Again, not science related but in the interest of keeping up the habit here I am posting a few articles I recently read and really enjoyed!
A New Theory Explains how Consciousness Evolved - One of the things I’m 100% obsessed with is how humans evolved. Our species is so unique. Mostly because of our consciousness and what it has allowed us to accomplish. This article gave some interesting insight into how the seemingly intangible (the actual physical biological functions that take place in the brain) are connected to the way we experience consciousness, as something completely unconnected to the physical world.
What if You Could Do it All Over - Do you think about the person you would be if you had taken another road in life? If you moved away for university or took a job in another city, who would you have become? This article is an interesting dissection of those thoughts and the paradox of thinking about who we are now but also would have been if we didn’t live the life we had. The article provided me with a lot of fodder for reflection and ultimately left me feeling more content with the woman I am right now.
She Wants to Be Alone - Lately, I have been thinking more and more about the limitations of being a woman. In almost all areas of my life I’ve been reflecting on how dominating the influence of men is. It’s upsetting to know that while I do have a lot of agency and I’m grateful for it, there are boundaries around the life I can live and many of those boundaries are held in the control of men. Whether it’s reporting directly to leadership teams that lack female representation or the fact that I can’t be entirely sure I’ll be safe walking home alone in the dark. My experiences are rarely absent from the consideration of being a woman surrounded by the power and whims of men.
This article was another exposition of where men again decide how to be in the world. In this case, in the choice to be alone. What comes to mind when you think of a man who chooses to leave society and to be on his own? What about when a woman wants the same thing? She is certainly not afforded the lofty values we think of when a man chooses to become a hermit. Instead, we likely assume she is bitter and wonder how she will survive without support or a family to care for. I highly recommend reading this as a way to better understand the influence of the male gaze especially as a force that limits women’s ability to be creative and navigate the world on her own terms rather than one dictated to her by fact of her sex.
And just for fun -
Chris Messina and I are Trapped in the Same Platinum Prison - Yes. I was googling Chris Messina. Do I have a photo of him saved in my phone right now? Yes I do. But that’s ok. This article is worth reading because it is witty, self deprecating, over the top, and hilarious. There are so many great jokes and so much personality. The obvious bonus is the platinum blonde pic of Chris Messina.