On loneliness, solitude and the pandemic

 By Elie Mikhael Nasrallah There are folks out there with thousands of Facebook “friends” but no one to call, have a drink with, or watch a sport game together. This modern online friendship is as illusive, deceiving, and pointless as the pursuit of utopia on this earth. Friendship and modernity are

Why is Everyone so Happy, and I’m Not?

 If you are reading this, there is a good chance you, or someone you know isn't very happy. There are plenty of things you want to do with your life but the unhappiness, low motivation and lack of energy is too difficult to overcome. Not to mention the amount of

We Have Built a Sickness Care System Rather Than A Health System

 We have designed that system for the convenience of practitioners, not patients: Convocation speech delivered to graduating MDs at the University of Manitoba on the receipt of an honorary doctorate. Mr. Chancellor, Mr. President, distinguished guests, soon-to-be MDs and their deeply indebted family members. I’m touched and humbled to receive an

So Far, Yet So Close: How Social Media is Changing Intimacy

 When social media transformed the word ‘friend’ into a verb, we knew something was up. Social media has, naturally, had a huge impact on the way we form, maintain and view our our relationships with friends and family. At the same time, we now have a seemingly instant connection to