PinnedPublished inApproximationsDevolving Power: The Challenge of Our AgeGeorge Washington, Selfish Genes, and Giving up PrivilegeJan 32Jan 32
PinnedPublished inApproximationsWhat the Hell is Water? It’s about PrivilegeDavid Foster Wallace’s famous 2005 address was about living togetherSep 1, 2020Sep 1, 2020
Published inApproximationsPandemic as a Portal to the Future: Four Deep Lessons from COVID that Go Beyond “We Screwed it Up”[The pandemic] is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our…Jan 20, 20222Jan 20, 20222
Published inApproximationsThinking about Utopia Means Deciding What You Think is ImportantOk. That’s kind of obvious. Really, if you are trying to describe the perfect world, it certainly should include some theory about humanity…Dec 20, 2021Dec 20, 2021
Published inApproximationsOnly Mrs. Brown Can Save Us: Musk, Bezos, and the Failures of the Techno-UtopiansI used to believe, like Matt Damon in The Martian, that we could “science the shit” out of our problems. I was a “Techno-Utopian,” I now…Nov 4, 20213Nov 4, 20213
Published inApproximations“Build, Test, Learn” — What Hegel Knew about Lean Start-ups and Making a Dent in the UniverseGeorge Frederic Hegel was not known for his start-up chops. A great thinker? Sure. Extremely handsome? Possibly. Entrepreneur? Not so much.Jun 27, 20211Jun 27, 20211
Published inApproximationsCertainty is the Enemy of Truth: David Deutsch’s Infinite Explanations, the Limits of Knowledge…David Deutsch is an Oxford physicist and philosopher, widely regarded as a founder of quantum computing. His books, The Fabric of Reality…May 6, 202110May 6, 202110
Published inApproximations“Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” — Disney, Darwin, and the Mis-Measure of ProgressWhen I was eight, my family went to the NY World’s Fair in Flushing Meadow, Queens. It was 1964 and the idealized vision of the future…Apr 13, 20213Apr 13, 20213
Published inApproximationsMessages from the Future: Adventures in “Drop in Audio”I’m not sure how many of you caught the podcast I did with Chris Colbert on his “Insert:Human” series. It’s here, if you are interested.Apr 2, 2021Apr 2, 2021