What would our world look like if we ceased to worry about ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ or ‘good’ and ‘evil,’ and simply acted as to maximize well-being, our own and that of others?
You Have the Power to Choose Prosperity
I think it would be fair to say that looking to the venerable Harvard Business Review for existential reflection will generally leave one unsatisfied. However, this piece by Umair Haque deserves a careful read for his thoughtful commentary on what he posits to be the real root of America’s economic malaise:
This Great Stagnation? It might not just be about greedy bankers, hollow politicians, and glad-handing spin-doctors. Instead, its roots might have a great deal to do with us — and the consumption and investment choices we make, every moment of every day.
The Limits of Cyber-Revolutions
Unfortunate title, interesting article.
As a people, our ideal is to have a future, and so long as this is so we shall never have a present.
The Lingering Loveliness of Long Things
“When was the last time someone read you a (really long) story?”
I suggest that one way of looking at WikiLeaks is as a human/machine symbiosis that has re-routed against a damaged democracy.
The 10th Annual Year in Ideas - Interactive Feature
A great design, and a fun way to look back at the major ideas that shaped 2010. From the New York Times.
Invaders from Mars
“Why do we feel so politically powerless? Why is the world so obviously going to hell in a handbasket? Why can’t anyone fix it? Here’s my (admittedly whimsical) working hypothesis … ” —Author Charlie Stross
If we were to borrow from the Ancient Greeks, and separate life into thoughtfulness and primal urges, the American economy would resemble a massive Bacchanalian orgy.
This is one of the most thought-provoking essays I’ve read in some time.
