Happiness in this World

The Problem With Living A Creative Life

Alex Lickerman — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:00:48 +0000

Photo: Poitin Jimmie

Being creative is hard. Thinking up ways to connect disparate elements into a whole that not only hasn’t been seen before but also delights us with surprise, meaning, or beauty requires a great deal of energy—”executive function,” as psychologists put it. Not to mention the time it takes to create [...]

The True Meaning Of Freedom

Alex Lickerman — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:51:43 +0000

Photo: mrsdkrebs

America is a symbol of freedom all over the world, enjoying as it does freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. Our ancestors prized these political freedoms so much that many of them were willing to die defending them. And though many of us are often accused [...]

Why Raising Children Is So Hard

Alex Lickerman — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:00:35 +0000

Photo: limaoscarjuliet

You don’t really know what an experience is like, of course, until you have it yourself. I remember thinking to myself when my wife and I first began discussing the idea of having children that this was especially true regarding parenthood. In the past I’d been able to predict with reasonable [...]

What If Our Brains Aren’t Good Enough?

Alex Lickerman — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:00:45 +0000

Photo: MikeBlogs

I’ve always wanted to know the answers: What creates consciousness? How did the cosmos come to be? What happens when we die? Why are we here? From a certain perspective, my life has consisted of a series of investigations into ways of discovering the answers to these kinds of questions. In [...]

Influence vs. Control

Alex Lickerman — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:00:08 +0000

Photo: oskay

I often wish I could snap my fingers and make people do what I want. I wish I could speed up the pace at which I achieve my goals and slow down the pace at which pleasant things fade. I wish I could write blog posts and books that everyone loves, [...]