Human Stuff

A man who lies to himself is often the first to take offense.

— Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Being human is not hard because you're doing it wrong, it's hard because you're doing it right. You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy

Being a human is not always easy. Luckily there are dogs and cats and squirrels and birds and trees and friends and cousins and good books and chocolate and new Beyoncé songs to help us along the way.

Who wants a birthday cake made with aspartame? Who would rather have a tanning bed than a sunny day? Who prefers to watch bots play chess? You can view high-res images of the Mona Lisa anytime you want, and yet people will still pay to fly to Paris and shove through crowds just to get a glimpse of the real thing.

I think there is a deep truth here:... See more

People are happy enough rich, and people are happy enough poor. But it’s hard to imagine anyone happy without a feeling that their actions have some impact, however small. Even if you’re not going to be remembered by history, you want to be remembered by your barista. The prisoner, though largely robbed of power, is probably happier if he can vex... See more

It is not that computers can never induce feelings in their audience, but that in so doing they raise the bar for what will eventually be perceived as unexceptional, thoughtless, predetermined.