Meritocracy

The Corona virus is certainly, for want of a better word, unprecedented. It isn’t just an economic catastrophe like the Lehman demise was, nor is it just a health epidemic with limited economic impact. Unlike MERs and SARs, which were relatively contained in specific continents, COVID-19 has spread worldwide bringing…

Among the countless distressing news stories covering the COVID-19 pandemic over the past month are the heartwarming ones that focus on what ordinary human beings are doing to help one another during this historic crisis. Many of these “good news” reports have focused on a nation-wide effort by fashion industry labels,…

“Mom, can you look at this assignment?” A few weeks ago, before the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic forced my school-aged children home, I looked at the homework sheet my high school-age child was referring to and quickly realized what prompted the question. The freshman world history reading assignment was about parents raising…

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that consumption is the lifeblood of our civilization. Knowing this, it is still surreal to hear some politicians openly prioritizing the economy over human life, as if the stock market was a flesh-eating monster that can only be pacified by human sacrifice.…

What is freelance writing? That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? You’ve heard all the sexy stories about the glamorous life of a freelance writer. Working from a beach on an exotic island. Making money in your pajamas. Getting paid to write for your favorite publications. Or maybe you’re just…

This morning, Kim Kardashian-West — who, like President Trump, inherited wealth from her father but enjoys pretending to be “self-made” — went on The View to talk about how she’s coping in quarantine. I didn’t watch because, well, I don’t care what Kim Kardashian-West has to say, but judging from…

Vita Sackville-West How preposterous is it that Vita Sackville-West, the best-selling bisexual baroness who wrote over thirty-five books that made an ingenious mockery of twenties societal norms, should be remembered today merely as a smoocher of Virginia Woolf? The reductive canonization of her affair with Woolf has elbowed out a…

This is where we live now. NintendoLooking for the latest COVID-19 updates? We've got you covered here. The constitutionality of Seattle's Democracy Voucher program “is now settled,” said Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes in a press release after the United States Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the…

IMAGE: Developing a novel strategy for tissue regeneration, which is a better alternative to conventional tissue regeneration methods. view more  Credit: Tokyo University of Science Joint diseases, such as knee osteoarthritis, are common in the elderly population and severely impair their quality of life. Conventional treatments like artificial joint replacements offer…

After a decade of reasonable tranquility — and disappointment — global equity markets have hit another “black swan,” and trust me I use that word with fearful caution. The coronavirus is truly a black swan in the sense of being both unpredictable and an event of massive consequence. I believe…