique as our own DNA.

If I asked you, “Think about someone you love and then…

The “D” is for “Distracted”

I met a guy recently that describes himself as an “atheist / agnostic” and for some context we met at an impromptu book club reading of The Jesus Way, by Eugene H. Peterson.

In our discourse, he was talking about how our society has become trained to have limited attention spans due to technology. Even reading this post may be painful because you won’t be able to check your social media…

So this is number 33

As it happens, I’ve started 32 blogs over the past few decades. I can’t recall my very first blog, but I think it was in the positive/motivational vein. I’ve had blogs across several different topics. I had one where I interviewed my first child and posted the interviews.

There was one about my brief stint as a vegan and another “zombie psychology” during the zombie everything crazy. I had…

Think about someone who might be the exact opposite of you. How would you describe them? Are they mean, closed-minded, difficult, and unloving? Do they have a worldview that is framed in hate? Do they look at the world as a glass half empty?

It can be hard to relate to someone who is so different from you. It’s easy to label them, to say, “They are negative and small.” The weird thing is that…

I’m Wrong

People tend to over-estimate their own abilities and intelligence and under-estimate those in others. This is in part due to the Dunning-Kruger effect and other related biases we hold as individuals.

People also tend to believe they are right all the time. Think about it. Why would you do or say something you believed to be wrong (outside of ill intentions)? You wouldn’t. You make decisions and…

We should strive to make those around us feel more comfortable and safe. The greatest respect we give to others is to show we care about how they feel and want to ensure they feel safe, comfortable, and have their needs met while around you.

Parents ideally provide for their children, who should feel safe while in their presence. We should extend this responsibility and courtesy to others around…