The truth in the 20th century, or the certainty of uncertainty
In 1961, London witnessed the premiere of John Osborne’s play Luther. Osborne (1929–1994) did not aim to present an accurate historical portrayal of Martin Luther’s life. Instead, the play served as a platform to express the ideas that consumed the restless mind of Osborne.
Gravitational waves and the inflation of certainty
On 17 March 2014, the science and technology blog of the prestigious newspaper The New Yorker announced, "A scientific breakthrough lets us see to the beginning of time". Lawrence M. Krauss, renowned physicist and author of "A Universe From Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing", commented in his article on the news that went around the world, heralding a landmark moment...
Detoxification through the body’s own resources
In antiquity, rituals were used to purify both spirit and body. With advances in technology and the refinement of marketing techniques in recent decades, the idea of purification has been revived in the form of “detoxification,” a concept that capitalizes on people’s fears related to pollution, unhealthy diets, and sedentary lifestyles.
She loves me not | Friendship and the friend zone
When I was a child, I used to take a branch of locust tree and, plucking the leaves one by one, I would say: She loves me… she loves me not… she loves me… she loves me not. I cannot remember who I was thinking of when doing this; too many years have gone by since then. However, the refrain is still very...
Life lessons from the ants
Rudyard Kipling referred to ants in his famous poem, recommending these fragile creatures as a kind of didactic exhibit. What can one learn from ant colonies?
Teachers who shape us
"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts." (C. S. Lewis)
Christ’s soldiers on the world’s front lines
“Prayer at the centre of our mission and mission at the centre of our prayer.”– Salvation Army catch-phrase
On the side of God and logic
Benjamin Solomon Carson is the famous American neurosurgeon who was the first to successfully separate conjoined twins in 1987.
Trust, the resource of intelligent people
In a study published in the journal PLOS One, researchers came to the counterintuitive conclusion that people with higher intelligence have higher levels of generalised trust.
Henry’s domino effect
In his desire to secure an heir to the throne, Henry VIII set off a domino effect that would ultimately change the face of America and the world.
The cry of baby Jesus
It is said that the mental illness Friedrich Nietzsche suffered from for 11 years before he died was triggered by the philosopher witnessing a horse being whipped by its master. The cruel sight of suffering made Nietzsche run to the horse and wrap his arms around its neck to protect it. The great philosopher collapsed to the ground, and never recovered from the...
Becoming a father in the second half of life
While the debate over the “ideal age” for fatherhood may go on endlessly, one fact is clear: the average age at which men in modern society become fathers has steadily increased in recent decades. Behind the polished statistics lie moving personal stories about what it means to embrace fatherhood at an age when youth is little more than a distant memory.
COVID-19: What have we learned about ourselves?
Courage is not the opposite of fear, nor of caution. True courage is what you do right in the midst of fear.
How to embrace change without changing who we are
Change is the only constant in life, especially the kind that comes unexpectedly and makes us believe that we cannot give in to it without giving up on ourselves, or turning into something we are not.
The need for certainty
As we look at ourselves from the outside, taking our life seriously becomes difficult. This loss of confidence, as well as the attempt to regain it, are both matters related to the meaning of life. – Thomas Nagel, View from Nowhere