Alex Dobrenko

What does seem certain is that in his adolescence, Andrew became a regular consumer of talk therapy. In therapy, one learns to tell stories about one’s experience. A story one could tell is: I overcame immense odds to be where I am. Another is: The son of a Stanford professor, born at Stanford Hospital, grows up to be a Stanford professor.

To really like my work I have to look at it with different eyes. I have to forget everyone who did it better or faster, and remind myself that no one has ever done it quite the way I have. I have to remind myself that the people I compare myself to probably compare themselves to others and that if they let their self-doubt keep them from creating I... See more

Traditionally, agentic friendships are seen as masculine and communal friendships as feminine. While a good start, I find this dichotomy lacking. A better friendship taxonomy comes from Aristotle, who offers a tripartite model.

• Friendships of utility


• Friendships of pleasure


• Friendships of virtue

Friendships of utility and pleasure roughly map onto agen... See more

In fact I have abandoned altogether that kind of pointless entry; instead I tell what some would call lies. “That’s simply not true,” the members of my family frequently tell me when they come up against my memory of a shared event. “The party was not for you, the spider was not a black widow, it wasn’t that way at all .” Very likely they are right... See more