There is a difference between minimalism and utilitarianism. The difference is between removing everything that is unnecessary and stoping before you have removed too much. That one proverbial straw that broke the camel's back - or the one removed detail that turned elegance into homogenous banality. The distinction between functional form and the function without … Continue reading On minimalism Vs Utilitarianism
Tag: futures
The herasy of pricing that which is invaluable
Let’s talk about capitalism. Everyone has an opinion on it. Definitions, of course, vary according to personal agendas; its merits (or lack thereof) are even more hotly contented depending on what quadrant of the Nolan political compass the subject leans towards. Today, however, I want to focus on the future of capitalism, specifically the near … Continue reading The herasy of pricing that which is invaluable
Protection Rackets
"But there was more to it than that. As the Amazing Maurice said, it was just a story about people and rats. And the difficult part of it was deciding who the people were, and who were the rats." ~ The Amazing Maurice I can't help noticing the protection rackets all around us at the … Continue reading Protection Rackets
grève du zèle
"Evil is when you treat people as things" ~ Granny Weatherwax A modern tragedy: Trust no one, do not be trusted. Treat people as things, get treated as a thing. We are all part of the problem. Or... we could focus on adding value and valuing each other as ends and not as means. Break … Continue reading grève du zèle
Very Personal Futures
People are just waking up to the fact that the same cryptographic game theory and technology involved in creating and securing the digital scarcity and ownership immutability that make cryptocurrencies, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) of digital goods and services (from gifs and articles to tracks and tweets) valuable and tradable, can also be used to mint … Continue reading Very Personal Futures
Why Optimism Makes People Angry
Why does optimism make people angry? If you even mention the word in mixed company, not only do you get ridiculed and treated as though you are a little simple, it actually makes people angry. At you. But why is this? As a natural pessimist (I am terrible cynic) I have a few ideas. Pessimism, … Continue reading Why Optimism Makes People Angry
Control the Narrative, Control the World
Jim Morrison once said, “whoever controls the media, controls the mind”. Today the media that moves our minds and markets is increasingly digital, and contagious. Viral memes, in particular, are emerging as a new source of both wealth and power. The rapid rise of both NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), and their values, have cemented the financial … Continue reading Control the Narrative, Control the World
Assets to Liabilities
Demographic dividend, or demographic disaster? As India is about to overtake China as the world's most populous country, it's worth considering if holding that title is still the win it once was. Not so long ago, more people meant more growth, more productivity, more progress. Hence the term: demographic dividend. If your working age population … Continue reading Assets to Liabilities
Connecting the Dissapeared
Everywhere we look, people are disappearing. Disappearing into their bedrooms, into their phones, into the metaverse and out of their real lives. As life becomes more virtualised and more artificial, as our digital lives supersede our physical existence, as our stores of value - of both worldly financial wealth and social credit - become increasingly … Continue reading Connecting the Dissapeared
Africa is (literally) the future
Africa, the continent with the youngest population in the world, is very literally the future. More specially, South Africa, with its progressive constitution that lead the world in terms of dealing with questions around gender and race relations; and it’s early warnings around the limits of the social contract and the (now global) energy crunch, … Continue reading Africa is (literally) the future