It's a complicated problem that won't be solved with one solution. It needs several solutions implemented one at a time to determine what does and doesn't work.

One idea that I had was ethics and philosophy courses being required for high school freshmen. Young people should be encouraged to think about morality in a classroom setting. Just thinking about morality encourages people to be more considerate of one another (at least in my opinion).

Piano and painting.

I'm taking a piano class at my local CC this semester and probably going to take a painting class at uni next semester. I guess I'm on my way to learning!

In July 2014, Science published a study in which volunteers were placed in an unadorned room and asked to entertain themselves with their thoughts for between six and 15 minutes. Participants overwhelmingly abhorred the experience. In one part of the experiment conducted in the subjects’ own home, a third actually found it impossible, and resorted to ‘cheating’, usually via their mobile phones. In another part of the study, 67 per cent of men opted to give themselves an electric shock rather than simply sit with their thoughts. The mind untutored in meditative techniques, concluded the study’s authors, ‘does not like to be alone with itself.'

This is really interesting. What makes the shower tolerable for people? I spend 20-40 minutes just sitting in the shower and thinking so I'm a little confused. If you want something similar to a float tank, I'd recommend taking a shower like you normally do then turning off the lights. I love taking warm showers in pitch black darkness.

I've been reading The Plague, by Albert Camus. I'm not a fan of Stuart Gilbert's translation; it's clunky and full of convoluted dependent clauses.

With that said, it's really good. A few passages made me tear up.