Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! As always, the questions come from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. Last week, Stock put us in an uncomfortable chair with a question about corporate loyalty: if someone offered you a large bribe for privileged information about your company, and you … Continue reading Question of the Week #499
Ethics
Question of the Week #498
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! As always, the questions come from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. Last week we spent some time imagining a world without the necessity of work, which turned out to be a surprisingly complicated place to visit. This week, Stock brings us … Continue reading Question of the Week #498
Question of the Week #496
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! As always, the questions come from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions, and this week we're leaving the restaurant behind. If you've been here for the last two weeks, you've earned it. We've spent enough time in that dining room. This week, … Continue reading Question of the Week #496
Question of the Week #495
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! As always, the questions come from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. And this week, we're doing something a little unusual: we're not moving on. We're staying right where we were last week, at that same crowded restaurant, with that same uncomfortable … Continue reading Question of the Week #495
Question of the Week #494
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! As always, the question comes from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. And I'll be honest — after the last two weeks, I was ready for something a little different. We've been in some genuinely heavy territory lately: questions about disability, about … Continue reading Question of the Week #494
Question of the Week #492
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! As always, the question this week comes from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. And I need to say something before I even get to it: last week's question was already one of the harder ones I've tackled in this series. I … Continue reading Question of the Week #492
Question of the Week #491
Welcome back to another Question of the Week here at The Confusing Middle! This week's question comes, as always, from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. And I want to say upfront that unlike last week's question — which I answered before I'd even finished reading it — this one stopped me cold. Not because … Continue reading Question of the Week #491
More Than Yellow Brick Roads
When L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, readers saw a delightful children's fantasy about a Kansas farm girl who finds herself in a magical land. What they didn't realize was that Baum had created one of the most sophisticated commentaries on American society ever disguised as a fairy tale. Through … Continue reading More Than Yellow Brick Roads
Question of the Week #450
This week's question comes from Gregory Stock's "The Book of Questions": When was the last time you stole something? Why haven't you stolen anything since? Is there anything you'd steal if you were certain you wouldn't get caught? I'll be honest with you—this question made me squirm a little when I first read it. There's … Continue reading Question of the Week #450
Question of the Week #445
In our ongoing exploration of life's profound ethical questions, we tackle another thought-provoking scenario from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. This week's question cuts to the heart of sacrifice, obligation, and the boundaries of personal responsibility: Someone close to you will die in a few months unless you donate one of your kidneys to … Continue reading Question of the Week #445
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