
Who Is Machiavelli and What Is His Philosophy About?

Machiavelli. You hear the name and immediately think of sinister political manipulation, backstabbing, and a level of calculated ruthlessness that would make a Bond villain blush. He’s the guy whose name literally became an adjective for political scheming—Machiavellian—which is impressive, considering most people only know him through secondhand references, usually from someone trying to sound smart at a dinner party.
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Confessions of a Man With Tourette Syndrome

How did you get diagnosed and when did the tics start?
Diagnosed August last year. I’m 23, tics started when I was 19 probably, I lived with my parents when things were getting out of hand, and yes I got in trouble. My mother didn’t seem to believe it could possibly be TS, despite doing research, until I got diagnosed. She screamed at me plenty, and even cried cause she hates the word cunt so much. Honestly, I think she was doing her best, but its just tough to adjust too, for a parent of an adult.
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How Would Japan Have Fared in a Fight, Had the US Landed on Mainland Japan in WW2?

Few historical counterfactuals are as sobering as the prospect of a full-scale U.S. invasion of the Japanese home islands in 1945. By the summer of that year, Japan’s strategic position was untenable. The Imperial Navy had been shattered, American bombers roamed its skies with impunity, and a naval blockade was strangling its economy. Yet, the war’s inevitable outcome should not be mistaken for an inevitable collapse. Had the Allies executed Operation Downfall—the two-stage invasion of Kyushu and Honshu—the result would have been a bloodbath unprecedented even by the standards of the Pacific War.
9 People With Below Average Intelligence Describe What Life Is Like For Them

1. I have a global information processing disorder. If our brains were computers running at 60 frames per second normally, mine runs around 45 on a good day – not quite enough to really be noticeable, as it might in some people with Down’s Syndrome for the sake of example, but enough to lower my IQ and cause problems in my everyday life.
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The Insane Backstory of Dr. Cornelius Evazan

If you’re the kind of person who spends an inordinate amount of time contemplating the backstories of minor movie characters—if you are, in essence, the sort of person who reads unauthorized biographies of fictional men—then you already know who Dr. Cornelius Evazan is. Or at least you think you do.
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Lets Take a Stroll Through The Art Museum
Georges de La Tour – The Newborn Christ (1640)

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The French Plantation Sequence: Apocalypse Now’s Beautifully Strange Detour

There’s a moment in Apocalypse Now that feels like it exists outside the film, as if Francis Ford Coppola spliced in a scene from some lost European art-house movie just to see if anyone would notice. It’s the French plantation sequence, an atmospheric, elliptical detour that was originally cut from the theatrical release and only restored decades later. And the reason it was cut is fairly obvious—it slows everything down. But that’s also exactly why it’s fascinating.
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14 People Reveal What Is It like Being Married to the Right Person

1. You feel peaceful near him/her. They don’t trouble you. Their presence is reassuring, they stand by your side, they encourage you, they will challenge you to be a better person. Of course they are still human with flaws, they have good days, bad days, times of fear, worry. They do not put you down, they are proud to show you to the world, they will try to bring you joy. If they know you like something they will do that, maybe if that’s not big on their list.
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Confessions of an Underachieving High IQ Individual
When I was eighteen, I joined MENSA, because that’s exactly the kind of thing an eighteen-year-old who joins MENSA would do. I lasted a year. Long enough to confirm what I already suspected: MENSA is less of a genius society and more of a self-congratulation echo chamber where people who peaked in standardized testing gather to be impressed with themselves. It was weird.
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Spencer’s Gifts Was the Mall’s Fever Dream—And We Loved It

There was always something illicit about walking into Spencer’s Gifts. Not “illegal” illicit—nobody was slinging black tar heroin behind the lava lamps. But illicit in that very specific suburban way, like sneaking a sip of Smirnoff Ice from your friend’s older brother’s mini-fridge or watching South Park with the volume so low it was practically subliminal messaging.
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The Kid Who Had the Neo-Geo

Every neighborhood in the 90s had that kid. The one whose existence subtly reshaped your understanding of social class. For most of us, wealth wasn’t an abstract concept; it was tangible, like a pool in the backyard or a second story on a house. But then there was the Neo-Geo kid, and their wealth felt different. It wasn’t about having more—it was about living in a completely different dimension of existence.

