(This is part 5 of the โStages of the Anthropocene, Revisitedโ Series (SotA-R).) The aim of this series is a better prediction of the long-term prospects for human civilization (in…
The old denialism denied the reality of climate change. Funded by the fossil fuel industry it spouted disinformation and lies and fostered doubt. It changed climate change from an objectively…
Presumably, you are aware that weโre in the middle of a disaster. Thatโs unpleasant โ to say the least โ but itโs also quite instructive. There is much we can…
Suddenly everyone seems to have opinions about viruses and how to deal with them. If youโve been following this blog for a while, you may already know my opinion about…
[Updates and corrections below original post.] In The 2020s and Beyond I mentioned that โblack swansโ (unpredictable, extreme events) can seriously mess up any prediction. In that article I sketched…
(This is part 7 in the No Time for Utopia series.) The main guiding principle of this series is a rejection of โideal theoryโ, that is, of idealizations and unwarranted…
(This is part 3 in the No Time for Utopia series.) In On the Fragility of Civilization, I argued that due to the slowly compounding effects of an increasing number…
(This is part 2 in the No Time for Utopia series.) Doom has always been a major attraction for some, perhaps even many people. There are whole subgenres of extreme…
In 2009 Rolling Stone published an article by Matt Taibbi about Goldman Sachs. Taibbi writes: โThe worldโs most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face…