My name is Chris Charuhas, and in most ways, I’m an average middle-aged guy. I work a regular job as a tech writer, and enjoy an occasional cigar with my chums. In one way, however, I’m different: I undertake independent study.
Topics of study
While other folks are watching Netflix, I’m reading about history, philosophy, and anthropology. That’s unusual, I know, but it equips me to write at least somewhat knowledgeably on the pressing problem of our time: how to move ourselves beyond our current demoralizing, decivilizing way of life.
I’ve also studied indigenous spiritual traditions, such as Mongolian shamanry and South African sangoma practice. I began investigating them to make sense of some spiritual experiences I’d had, and found them fascinating. Surprisingly, this led me back to the faith of my fathers, the Catholic Church.
Background and education
I grew up in Walkersville, a rural town in central Maryland. A friend of mine called it “Mayberry,” after the idyllic small town in the old Andy Griffith Show. My childhood was spent mostly riding bikes and fishing, while my teen years were spent playing football, chasing cheerleaders, and reading science fiction novels.
From there, I went on to the College of William and Mary, where I majored in History with a concentration in East Asian studies. I was also in the ROTC program, and after I graduated in 1990, I completed the Army Officer Basic Course.
I moved to Virginia, served in the Army Reserve for five years, then caught dot-com fever. As part of that, I joined the Netpreneur Exchange, one of the first tech startup incubators. There I learned a bit about business from some of the tech luminaries of the early internet era.
Work and play
In 2003 I got married, moved back to Maryland, and started a company that published computer tutorials. In 2014 I sold my company, and since then I’ve been preoccupied with social concerns. Namely, figuring out what makes societies thrive.
I played club rugby for years, and after my career as an enthusiastically mediocre player ended, I started a cycling club. You know the folks who tear around on racing bikes wearing spandex? We’re the opposite of that. We ride a dozen or two easy miles, then stop to get coffee, and that suits me just fine.
