My blog

Chasing the AI Bogeyman

I spend a lot of my time in the halls of academia, where angst about AI has ramped up considerably in recent months. I see more and more instances of individual responses to student AI use, and as the numbers rise, so does the incoherence of our collective messaging. I decided to chase this bogeyman, primarily […]

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Breathe Normally

In recent decades, more and more empirical studies have established the benefits of breathing. It may be hard to believe that something we do anyway can become a powerful tool for improving well-being, but that’s exactly the conclusion of many studies. For instance, a 2021 study in India involved teaching healthcare providers “SKY” (Sudarshan Kriya […]

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Thy Kingdom Come

Nearly every Christian will recognize the Lord’s Prayer, but in spite of its familiarity — or maybe because of it — there might be a few surprises lurking in the text. Today, I’m going to talk about one “clause” in the prayer in the light of the Kingdom teaching (with a little Greek lesson as […]

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The Purpose of Purpose

There’s a lot of talk about purpose and the importance of “having a purpose” for a sense of well-being, but in all that purpose-talk, we don’t have a lot of clarity about what having a purpose actually means. So, let’s dig into the notion of purpose and see what we can find. Many people seem […]

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Plan D

In life as in my various administrative roles in academia, I have earned a well-deserved reputation for always having a Plan B (and Plan C). I hate surprises, so I plan for contingencies. After all, if you’ve done your homework, you can go to class and relax. But there’s one “contingency” in life that may […]

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Confession of a Rational Animal

There’s a lot to appreciate about Aristotle’s definition of our species as rational animal. We are animals with the capacity for reason — including the all-important ability to guide our decisions and behavior through the exercise of reason. I’ve devoted much of my life to practical reason and the pursuit of excellences that enrich our […]

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