Dialogues #42 Read in browser↗️ It is striking that none of the CDC or WHO's pandemic control recommendations prior to 2020 included extended school closures. - Dr. Shamik Dasgupta It was five years ago this month that most of the country shut down for what turned out to be a very long time. For me, everything shut down over spring break. I was toward the end of my third year in my PhD years at Texas A&M, and everyone was talking about how school might be online-only for two to three weeks....
12 days ago • 5 min read
Dialogues #41 Read in browser↗️ “Having kids is important for how we think about human life and human flourishing, because the fact is that we have the same things these kids have. We have these emotions. We have lots of moments of irrationality. We have all these bodily functions. We have large chunks of our lives where we're completely dependent on the care of other people and not recognizing that leads to a lot of weird thinking about what human life is. ” - Dr. Megan Fritts 🚨Episode 13 of...
19 days ago • 3 min read
Dialogues #40 Read in browser↗️ “If you cannot know what it will be like to have an experience, and if having that experience is what defines your future self, how can you rationally decide whether to undergo it?” - L.A. Paul Yale philosopher Laurie "L.A." Paul came up with this thought experiment about a transformative experience involving vampires: Imagine that you have the chance to become a vampire. With one swift, painless bite, you’ll be permanently transformed into an elegant and...
26 days ago • 7 min read
Dialogues #39 Read in browser↗️ “When this hits the market, there’s not going to be just 10,000 to 15,000 people having it, there’s going to be hundreds of thousands. Millions per year.” - Fred Walburn 🚨Episode 12 of the podcast is out! 🚨 But first, I was surprised and honored to have this Selling Plato newsletter featured in Kit’s own weekly newsletter. One of the main reasons I chose Kit was that I saw major figures like James Clear, Sahil Bloom, Tim Ferriss, and many other writers on Kit...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Dialogues #38 Read in browser↗️ “Beauty is such an order and construction of parts as, either by the primary constitution of our nature, by custom, or by caprice, is fitted to give a pleasure and satisfaction to the soul. … Pleasure and pain, therefore, are not only necessary attendants of beauty and deformity, but constitute their very essence.” – David Hume, the Treatise of Human Nature tl;dr version: I think I'd like to create a course on Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art and Beauty....
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Dialogues #37 Read in browser↗️ “I barely made it by the skin of my teeth. There were many times that I thought I was never going to make it through and get the doctorate. I thought I was going to have spent the better part of a decade in a graduate program and be a dropout and have no career prospects because I didn't have a Plan B. I knew students that didn't make it through, or fell by the wayside. And I came very close to doing that.” – Dr. Marcus Arvan 🚨Episode 11 of the podcast is out!...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Dialogues #37 Read in browser↗️ “Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. One fails toward success.” – Seth Godin Philosophers, I’m writing to you as someone who is bed-ridden with the full-blown flu. The aches, chills, and sleepless nights kind that can drive you a little crazy. My brain isn’t working. Before I developed flu-brain, I was going to share a couple thoughts after seeing the movie Here, which reunites Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis with co-stars Tom Hanks and...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Dialogues #36 Read in browser↗️ “I personally believe that endurance is 99.999% of success...the rest of it is the spark of curiosity that gets you started.” – Dr. Sarah Jane Murray 🚨Episode 10 of the podcast is out! 🚨 🎙️Podcast link here But first... Welcome, new subscribers! This newsletter increased by 38% this week. Thank you. For those who haven't seen, I created a free, 17-page paper-writing template that I hope proves helpful for you. It's what I wish I had at every stage of higher...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Dialogues #35 Read in browser↗️ “Totality is nothing else but plurality contemplated as unity.” – Immanuel Kant I have heard the word “unity” or “unified” used quite a bit recently. Some people think there is now more of it, while some people think there is less. And like many terms we use on a regular basis, “unity” has a “you know what I mean” sense. The country might look more unified if there were fewer public disagreements, or protests, or if our core beliefs were more similar. Aside...
2 months ago • 4 min read