You can’t prove it in the mathematical sense — because the claim “there are no undiscovered naturally occurring elements” is a universal negative. In science, you can only make it extremely unlikely by combining (1) theory about what could exist and persist in nature, and (2) very broad, very … read more

I was lucky to see scenery straight out of a Ghibli movie in real life. What comes to mind when you see the full moon? For me, it’s always this passage from The Sheltering Sky: Because we don’t know when we will die We get to think of life as an inexhaustible well Yet everything happens only … read more

When a person cannot satisfy their deeper emotional needs, like love, security, belonging, or purpose, they often redirect that emptiness into various substitute desires / compensatory behaviours that afford immediate pleasures or comforts. These substitutes can become excessive, inappropriate, or … read more

Among the three stars — Vega, Altair, and the Sun — Vega will die first, followed by Altair, and then our Sun, which will be the last to reach the end of its life. The primary reason for this sequence lies in their masses and lifespans, which are inversely related: the more massive a star, the … read more

The earthquake struck when I was six. I survived. Most of my classmates didn’t. Now I’m in college, in another city. Whenever I return home, I pass their parents on the street. They stop me, their eyes scanning me — as if searching for what might have been. Then, with a gentle, aching smile, they … read more

Lesson 01: I am not the centre of everyone’s attention Lesson 02: Learn to embrace farewells Lesson 03: No one will care about me forever Lesson 04: Master my emotions Lesson 05: Love myself before I love anyone else Lesson 06: Health is my greatest wealth Lesson 07: Accept every regret with grace … read more

Granny hands me a bag of snacks, edges soft, the crunch long gone. I look at Mom and ask, “Did they expire?” She smiles, half-lost in thought, “No, love — we just came home too late.” read more

During the chaos of my parents’ divorce (when I was around 11), my uncles on my mother’s side (or maybe my grandmother—I can’t quite remember, but it doesn’t really matter since they shared the same values) offered to take me to a theme park out of town. But shortly after, they had a change of … read more