From Our Brains to Yours

April 6th, 2009

Thinking beyond the cycle

In politics it’s difficult  to think beyond the next electoral cycle.  What good is it to think about five years from now if you lose your seat – and therefore the ability to make play a part in decision making, period – in eighteen months?
I’m as guilty as the next guy and gal working in [...]

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February 9th, 2009

Information versus Knowledge

Flipping through this month’s issue of Wired, I found myself with a little bit of literary deja vu.  In his missive, “Manufacturing Confusion: How More Information Leads to Less Knowledge,”  Clive Thompson argues that the “information revolution” hasn’t brought about greater knowledge, understanding, or widespread acceptance of truth, but rather it has wrought confusion and [...]

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February 4th, 2009

More first principles: What is school for?

Last week, I argued that in all the hubbub about TARP dollars and stimulus spending versus tax cuts, we’re missing the point: what are our our “first principles” when it comes to the economy?  Before we can decide whether the various proposals on the table are good or bad, worth the investment or not, we [...]

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January 27th, 2009

On first principles

Fair warning: this is a bit off topic – I’m not going to talk about communications or advocacy or strategy.
Like everyone else, I’ve been watching the imploding economy with a mixture of horror, dread, and morbid curiosity: what on earth can we do?  What can governments do?  What can individuals do?  Corporations?
It’s occurred to me [...]

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