Reading polls: How do we evaluate surveys carefully?
Many news programmes, speeches, or press articles refer to at least one poll. When designed and conducted well, polls are an excellent means of measuring public opinion on a particular topic. Unfortunately, not all surveys are well compiled, relevant, representative, or honest.
I wanted to create my own nutrition AI agent
We are living in strange times. Never before have there been so many "mentoring programmes", "transformational coaching", or "psychological methods" for sale, and never before has it been easier for them to be generated by artificial intelligence. An entire industry promises change, clarity, and discipline, but often there is no human behind these promises, only a robot.
The grace of having a vulnerable God
“All need Thee, even those who are unaware of their need—these most of all. He who hungers goes in search of bread and knows not that his hunger is for Thee; he who thirsts imagines that his longing is for water, but his thirst is for Thee; he who is sick believes he is seeking health by many means, and his sickness is ...
The light of closed eyes
Under the burden of evil, often made public obsessively, insinuatingly, too often we perceive the world as an endless cycle of negative emotions and predictions. We lose the broad perspective that encompasses the initiatives beautifully woven by people whose hearts beat for God and for their fellow men, people who make this world liveable.
COVID-19: Forgiveness in isolation
When we are isolated with our family, problems that are sometimes easy to ignore become more acute, and the need to receive and offer forgiveness to those around us becomes increasingly evident.
The dangers of excessive sleep
Numerous studies have shown the negative effects of sleep deprivation. However, the problem of excessive sleep is also something to be wary of.
Codependency: a concept too widely used to have a single definition
A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day. – Emily Dickinson
The pursuit of signs and miracles
Back when I was a student, I heard this joke that, despite being funny, made me stop and think. It went something like this: a man starts hearing an "inner voice" telling him to sell his house, move to Bucharest, and use all the money to bet on a black 13 at roulette. The man complies without question because the voice spoke with...
Snail racing: The strange social dynamics dictated by social networks
Social interactions and the tools that facilitate them are changing the world in ways that even now, after all this time, we cannot anticipate.
Hope from the pit
Fire falling from the sky. A massive tsunami. An abandoned city. Let’s be real—it’s probably Los Angeles or New York (although sometimes Sydney or Hong Kong makes a cameo). These are the images we most often associate with the end of the world. Whatever comes to mind for you, no doubt it has been shaped in large part by literature, art and, of...
Forgiveness is not an emotion
It is hard to remain indifferent to a life story like that of Terri Roberts, the mother of a young man who, in a still-unexplained moment of madness, stormed into an all-girls Amish school and began shooting, killing five of the students before killing himself.
Happiness is always available
How do you respond when someone asks: "How are you"? With a slight shrug and an unconvincing "Fine"? What else could you say, when you are not convinced that your daily life adds up to anything more than that?
The Lord’s Supper: Remembering Christ’s death
Two thousand years ago, Jesus asked us to remember the Lord's supper. What made it so special?