(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Up until now we’ve been talking about generosity in a fairly direct, person-to-person sense: building social bonds with your neighbor, welcoming the traveler at your gate. But when generosity comes … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series. It has been edited since its original posting to correct errors regarding the potlatch tradition.) All around the world, generosity is an admired trait — and there’s a good reason … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) After that tour through the unpleasant things humans do to each other, let’s turn our thoughts to something nicer. You may think it odd that I’m discussing hospitality, given that … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) In comparison with last week, the punishments we’re looking at this time around aren’t about hurting or controlling the body — at least, not as their primary function. Instead, they … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Physical punishment is a topic so large, I have to split one part of it off up front: we won’t be talking about executions this week. Those are complex enough … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) When we think about punishing criminals, especially in the modern-day U.S., our thoughts often go first to prison. It’s far from the only way to impose consequences, either now or … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Punishment for crime is a fairly universal concept. Not in the sense of everyone always being punished for every crime; there are many reasons why leniency occurs, ranging from good … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) In last week’s essay I already touched on the idea that dreams are connected with magic, via the notion that they may hold some clairvoyant or prophetic significance. Most of … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Dreams: do they mean something, or not? And if they mean something, is that purely a psychological phenomenon, or does it go beyond that? There are shelves full of books … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) If you listen to advertisements, sleeping on the wrong kind of mattress and pillow dooms you to a lifetime of back pain and under-slept misery. To be fair, there is … Continue reading
