By MICHAEL SHAPIRO, PhDOctober 2020 So here we are, almost a year into a debacle that began as an “outbreak,” grew into an epidemic, and was ultimately declared a pandemic back in March…which now feels like an eternity ago. People have been sickened, lives have been lost, economies have tanked, lines have been drawn in […]

By MICHAEL SHAPIRO, PhDJuly 2020 Masks. Of all the things that we have on our menu of things to get upset about during the pandemic area, we choose masks. Both the World Health Organization and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention now strongly recommend wearing face coverings in public, in an effort to “flatten […]

By MICHAEL SHAPIRO, PhDMay 2020 I’ve never been a Harry Potter fan. In fact, I’m not even exactly sure what the Harry Potter series is about. My understanding is that it revolves around a bunch of kids who ride broomsticks and play some kind of anti-gravity version of basketball at a private school in some […]

By MICHAEL SHAPIRO, PhDMarch 2020 There is a myth with which we’re all familiar. It has to do with lemmings. As you might know, lemmings are adorable little rodents that are typically found in or near the Arctic tundra. They are usually around 6 inches in length, with a cute stubby tail, soft fur, and […]

By MICHAEL SHAPIRO, PhDFebruary 2020 A quick peek at my calendar reveals that it’s February. Ah, February…the month that hosts the most famous holiday that isn’t really a holiday: Valentine’s Day. As of the time of this writing, we’re now about a week past this annual high-pressure reminder to do some nice stuff for (or […]

By MICHAEL SHAPIRO, PhDJanuary 2020 It occurred to me this week that I had not written a blog entry for the month of December, 2019. For the year 2020, I will resolve to pay better attention to deadlines…and then to not make any more resolutions! Speaking of which…what is the deal with New Year’s resolutions? […]