Category Archives: Science And Society

Business, Education, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Social Commentary

Covid Closures

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How they took a toll on the kids.

Many of us frustrated by the lengthy school closures were enraged by a statement we found far too dismissive and even callous: “Kids are resilient.” (The great Mary Katharine Ham tore this apart back in January.) All too often, that was a blasé slogan designed to excuse an intolerable status quo.

Our kids aren’t necessarily resilient, and we didn’t like having their need to be resilient shoved upon them by teachers’ unions who kept dragging their feet on reopening schools and public-health officials who deemed birthday parties, travel, summer camps, visiting grandparents, etc. an intolerable risk.

Infuriating.

General Science, Science And Society, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

Lucid Dreams

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A chemical method of inducing them.

When I was younger, I rarely dreamt, period. (And yes, I get the bullshit that I was dreaming but I just didn’t know it. Sorry, if I don’t actually have any memory of experiencing it, it’s not dreaming — it’s just some weird and useless unrememorable mental state ).

But in my elder years, I dream quite a bit, and most of it is unpleasant (sort of a nightmare, in which things are continuously shifting, and where I am and what I have, or what I possess, or how I am being transported is inconstant).

But I have also started, on rare occasions, to have lucid dreams. I particularly remember one in which the cat started talking to me (in English), and I realized, “Gee, I’m pretty sure cats don’t do that. I must be dreaming.” And the dream was amazingly realistic, just like real life, so it was pretty cool. I’m not sure it’s useful, but it’s a lot better than the crap dreams I was having in which I didn’t understand that I was dreaming, until I finally realized (because everything was continually changing) that it was a dream, but at that point, I woke up.