Until some time in the recent past, the term “Software,” if it was used at all, probably referred to linens and drapes and other such “soft” merchandise, as opposed to the tools, building-materials, etc., which you would find in the “Hardware” section of a department store. But the Computer Era changed all that. It started […]

Apart from the so-called “Golden Rule,” no law or commandment compels us to be “good Samaritans,” and help other people. In fact, there seems to be a general prejudice against unabashed “do-gooders.” In most cultures, the idea seems to prevail that things in general should be left as they are. The Brits say, “Leave well […]

The United Nations Charter of Human Rights guarantees everyone a nationality – whether they want one or not. In “HMS Pinafore” (Gilbert & Sullivan) the Chorus sings the praises of being English: “For he might have been a Rooshan A French or Turk or Prooshan, Or perhaps Eye-tal-eye-an – But, in spite of all temptations  […]

How can anybody own anything? The most popular methods are: by Law, by Custom, or by Force. And often they’re combined. But we all know that, ultimately, none of this makes any real sense, and that, in the broadest perspective, nobody can ever own anything. Take our bodies, for example – and surely that must […]

It’s a pleasant thought – being comfortable. The English make it even more pleasant by calling it “comfy.” On the Monty Python comedy show, in which much of the humor came from standing ideas on their heads – an old lady is threatened by the Spanish Inquisition with the torture of being forced to sit […]

Inspiration is a very positive word and concept in our culture. Nobody doesn’t want to be inspired. The word, in its origin, conveys a “breathing in” – but not so much of sucking air into your own lungs (though that is never a bad idea) as of being breathed into by some benevolent power which […]

Some may find it hard to believe, but there was a time in living memory when most writing depended on liquid ink. If you had a good pen, good paper, and good ink, writing by hand could provide a certain satisfaction which you can’t obtain with a ball-point, let alone with any kind of typewriter […]

One surprising thing I have discovered lately is that everybody has a philosophy of life, and that most people, if you ask them, are quite willing to share theirs with you. Why does this surprise me? Somehow, I had assumed that having a philosophy requires deep thinking, which not everybody is capable of, or even […]

The ability to make fire is one characteristic which distinguishes Man from animals. Yet I must admit that, although I’ve always heard stories about the primitive methods by which this can be done, I deserve to rank with the animals – because I still don’t know how. In the days when even intelligent people smoked […]

Those of you who’ve seen the 1967 movie The Graduate may or may not remember it very well, but if you were asked to quote a single word from it, I think I know what it would be. There’s a scene towards the beginning of the film where the hero, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) is […]