Mike Powell

My friend Joe was an amazing person. He was hilarious, a brilliant musician, and he loved to learn. He rescued me from boring suburbia and took me on adventures to meet new and interesting people. He was always there when I needed someone. He was my hero. He also was a person who suffered from …

With all due respect to the inimitable Richard Pryor, and to all the living legends still working today, I believe George Carlin is the greatest comedian of all time. As a budding skeptic and aspiring writer, I was immediately enthralled by Carlin’s work when I discovered it in high school. I couldn’t get enough of …

Once, when I was home sick from school, I noticed something odd: none of what was on TV was meant for me. The programming was either cartoons for kids under four or talk shows and soap operas for adults way older than me. I wasn’t the target audience for the advertising, which allowed me for …

My interest in meditation was sparked when I watched a video of neuroscientist Sam Harris speaking on the topic. Harris spoke passionately about meditation and how over the years he had gained extraordinary benefits from meditating. My curiosity peaked when I listened to a podcast in which Harris guided Richard Dawkins through a brief meditation. …

So much has been said about “wokeness” being a religion that it can fill a book—perhaps several. John McWhorter has written one, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we see more in the next few years. I’ve quibbled with McWhorter a bit about the “religion” label, not simply because many find it inflammatory and it …

Humans think and behave in specific ways because we are hardwired that way. The term hardwired suggests that a behavior or thought is innate and natural; that is, just the way it is. The macro-structure of the brain (including the basic plan anatomy, structure, and processing) are mostly hardwired and can’t be modified. However, the …

Everyday discussions on the topic of stress often involve talking about its negative impacts, usually in the context that “stress is bad.” Typical headlines read, “Stress: The Silent Killer,” or “Not Happy … Too Stressed,” or “Stress at Work Makes You Sick.”  They reflect the dominant cultural viewpoint that stress is bad for us. It …

Memory is one of the most important mental qualities we have. It works well most of the time as a guide to our everyday experiences, shaping almost everything in our lives. We usually don’t think about the role memory plays in life until we witness someone who suffers from memory loss. Memory disorders can have …

One of the primary reasons people give for exercising is they want to lose weight, more specifically body fat. You may have seen those charts on treadmills, bikes and other cardio equipment that show the “Fat Burning Zone.” This zone is where you need to be if you want to lose body fat. The zone …

Critical thinking is an important subject in education, and educators stress the importance of teaching critical thinking beginning at an early age. College professors often dedicate a fair amount of time and effort to developing and implementing lesson plans to make students better critical thinkers. But what does it mean to be a critical thinker?  …