The Smartest Person in the Room

I think I have (so far) never yet felt like the smartest person in the room. There seems to be a somewhat common saying (though I think I’ve more often seen it printed than actually said) that goes along the lines of: If you’re the smartest person in the room, then you’re in the wrong… Continue reading The Smartest Person in the Room

Some Reflections on the Relationships Between Influence and Rationality

I have spent a lot of time with the exact formulation of that title. What is a lot? What is a little? Somehow this line of thinking reminds me of the Pensees / Blaise Pascal, and the title itself seems situated nearby to Descartes’ Meditations yet perhaps even closer to Edmund Burke’s flowery view from… Continue reading Some Reflections on the Relationships Between Influence and Rationality

Dumb Americans

I sometimes have a way of saying things that people find awkward or even inappropriate, and I have a hunch the title I have chosen here is at high risk of becoming one of those situations. There is a lot to unpack here, and I don’t know if I will be able to unpack all… Continue reading Dumb Americans

Case Study in the Contrast Between Rational vs. Irrational Media: “I Don’t Believe in Beatles”

This week was no exception: Every week is another week in which I try to fathom why there is such widespread trust in irrational media; and every week I find it ever more difficult to fathom. And yet this week also provides a few exceptional cases (which are actually probably quite predictable, as the propaganda… Continue reading Case Study in the Contrast Between Rational vs. Irrational Media: “I Don’t Believe in Beatles”

More or Less is Better

As an undergraduate student, I studied Economics (and History — I actually have two Bachelor’s degrees, a sort of “multitasking” achievement of mine 😉 ). One economics professor of mine had a rather profound impact on a lot of my thinking about economic theory. One of his phrases about the philosophical attitude of a lot… Continue reading More or Less is Better

A New Perspective on Market Externality

I think the traditional view of the term “market externality” is (more or less) something which cannot be measured in the marketplace. I think it’s hogwash — and I gave up on the idea that any market externalities might exist decades ago. In my opinion, anything (and everything) can be measured. How accurate and /… Continue reading A New Perspective on Market Externality

Trustworthy + Distrustworthy

I’ve experienced a few fascinating experiences recently, one of them reminding me of the song “Thin Ice” (by Pink Floyd, from the album “The Wall”). As a teenager, I was very much “into” Pink Floyd — for example, I might have said something like “I am inspired by Floydian ideas”. I decided to watch the… Continue reading Trustworthy + Distrustworthy

Literacy + Publicacy, School + Society

Today I was reminded of an article I wrote probably well over a decade ago, but for which my language at the time had not developed enough vocabulary to talk about the topic in a way that made sense to most people. It made sense to a few, but a few people do not make… Continue reading Literacy + Publicacy, School + Society

Fascism & Regulated Media

Of course the word “fascism” is a loaded term. Let alone that the term was invented by some short pudgy Italian only about a century ago. What does it mean? He might have known, but in the meantime (now, a century later) the term has been applied so often in so many contexts that it… Continue reading Fascism & Regulated Media

Captain’s Log

I recall the television series “Star Trek” … and the entries entered into the “Captain’s Log”, which were spoken somewhat in the voice of a narrator. This didn’t occur odd to me at the time, but as I reflect on it now, I do find it odd that this narration seemed so trustworthy and reliable.… Continue reading Captain’s Log

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