Five ways to remember that your job matters
When I was an intern, I would sit in my cubicle while thousands of other employees buzzed around me. We offered services that were required by law and that no one seemed to need or care about, and we delivered them poorly and behind schedule. I wondered how long it would take for our clients […]
Disagreeing with an AI on the meaning of life
If, by chance, you run into a super intelligent computer, you should ask it the meaning of life. Science fiction writers could not be clearer on this. So, when I tried the Artificial Intelligence (AI) known as ChatGPT,1 my first request for it was to explain the meaning of life. I watched as the […]
7 reasons the meaning of life is hard to find
Searching for the meaning of life is one of the great philosophical pursuits of every generation. People have been trying to find it since at least the days of Aristotle. And yet, many can’t come up with a coherent explanation for what makes life worthwhile. A quick search on social media for the meaning of […]
How the cherished aspects of culture endure
Imagine what your world would be like as an educated person from the Kingdom of Judah after Jerusalem fell in 597 BC. The holy city – your people’s refuge – has been sacked. The Chaldeans have destroyed your temple, killed your loved ones, and carried you and your temple’s sacred treasures to the great city […]
The emptiness of screen time
It draws me in, filling my eyes and ears with distracting beauty. It envelops my senses and makes me forget painful truths for a time. It promises hidden wisdom and connections with like-minded individuals but instead isolates me and offers me up as prey to willing buyers. Television, computer screens, and other personal devices provide […]
Supergiants and the purpose of life
In terms of volume, red supergiants are the largest stars in the universe and hard to find. Astronomers have identified just 80 of them. Supergiants make our sun look like a speck of dust passing a weather balloon. They are aging stars that used to be like our sun and are basically blowing themselves apart […]
The meaning of life in photos
Occasionally an image captures the worth and potential of humanity. I was recently a judge in a photo contest for images capturing selflessness. We were looking for photos of people engaged in selfless behaviors or demonstrating selfless intent toward people or animals. Willingness to help someone else is a recognition of that person’s value – […]
The values we are losing as a people
During a summer evening in 1948, a woman worked quietly in a paddy near Fukui Japan. She was likely checking that the water levels were adequate for the growing rice. Suddenly, a magnitude seven earthquake shook the muddy ground. According to reports, soldiers witnessed a four-foot-wide fissure open at the woman’s feet. She grasped at […]