I think I was destined, if not doomed, to be a teacher, which I decided to become a teacher at the tender age of 10. Of course, before that, in typical kid fashion, I’d fancied all sorts of other job. Maybe I’d be an explorer, or an astronaut, or a tightrope walker (in spite of being ...

There are two mind tweaks I’m sure we’re all familiar with. One is deja vu, which is loosely defined as that weird sensation that, suddenly and for no reason, you think you’re reliving an experience, but you can’t figure out from when or where. You only know — or at least you think ...

Homeopathy is an alternative medicine whose driving principle is similia similibus curentur. Or if your Latin’s a bit rusty, “like cures like.” The idea is if a substance can cause specific symptoms in a healthy person, it can cure those symptoms in a sick one. I don’t know if it ...

I have no knowledge of medicine, but I can give you the best medical advice you’ll ever hear. It is this: If you have a medical issue — any medical issue — do not, under any circumstances, look it up on the internet. I’m sure there’s good medical advice on the net. But I’m also ...

Child prodigies is a redundancy, since what makes them prodigies in the first place is their brilliance manifests in early childhood. One of the best known is Picasso, whose first word was “pencil” and whose first painting was at 9. Another was Mozart, who could play songs on the ...

A facetious definition of a camel is “a horse put together by a committee.” It’s also something I find offensive, because camels — unlike committees — perform a useful function. I’ll admit my experience with committees lacks breadth, but it more than makes up for it with depth: ...