Looking back, it is fairly easy to see that the race to the moon was a geopolitical competition, an attempt to use a technological task as a proxy for answering the question of which political system was the most robust, innovative and effective. But was we enter an age of new geopolitical races, it seems… Continue reading Geopolitical races in technology 2.0
Measures and causes of centralization of the Internet
Here is a narrative about the Internet that is getting more and more common: It certainly seems that the Internet is now the realm of a small number of enterprises that dominate this space. This is no longer a diverse, vibrant environment where new entrants compete on equal terms with incumbents, where the pace of… Continue reading Measures and causes of centralization of the Internet
Deep uncertainty(Mental models XV)
The concept of deep uncertainty is intriguing and important - as defined it is: Deep uncertainty exists when parties to a decision do not know, or cannot agree on, the system model that relates action to consequences, the probability distributions to place over the inputs to these models, which consequences to consider and their relative… Continue reading Deep uncertainty(Mental models XV)
Intolerance and polarization as survival strategies
A recent study in PNAS suggests that we can at least start thinking about that through inversion - the study of what intolerance is. By looking at the areas of the brain that activate during polarized responses etc a group of researchers are now arguing that intolerance is strongly correlated with a need for certainty.… Continue reading Intolerance and polarization as survival strategies
The Newsletter “Unpredictable Patterns”
I am now ditching the invite only mode for the newsletter. I feel confident that I have a form for it that I like, and so I would appreciate more readers and think I will learn more from a broader readership. I have now written 20 issues of the letter and I think the form… Continue reading The Newsletter “Unpredictable Patterns”
Phylogenetic echoes of physics?
It turns out that there is no such things as trees or crabs. Yet, a lot of things end up in crab-shapes or tree-shapes. What is happening here? This is a question that is related to the work on physics and evolution put forward by people like Geoffrey West, especially in his book Scale; evolution… Continue reading Phylogenetic echoes of physics?
The grammar of happiness: a turn towards everyday life?
A culture is guided by its concept of happiness, and how that is located in the overall grammar of human existence - and our society is one that is focused on living a happy life. A result of that is that we often ask ourselves if we are happy - whether consciously or not. We… Continue reading The grammar of happiness: a turn towards everyday life?
Written: a chapter on utopias and their devolution
This nice book waited in my mail as I came home from the mountains: I had the privilege to write a chapter in it about how utopias have evolved, and devolved, over the last couple of decades. To my unbridled joy my contribution also contains a reprint of Lubberland!
What is the optimal degree of separation in a society?
Almost everyone has heard about the notion of "six degrees of separation" - that there are six jumps between any two persons in, say, the US. The experiment or game actually originates in a short story by Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy, The Chain, where the object of the game was to connect two random individuals.… Continue reading What is the optimal degree of separation in a society?
Deterrence and memory – is it dangerous to forget nuclear weapons?
Economist Thomas Schelling made an important observation in his Nobel prize talk in 2005 when he said: "The most spectacular event of the past half century is one that did not occur.We have enjoyed sixty years without nuclear weapons exploded in anger."Thomas Schelling Nobel Prize Talk. This observation is no less true today, but we… Continue reading Deterrence and memory – is it dangerous to forget nuclear weapons?