To be financially secure, do you work harder at anticipating risks so you can avoid them, or at building a cushion so you can withstand the unexpected? Which do you think might work better and why? Just getting this one in under the wire. Not sure where my head was today... almost completely forgot! I'm … Continue reading Question of the Week #245

What fraction of what you currently own would you give to the government if you knew that everyone else would have to give the same? I said it last week and I'll say it again. If 10% is good enough for God, why can't it be good enough for Uncle Sam? This is clearly a … Continue reading Question of the Week #244

If you could legally pay whatever income tax you wanted, what fraction of your earnings would you give the government? If you knew that everyone would have to pay the exact same fraction of their incomes, would you choose any differently? There's a part of me that wants to fall back on 10%. I mean... … Continue reading Question of the Week #243

If evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe were discovered, would it alter your core beliefs or sense of self? Not really. And I'm ready to accept that there are a lot of things about our world/universe that just cannot be explained. I'm okay with that. In general, I can be pretty skeptical about … Continue reading Question of the Week #242

If ads could be tailored so effectively to your personal desires and concerns that they'd be nearly irresistible, would you want to ban them? Would you buy special high-tech sunglasses that screened out billboards and other advertising to leave a pristine visual landscape? Ah... but how would I know about these special high-tech sunglasses if … Continue reading Question of the Week #241

Have you ever told anyone that you didn't like or love your parents? I was a teenager once, wasn't I? It's a rare person who hasn't, at one point or another, in a fit of rage or a rebellious streak, claimed they hated their parents. Either one, the other, or both. Even if life has … Continue reading Question of the Week #240

What if they might someday find out you'd been watching? Do you think you could ever be at ease under constant surveillance? This is a follow up to last week's question that asked if you would be willing to on anyone at any time without being detected. I said last week that I wouldn't want … Continue reading Question of the Week #238

If, without being detected, you could spy electronically for the next month and watch anyone, anywhere, anytime like a fly on a wall, would you? If so, who would you watch and how closely? If not, why not? Uh... I typically do that every summer. It's called Big Brother and I'm a little upset that … Continue reading Question of the Week #237

Would you like to be famous? If so, for what? What if you knew it meant that within a few years you'd lose all your current friends and never develop new relationships that were as meaningful? Fame, from what I understand, is a fickle thing. I don't think I'd want to reach celebrity status. But … Continue reading Question of the Week #235