The malevolent universe idea is the notion that life is by its nature difficult, hard and impossible. This attitude is caused by many factors, some of them personal and starting in childhood — for example, an all-pervasive sense that the … Continue reading
Q: Is there a way to harmonize conscious thoughts and emotions that conflict? A: It’s a process or habit developed over time. You identify a response that you know is irrational or mistaken, but it’s still emotionally present. You decide … Continue reading
In a dictatorship, the dictator appoints his own special police force or military unit to “protect” his interests as a dictator. It’s noteworthy that Obama has done the same with the government bureaucracy. He is appointing his own army of … Continue reading
The new head of Medicare — appointed by Obama without so much as a Congressional hearing — has been a proponent of rationing and holds up the British model of socialized medicine as both the moral and practical model for America … Continue reading
It’s important to be rational. But what exactly does “rational” mean? A lot of well-intentioned people who mean to be rational don’t understand that the term refers to a method more than anything else. In other words, “rational” does not … Continue reading
The Life Savers (a true story by DrHurd.com fan Tim Scharff, reprinted here with permission) In the early 1960s, when I was a little kid about five years old, my mother used to give me a nickel each week as … Continue reading
When somebody — a celebrity, or someone you know — says, “I’m sorry for what I did. It was totally wrong. But I was emotionally upset at the time,” they’re in essence telling you: “I cannot control my emotions, and … Continue reading
“My small business-owning friends aren’t creating one job. Not one. They are shedding jobs. They are learning to do more with fewer employees. They are creating high-tech businesses that don’t need employees. And many business owners are making plans to … Continue reading
Do you want people around you to be motivated by productivity and competence — or primarily by a sense of duty and compassion for you? I definitely vote for the first. I think most people do, at least if the … Continue reading
GE CEO Jeff Immelt on President Obama: “Business did not like the U.S. president, and the president did not like business.” Harvard economic professor Jeffrey Miron on the policies of the Obama Administration: “I don’t think [President Obama] has indicated … Continue reading
Can a leopard change its spots? The question is often asked as a metaphor as to whether people can change. My observations tell me that leopards tend not to change their spots. It’s not because they can’t; it’s because they … Continue reading
A bully (verbal or physical) by definition has low or no self-esteem. This is because any individual at war with reality, as a bully is, cannot have self-esteem. Self-esteem comes from having a rational relationship with reality. Reason as the … Continue reading