Sitting Bull is commonly thought of as a warrior. In point of fact he was not. He was a “medicine man;” which means that he included within himself the three professions of the priesthood, medicine and law.

Yet apparently millions of us just love being nudged or browbeaten into particular chowlines by someone else with an air of authority, from weight-loss guru to restaurant reviewer.

The flip of a fair coin is purely random.

My mother kept a cook and a nursemaid, and a dvornik, or outdoor man, to take care of the horses, the cow, and the woodpile.