Thomas Riley

1 month ago | pittwire.pitt.edu | Thomas Riley

Rohit Mantena sits beside a hospital bed, where a patient who’s suffered an aneurysm is about to enter surgery. He tells the patient that the Cerebral Aneurysm Research Lab, where Mantena studies and works, is researching new ways to detect and diagnose the ailment — and that with the patient’s consent, their blood sample could help inform the future of neurosurgery. Mantena has made this human-to-human connection with many patients alongside the lab’s principal investigator, Kamil Nowicki.

2 months ago | pittnews.com | Thomas Riley

I am, among other unemployable qualities, a philosophy student. I have spent a good third of my time here reading and pondering and writing about the nature of knowledge, the persistence of identity, the distribution of resources and the pursuit of an ethically good life. On this last issue, Aristotle says the quality of a good harpist is their ability to perform well the function of a harpist — that is, playing the harp.

2 months ago | pittnews.com | Thomas Riley

Graduation is nigh, so it is time to wish the opinions desk’s graduating seniors off. We worked with these writers for the last year, and a few even longer. From goofing around in the office, to complaining about the state of American politics, to commiserating about what is next after we all graduate, we hope you all had a wonderful time working for The Pitt News and writing for the best desk — the opinions desk.

2 months ago | pittnews.com | Thomas Riley

I had been sitting in an IMAX theater at AMC Waterfront for an hour and ten minutes, watching Steve and his gang of Idahoan misfits journey to the Woodland Mansion, when it happened. Garrett, played by Jason Mamoa, stood before a blocky chicken in the pillagers’ wrestling ring while, to his utter fear, a crate lowered upon the chicken and deposited a baby zombie atop it.

2 months ago | pittnews.com | Thomas Riley

CEO, billionaire and puppetmaster of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk often parrots the idea of a “woke mind virus” that has infected the American people — one that is eating away at their brains and turning them into left-wing loons and zombies. Like everything else Musk says, the phrase is nonsense, and it only serves as a buzzword for him to lazily reject anything progressives say as the drivel of some brain worm.