Author Archives: N.S. Palmer

About N.S. Palmer

N.S. Palmer is an American mathematician.

Forgive Us Our Microaggressions

Posted on January 25, 2020

I have a question, but please don’t take it in the wrong way. I don’t mean to offend anyone. I’m just curious. How is a microaggression different from nothing at all? “Microaggression” is one of those new words made up … Continue reading →

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Perfection or Nothing?

Posted on January 10, 2020

The French philosopher Voltaire warned that “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” Pursuit of “perfect” but impossible goals makes us reject possible goals because they’re imperfect. And we often make things even worse than they were in the … Continue reading →

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Why Is This A Banana?

Posted on January 5, 2020

In today’s media landscape, you can throw a rock in any direction and hit something that’s partisan and biased. Whether you believe that “Trump Is Literally Hitler,” or you call him “the god-emperor,” or you’re somewhere in between, there’s a … Continue reading →

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What If You Have No Answer?

Posted on January 2, 2020

In my previous blog post, I said you should always have an answer to the question, “What am I doing here?” But what if you don’t have an answer? The glory and the misery of being human is that we … Continue reading →

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Always Have A Purpose

Posted on January 1, 2020

What’s “the most dangerous poison of life” — the greatest source of unhappiness? You might think it’s hatred, and that would be a sensible choice. But according to American Founder Thomas Jefferson, it’s boredom. For an intelligent person, being alive … Continue reading →

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Find Your Life’s Meaning

Posted on November 26, 2019

Does your life have meaning? If so, how? The answer helps you appreciate your blessings and seize your opportunities. Having a clear idea of the answer is in itself a blessing. Most people have no idea. They trudge through life, … Continue reading →

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The One Where I Told a Little Lie

Posted on November 22, 2019

Can you go through life and never tell a lie? Honesty is the best policy. But it’s a policy — not an unbreakable rule. If most of us weren’t honest most of the time, social life would be impossible. Nobody … Continue reading →

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