Jared Diamond was once all the rage. His book, Guns, Gems and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies was one of those books about which everyone was once talking. Provocative thesis, well written (though the “word to intriguing idea” ratio was a bit too high), much discussed. But, that was almost a quarter of a century ago. His subsequent books were not quite the rage. In his latest, Diamond plaintively complains about a review of one of his books casting about for lessons which we can draw … [Read more...] about Twelve Reasons You Should Not Read This Book
Modern Society
How Blue are Your Eyes?
One of the first lessons of school: you are not one of the cool kids. You aren’t as beautiful or as charming as those other kids. People like those other kids; they don’t really like you. The Beautiful Kids grow up to be the beautiful teenagers. And you learn that lesson all over again in high school. You just aren’t that beautiful. You really are not all that popular. Sure, you watch endless movies where the kids like you end up being popular. Yes, you see the stories where the … [Read more...] about How Blue are Your Eyes?
Financial Crisis Memoirs 2.0
The financial crisis, like any major crisis, of 2007-2008 has a built-in interest in insider memoirs. What were the people at the heart of the crisis thinking? We have had many such memoirs. Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, wrote a memoir, The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath. Tim Geithner, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York also wrote a memoir: Stress Test: Reflections of Financial Crises.Hank Paulson, the Secretary of the Treasury … [Read more...] about Financial Crisis Memoirs 2.0
Big Brother Doesn’t Need to Watch You
Big Brother is watching You. Newspeak. Thoughtcrime. Doublethink. Two minutes hate. George Orwell’s 1984 needs no introduction. I read this book with one of my reading groups in the Fall. In this particular group, each of the students sends in a question which crystalized in her mind while reading it. Just a question; there is no obligation to try to answer it. There is one question which has haunted me since it showed up in my Inbox. But, first the background. Our hero, Winston, … [Read more...] about Big Brother Doesn’t Need to Watch You
The Future of Charlie Brown
From Peanuts: The Complete Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, 1953-1954. Scene: Schroeder at his piano, Charlie Brown leaning over the piano facing Schroeder, handing him a piece of paper. Panel 1: Charlie Brown: “I want to show you my new comic strip, Schroeder because I think you’ll appreciate it.”Panel 2: Charlie Brown: “This one musician asks the other if he can play the ‘Hallelujah Chorus,’ See? And this guy says, ‘Oh, I guess I can Handel it!’”Panel 3: Charlie Brown: “Get it? Get it? … [Read more...] about The Future of Charlie Brown
Bad Blood
There are two competing narratives about the financial sector in America. It has always been this way. If there is one societal institution which has sharply divided Americans since the Founding, it is banking and finance. From Andrew Jackson’s War on the National Bank to Operation Wall Street, it’s the same argument over and over. On the one side, we hear that America is secretly being run by a very clever set of nefarious financiers. These evil masterminds control large sums of wealth … [Read more...] about Bad Blood