Two years ago, my undergraduate Anthropology advisor, Professor Valerie Wheeler, died after a sudden and brief battle with leukemia. She played a vital role in my academic and personal life, and her passing affected me deeply. Here’s the note I left on her Legacy page.

I’m deeply saddened by Valerie’s passing. She was more than just my undergraduate advisor in the late 80s and early 90s, but also “Mom” to me and a slew of my fellow anthropology majors. Such a great, inspiring teacher, who taught me to view the world through the lens of culture, so that I saw it in a completely new way. It was eye-opening, and had such an impact that I could never close them again. And for that, I wanted to do well, to make her proud. She expected a lot, and I wanted to meet those expectations. It made me a better person, a more thoughtful person. And I could not appreciate it more. I’m sorry not to have kept in better touch, and so sad that the world has lost such a compassionate, wonderful person. I will carry some of that with me for the remainder of my life. Valerie’s impact was great, and I’m grateful to have had her in my life. My condolences to her family.

I got an invitation to write on Medium a couple weeks ago. I have been pondering some more philosophical posts lately, so I thought I’d try posting there. My first post, “Misguided Delusion,” [update: moved here] tries to pull apart the the false dichotomy between faith and rationality. Yeah, really. That kind of thinking is a throwback to a previous career path, but one that has, of course, always stuck with me. And I am very happy with how the post turned out.

It remains to be seen whether or not I write more stuff like that. It’s rewarding, but time-consuming.

Looking for the comments? Try the old layout.