tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8087738192477184762023-11-16T01:45:33.003-05:00Diogenes' LanternBorn in Turkey shortly before the time of Alexander and spending most of his life in Athens and Corinth, Diogenes rejected many of the social mandates of his day to become the immortal epitome of the bohemian avant-garde. Allegedly, he took to the streets with a lantern searching for "an honest man"; while no such thing exists, this blog is dedicated to the search for objective truth.21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-78109499790302720782011-08-28T23:30:00.000-04:002011-08-28T23:30:35.551-04:00Why This Cynic Doesn't Smoke PotThis diatribe, written under the influence on an unspecified date, should make the headline fairly self-explanatory:
Addiction is a disease. From alcoholism to narcotics addiction.
Perhaps the most effective treatment regiment, to date, is participation is 12-step programs, such as AA.
It is upon making this point that I now make a radical proposal: Problem solving and innate curiosity 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-9655594913673804032011-05-17T17:53:00.001-04:002011-05-17T18:02:06.352-04:00Re-re-inaugural Post: A cynic explains his long-time absence.I had originally intended this to be a Facebook note, but it seemed more appropriate to make this a blog post. This is an explanation of the personal struggles that I have been facing over the past few years. It is my hope that, in publishing this, I may be able to do my part to help bring some light to those who may be similarly struggling. Furthermore, it is also my 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-45590354175967996672011-05-17T15:00:00.000-04:002011-05-17T15:00:19.756-04:00Back AgainThe last time I revived this blog, I managed to post a single entry before the forces of life kind of got away from me. However, the state of current events being what they are and the state of my life being what it is, it seems appropriate to once more attempt to update this on a semi-regular basis.
Those of you who know me, know the reasons that I have not been able to update this 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-86431580779201405182010-10-27T00:40:00.002-04:002010-10-27T02:01:54.714-04:00Brainwashed into pleading guilty: rights denied to one are denied to all.
This has been all over the news, but it's enough of an outrage (and gross violation of human rights) that it seemed the perfect opening salvo for this born-again cynic.
Omar Khadr was arrested in 2002 as a fighter for al-Qaeda after killing an American soldier with a hand grenade at the age of 15. He has spent the majority of the last eight years imprisoned at Guantanamo bay--over a 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-78665816822048261332010-10-26T21:50:00.000-04:002010-10-26T21:50:36.623-04:00The Cynic Returns!After a three month hiatus from blogging (necessitated by school, MCAT, med school apps, etc.) I have decided to return to the world of blogging!
Having received constructive feedback about my previous entries (thanks to all of you who, at my incessant urging, read them), I have decided to institute a few changes in the way that this blog is kept:
Rather than long-winded, technically worded, 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-68629382438692934302010-08-02T18:20:00.006-04:002010-08-03T16:29:38.946-04:00Pressure Washington to Sign the Global Cluster Bomb Convention!First developed by the Germans for use in World War 2 as an airborne anti-infantry weapon, cluster bombs of various designs have become a standard part of the modern military arsenal.The basic idea behind cluster bomb design is simple. Rather than comprising a single large explosive intended to be dropped on a specific target, they are designed to disperse several smaller explosives over a 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-86614507182705429102010-07-25T22:01:00.002-04:002010-07-25T22:05:15.546-04:00This Made Me Laugh...Age of Autism is sponsoring a contest to "win" lunch with "Doctor" Andrew Wakefield...While I have no money to bid in an auction, I think that a coalition of legitimate scientists should band together and try to win it--if only to spend the awkward lunch hour grilling him on medical ethics and sound science practice.21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-65851817739391753332010-07-21T17:29:00.004-04:002010-07-21T20:56:56.784-04:00Vaccination: A Love Story(Dear reader, I apologize in advance for the rather cliche topic of this post...I'm just fed up with all of my comments getting moderated off of age of autism.)Perhaps one of the most pernicious aspects of the culture war is the anti-vaccination movement. Driven by charismatic celebrities such as Bill Maher and Jenny McCarthy, an army of soccer moms, and a handful of ethically dubious fringe 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-9249042687063086122010-07-20T05:48:00.003-04:002010-07-20T06:50:20.719-04:00The Arizona Bill: A Good Place to Start the ConversationAfter sitting through months of hype on CNN and Faux news, I finally made time to read through Arizona's infamous S.B. 1070. Having expected to see a work of tea-stained Beck-isms and back-door racism, I was actually quite surprised to encounter a perfectly constitutional, surprisingly impotent, politically neutral law.From an enforcement standpoint, the law really does not change all that much.21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-69942816086740724072010-07-07T17:14:00.004-04:002010-07-07T19:29:18.936-04:00My histones made me do it!Unraveling the biochemistry of behavior is one of the most difficult ongoing scientific ventures. The brain develops nearly continuously from shortly after implantation to early adulthood. Much of the molecular biology of normal brain development remains elusive; even less is known how genetic and environmental cues could potentially interact to cause psychopathology later in life.A news focus 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-66230197283399235172010-06-11T18:01:00.007-04:002010-07-07T17:04:39.125-04:00The Real White Coat Syndrome: Why We Stigmatize the Sick and the Real Case for Single-Payer HealthcareThe two-party system of American politics relies on a nexus of certain polarizing “core issues” with party platforms clearly defining the “black and white” nature of left and right politics. A particular candidate’s party affiliation predictably reflects that candidate’s public views on issues ranging from abortion, to free speech, to immigration, to gun policy and foreign policy. Obviously, 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-61513043200763235432010-06-09T17:56:00.001-04:002010-06-09T17:58:16.936-04:00OPEN THREAD!!!!!!Even though I don't have any real posts yet...this is the "permanent" thread for open discussion.So discuss!!!!21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-808773819247718476.post-12648435565732069732010-06-05T19:13:00.003-04:002010-10-27T00:48:10.779-04:00A Blog is Born!After many months of contemplation and countless thoughts to the effect of “I should do that,” I have undertaken to inaugurate a blog dedicated to the critical examination of politics, science, and culture. Realizing that the internet is already saturated with such blogs—many of which written by writers far more talented and informed than myself—this blog aims to take a novel approach.
Beneath 21st Century Cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953005554864241158noreply@blogger.com2