Be the Government You Want to See in the World

If this realization comes to the ruling elites, then yes: then the first person of the state will act in anticipation of what the voters and the people who make decisions at various levels expect from this person. Then, maybe, something will change. Vladimir Putin, in conversation with Tucker Carlson

A New Kind of Market Failure?

“Market Failure” is commonly thought of as something that goes wrong with the way normal (“free”) markets work. There are actually a lot of assumptions made about how such markets work normally, and many of these are so illusory that it seems amazing anyone would ever pay any attention to what any economist says —… Continue reading A New Kind of Market Failure?

We need to figure out what’s going on

This is something a Silicon Valley celebrity said recently — and I’ve decided to “steal” it because the meaning is actually rather ambiguous and depends a lot on context. The person who said it, simply said it in passing and didn’t contextualize what was meant at all — I actually have a vague “gut feeling”… Continue reading We need to figure out what’s going on

Sometimes people are skeptical, sometimes people are NOT skeptical, but you can bet your life that ALL people are skeptical (sometimes)

It’s definitely a good thing that all people are skeptical — at least sometimes. I find it intriguing (and even fascinating), though, that people’s skepticism does seem to follow somewhat predictable patterns — and that such patterns actually interfere with their ability to deal with bias and biased information. This has a lot to do… Continue reading Sometimes people are skeptical, sometimes people are NOT skeptical, but you can bet your life that ALL people are skeptical (sometimes)

What’s the Difference (Between Mainstream Media and Echo Chambers)?

Joe Rogan and Debra Soh were recently engaged in a lengthy discussion (about several topics, but also in particular) about differences between mainstream media and non-mainstream media — it was a recurring topic throughout the episode, and I recommend to consume the full podcast before reading my own take on it (see also “Are People… Continue reading What’s the Difference (Between Mainstream Media and Echo Chambers)?

Everything is Special, Nothing is General (Knowledge)

I’m guessing that sounds sort of extreme … yet I am repeatedly led to this belief. I don’t believe in such a crass statement as “everything is special, nothing is general“, but I do notice something about the way other people believe to know something about which they obviously have little or no knowledge whatsoever.… Continue reading Everything is Special, Nothing is General (Knowledge)

Building on Dunbar

Over the years, I have repeatedly come into contact with “Dunbar’s Number”. I have read articles and such, and yet right now I am offline and wish to only work from my own memory plus a few inspiring thoughts that came to me this morning. I wish to acknowledge that Dunbar’s work is a wonderful… Continue reading Building on Dunbar

Knowing Ignorance

Knowledge and ignorance are closely related concepts. One thing I’ve found puzzling for many years already is to what degree awareness is also involved. In my opinion, it seems unfathomable how anyone could know something and at the same time pretend to not know it. Yet followers of Freud apparently consider this to be so… Continue reading Knowing Ignorance

Does Google Own the Internet?

For the faithful [1], the answer is almost certainly a resounding “YES!” Yet before jumping to conclusions, let me take a step back in time. A long time ago, messages (i.e., “dialog boxes”) like this were quite widespread. I think they were seen as confusing, and gradually gave way to other question-and-answer combinations. What I… Continue reading Does Google Own the Internet?

Whose Language?

Let me start with a little English lesson. English has many homonyms, other languages also have many homonyms. Sometimes I try to wake people up to the fact that there are many words in their own language that sound just like something completely different in other languages. I often have to think twice about the… Continue reading Whose Language?

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