THOUGHTBOX

Neil deGrasse Tyson is not inspiring merely as an astrophysicist, but as a public speaker and human being. We're not all astrophysicists. We don't have the opportunity to ask big questions about the universe. But he inspires me to ask myself questions, to make me question things I can personally be articulate in.

There haven’t been any Kony 2012 posts on my blog so far, despite the craze. Why? Joseph Kony Well, I watched the Invisible Children video the day it came out, just like everyone else. I was tempted to share, just like everyone else. But there was just something about the whole message, the whole video that left me feeling uncomfortable. Like there was something missing, like I wasn’t seeing the complete picture at all. The reason I haven’t posted anything about Kony 2012 is that I’ve been doing a lot of research, reading and looking into the issue. Turns out I was right, and the Invisible Children video smelled fishy for a great number of reasons. The Problem With Awareness Let’s start with my first issue. People love being aware . The reason the IC Kony 2012 campaign was so succesful is because the online community draws a great deal of satisfaction from sharing awareness. It makes us feel like we’re contributing, or at the very least, letting our friends and followers know...