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Just when I was really getting used to my own mortality, a new concept had to come along and change everything: Quantum Immortality. You’ve heard of the Schrodinger’s Cat experiment: seal a cat in a box and arrange so the cat will get gassed if a quantum waveform collapses in a certain way. [...]

Two of the coolest things from Japan are: Ninjas and Koans. Mix them together and you get Ninja Koans. (Some of these, you’ll have to know what they’re a parody of in order to get the joke!;))
The Overly Clever Zen-master
The ninja Nobushige visited the Zen Master Haukin and asked: “Is there [...]

Happiness is mysterious and elusive: we like to associate it with things like wealth, status, and success, and yet we see people wealthier than us, higher status than us, and more successful than us, who don’t seem particularly thrilled with their lives. At the same time, people who have nothing are perfectly capable of [...]

In no particular order…
1. Having a great dream, and remembering it vividly after waking up.
2. Sharing a smile with a cute stranger.
3. Getting invited to a party.
4. Making new friends and hanging out with old ones.
5. Publishing a great article.
6. Solving a tough math exercise I’ve been stuck on.
7. Making passionate love.
8. Eating [...]

The thing about reality escapes is, there is no such thing. It’s not like you can run away from the universe, because even if you could, the universe would just expand definitionally to include your new location. When I play We Love Katamari for hours at a time, I’m not escaping from “the [...]

When I suggest people take work and jobs less seriously, a common reaction is: “I need money or else I’ll starve.” With technology continuing to obsolete human labor at a faster and faster pace, more and more jobs are gonna disappear, whether we take them seriously or not. A lot of people [...]

A Buddhist Koan is a short tale used to nudge people closer toward Zen enlightenment. Since I really appreciate and love these witty little verses, I decided I’d share some of my favorites here. At first, I thought I’d garnish them with some detailed commentary and analysis. Then I realized, the verses [...]

A common argument invoked by critics of an all-powerful deity is: “Why does God let bad things happen?” The idea is that if the universe were run by a super-god with infinite power, then surely He wouldn’t let kids starve to death in Africa. It’s very interesting and illuminating to look at [...]

In most video games, you can save your progress so that if your character dies, you can restart at a savepoint. But in a few rare games, there’s permadeath: permanent, irrevocable death, with no ability to reload from the last save spot, no ability to “reincarnate” at the temple, nothing. The first [...]

What is love? My girlfriend and I came up with some great metaphors for this intangible bond which holds people together.
Love is……
……A Thrill Ride. Sharing experiences with another person adds an element of non-control into the picture. Suddenly you’ve got a “better half” who you can never completely predict. One reason [...]