Who got the world into this current political/cultural/economic mess? I have to confess - it was my generation, the 'boomers'. Boomers elected Donald Trump. Boomers voted for Brexit in the UK. In my province of Ontario, Canada last year boomers elected Doug Ford as our leader, who has proven himself a match for Trump in … Continue reading Rescuing History | How the Boomers ruined everything
The Autism Matrix |A new look at Autism
Back in 2017 I did an earlier post on this remarkable book. Let's look at it again. The biggest problem with autism is still that there is no agreement on what it is, or what causes it. That's why the debates about it are so confusing and unrewarding. The decision of the American Psychiatric Association … Continue reading The Autism Matrix |A new look at Autism
Rescuing Reality |Selfies on the Brooklyn Bridge
One summer evening a couple of years ago, back visiting New York, I took a walk from the High St subway station out onto the Brooklyn Bridge. I wanted to see again, at sunset, the magnificent views up and down the East River. I did a post about that mildly traumatic experience then, and I … Continue reading Rescuing Reality |Selfies on the Brooklyn Bridge
Homo Selfish|C. J. Meyer and A World Undone
Throughout my life I've been mildly sceptical of this almost universal belief that Homo sapiens is a true social animal. Even primitive humans are always depicted as living in tribes, not in small families or alone. But there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. Sometimes where you don't expect it. For example, recently … Continue reading Homo Selfish|C. J. Meyer and A World Undone
Shyness Re-emerging
Are you aware that shyness seems to be increasing? Besides the fact that surveys, at least in North America, have for some time revealed the number of people who perceive themselves to be shy increasing (usually over 50% now), in sociologist Eric Klinenberg's 2012 bestselling book, Going Solo - The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of … Continue reading Shyness Re-emerging
Autism | When they admire you
For some years now I've been editing my old journals, condensing them, getting rid of the paper. This morning I came upon the entry for Sept 12, 1969, one of the most important dates in my life. In an upscale bar frequented by the insurance industry, I had met Matthew, a young underwriter who I … Continue reading Autism | When they admire you
Autism|Toronto’s Van Rampage one year later
This spring new memorials appeared on Yonge Street commemorating the anniversary of Alec Minassian's van attack when he killed ten pedestrians and injured many others. The Toronto Star published a three page article (I was friends with Alek Minassian. We were both outcasts - April 21/2019) by writer Evan Mead, who attended high school with … Continue reading Autism|Toronto’s Van Rampage one year later
Is Anxiety Natural?
In the Jan/Feb 2014 edition of The Atlantic, journalist Scott Stossel told about his own lifelong debilitating anxiety, then discussed the nature of anxiety, ending with this: Is pathological anxiety a medical illness, as Hippocrates and Aristotle and many modern psychopharmacologists would have it? Or is it a philosophical problem, as Plato and Spinoza and … Continue reading Is Anxiety Natural?
Shyness |Accept yourself, but don’t expect them to accept you
My book The Shyness Guide basically does three things: It presents the evidence that shyness is natural It tries to convince you to accept yourself as a shy person It shows how you can function in the social world in a shy way, rather than in the outgoing way that is constantly urged on you. … Continue reading Shyness |Accept yourself, but don’t expect them to accept you
Alan Conrad 