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Who’ll win, Al Gore or George W. Bush? Let me explain why my statistical model proves Al Gore is gonna be Mr. 43. Oh, wait– the election was a decade ago, argh. So much for my 10,000 word essay! When it comes to politics, the longer you hold off, the better the return you get [...]

Child psychologists once noticed an amazing pattern. Whenever six or more children got together, either three would become mutual friends, or three would become mutual non-friends. It was more than mere rule of thumb: it happened every single time, without fail, without even one single “exception that proves the rule”. The psychologists were baffled, and [...]

There are great teachers out there, but there are also lousy ones. Practically every kid who goes through the school system eventually experiences being Smarter Than The Teacher. In high school, I once got a calculus textbook confiscated because the principal felt it was a distraction during algebra class. It can feel frustrating, especially in [...]

To get a better perspective on modern marriage and family, it’s instructive to look at them in other times and cultures. In the Heian period (roughly 800-1200 CE) in Japan, the noble class practiced a very interesting system of courtship and marriage. This is the system portrayed in “The Tale of Genji” by Murasaki Shikibu, [...]

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 it’s so [...]

My biggest problem making conversation was I’d run out of things to say. And then, to make matters worse, I’d consciously try to come up with something. The universal law of conversation is spontaneity: if you think about what you’re gonna say before the words come out of your mouth, they’re guaranteed to sound awkward. [...]

If you ever find yourself starring in a major Hollywood blockbuster and there’s a girl you want to seduce, here are some ways you can go about doing it. * Tell her you love her and can’t live without her. If this doesn’t work right away, it’s because she’s not sufficiently convinced, so spend the [...]

In civilized society, we go to any extreme to avoid fighting. Long gone are the duels of the past, long outgrown is the namecalling of grade school. And yet, cruelty continues to manifest itself in our actions, sneaking in as passive aggressiveness. We give the “cold shoulder” to our most dearly loved ones, even though [...]

In the United States, the George W. Bush administration decided that it was worthwhile for tax money to be spent on “Abstinence-Only Education” programs, to try and teach young Americans to avoid sexual relationships before getting married. The stated goals of these programs were to reduce unplanned pregnancy and prevent STDs. Of course, abstinence education [...]

Raised and sheltered by radical social conservative parents, I was condemned to a lifetime of loneliness and chastity until I took some initiative and self responsibility. I refused to accept a life without love or affection. I stopped seeing myself as a victim of my upbringing and I took action to change my life. I [...]