MomminginMinistry

Do you know what ended the Cold War arms race? Here's the Cliff's Notes version- For years one side would build something bigger and better, so the other side would also build something bigger and better. We'd get scared, things would escalate, and so it went on. Eventually between us we had collected more nuclear weapons than we could possibly use. Someone finally said, "Let's stop." And everyone sighed in relief.  In the journal article, "The Nuclear Arms Race: Prisoner's Dilemma or Perceptual Dilemma", S. Plous of Wesleyan University describes this phenomenon as a "perceptual dilemma." In a perceptual dilemma, " both sides 1) prefer mutual arms reductions to all other outcomes. 2) above all want to avoid disarming while the other side arms 3) perceive the other side is preferring unilateral armament to all other outcomes." There's other examples of these types of dilemmas. If you're familiar with Hamilton  think of ...

  I turned 40 a week ago today. I already feel older, and I'm not kidding. I found a first gray hair at 39 years and 11 months on the dot. All of a sudden, about a week ago I started having what I think is either arthritis or one of those diseases you get from texting too much on the smart phone. I also must have lost some inhibition because I keep starting fights with strangers who don't know anything in the comments section of the Dr. Oz posts. I also got to have a routine medical scan for women that usually starts at 40. So there's that. I also have new ideas of fun, like going to Costco to by things that are chocolate in bulk. And vitamins. Forty is pretty big. A year ago I would have said I would have wanted a plane ticket to go somewhere I'd never been or to visit old friends. I would have wanted a spectacular party with a beautiful cake and tons of people to hug. But things are weird right now and I'm not even sure I'm not weird right now. I was pretty su...

It's not an understatement to say that many of us who love books have gotten a little extra reading done this year. Because I love to tell people what to read, I've decided to compile a list of some of the books I've read or listened to this year that have proved timely in the midst of (you pick)-a world-wide pandemic, a quarantine, an overnight pivot in lifestyle due to virtual learning, a civil rights movement, racial AND relational tension, an economic crisis, some bizarre occurrences in nature, and, that  thing that comes around every four years just in time to make Thanksgiving really awkward-an election. This isn't an exhaustive book list. There were some books that were fun but not necessarily relevant. There were others that I have been able to glean some insight from, such as Becoming an Anti-Racist  or Farewell to Mars  that aren't necessarily for everyone. Or, in the words of our dear friend, Jesse, maybe "you're not ready for." and that...