The Denial File
What We Can't Think About—and Why
It’s the Cruelty, Stupid
Kirby Farrell | October 21, 2012
You recall the famous campaign quip, “It’s the economy, stupid.” That may be true, but suppose we ask why it’s true. We’re not talking Economics …
Peak Complexity, Peak Oil, Peak Terror
Bill Bornschein | October 17, 2012
I was fortunate to hear University of Washington professor Phillip Hansten’s talk at the recent EBF Fall Conference. His topic was what he refers to …
Romney’s Taxes
Daniel Liechty | September 27, 2012
So Maria Bartiroma and Christian Heinze have taken to scolding the press, the Obama campaign and by extension the all rest of us for our …
Your iPhone, Creaturely Motives, and Prosthetic Identity
Kirby Farrell | September 18, 2012
When tech makes you feel superhuman. Recently psychiatrist John Wynn posted a nifty essay about people’s passionate identification with the late Steve Jobs and the …
Three Scenes from a School Day
Bill Bornschein | September 14, 2012
For this post I’d like to share three distinct Becker-related observations from a day at school. They do not come together to form an overarching …
Clint Eastwood Appreciation
Daniel Liechty | September 11, 2012
Good old Clint Eastwood is back in the news lately, following his “empty chair” speech at the Republican Convention. There is not much more to …
“Post-Birth” Abortion?
Daniel Liechty | September 7, 2012
There has been a lot of media hype this summer over an article published last February in The Journal of Medical Ethics. Supposedly, the …
The Third Spiritual Option
Jeremy Sherman | August 28, 2012
We are mirror mortals, the first known species with the capacity to imagine the full arc of life and to know in definitive detail that we die.
Denying Denial
Kirby Farrell | August 24, 2012
Dumb jokes about the longest river in Egypt assume that denial is as familiar to everyone as the Nile is. But explorers were still searching …
Ambivalence and the Decision Tree
Kirby Farrell | August 23, 2012
Let’s see, where were we? Ah yes, rounding a bend in da Nile, catching a glimpse of the insoluble ambivalence we were talking about. The …
Adolescents and the Scale of Heroism
Bill Bornschein | August 22, 2012
As many of us embark upon a new school year it feels appropriate to reflect on healthy heroism. Late adolescence is a time of vital …
Roberts and Rationality
Daniel Liechty | August 8, 2012
Circumstances conspired to put me on a “political news diet” for the last few weeks – no TV, no newspapers or magazines, no podcasts, no …
Bedtime for Bongo
Kirby Farrell | August 3, 2012
What we can’t think about: when the forces that control us are invisible, we feel helpless. Anxiety, says the doc, is fear whose cause can’t …
Of Gout and Global Warming
Phil Hansten | July 27, 2012
What we can’t think about: The possibility that climatologists are correct to warn of potential catastrophic climate …
The Paterno Statue
Bill Bornschein | July 24, 2012
The pedophile scandal that has rocked Penn State University carries within it an element that Becker addressed so insightfully, the quest for immortality represented in …
The White Orca Effect Meets the Black Dog Syndrome
Henry Richards | July 17, 2012
Preface: Through serendipity, I was writing of animals about the same time that Dan Leichty wrote his recent piece “Of Pets and Humans”. This piece, …
Hollywood does Becker
Don Emmerich | July 10, 2012
What we can’t think about: In the following essay, I recommend the recently-released film Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and discuss …
Protection Racket
Kirby Farrell | July 6, 2012
What we can’t think about: we use fantasies about endangered children to work off fears we can’t handle. Why it matters: It doesn’t work. Yes, …