The past several months, I’ve been circling round and round the idea of bearing witness. What does it mean to bear witness? Do we only bear witness to sorrow and grief? Or do we bear witness to one another’s joys and longings and delights, too? What makes it possible for us to bear witness in some circumstances and not others? If...

I teach a course on growth mindset and neuroplasticity to college students. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form new neural pathways, either by creating new pathways, or altering existing ones. We used to think that our brains' neural networks were highly adaptable in childhood, but then became more rigid in adulthood. Now we...