Ed Dowding
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Dowding’s Law: “The United States is such an outlier that it should not be used as a normative data-point.”

“The United States is such an outlier that it can no longer be used as a normative data-point for Western civilisation.” America now is just weird. As such comparisons with America and the rest of the West don’t shed much light. The USA shows what happens after positive feedback loops are left unchecked, but if ...

What open source hardware do we need next?

Now the world’s engineers have brilliantly created thousands of designs for open source ventilators (bringing the cost down by 2 orders or magnitude), it begs the question: What machines should we tackle next? What’s important, expensive, and public good? NB before we begin the list, hat tip to the Global Village Construction Set which has ...

Stop the domino effect concept for business solution and interve

Civilisation Continuity Planning

I was thinking about how governments respond to ‘surge capacity’ issues like this.  Part of the reason they don’t drill for BIG things as well as they could is that they’re TOO complex. So rather than work out and maintain relationships with tonnes of organisations which you’re ‘very unlikely’ to  need, you create emergency laws ...

Love: is it the absence of fear?

I’ve struggled with the word ‘love’ since forever. A word which can describe a feeling for which you will give your all, and then describe how you feel about chocolate ice-cream is too vague to be useful. As a word is seems to exist at the far end of many continuums, and change in relation ...

Things I’ve been reading (March 2018 – now)

I meant to make this weekly but realised I wasn’t reading enough each week. In the August inbox cleanse, here are some of the more interesting articles I’ve read in the last 18 months. Bold = more interesting. Review of blockchain consensus mechanisms Future of HQ Trivia Relationship questions for everyone 109 Mental models for ...

Begin.

The bank of the far shore is beautiful, but the turbulent river hides all but a few stepping stones. Courage. More will appear as you move. Ed Dowding, 18 June 2013

Protected: Another referendum on Europe won’t solve the problems we all feel. It’s time to create a better democracy.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Things customer service people should never say: “I’d suggest posting this in the Ideas Forum”

If you’re reading this there’s a strong chance you’re a customer service operative. We’ll have been speaking about how to solve a challenge I’m trying to solve with your product. During our conversation I’ll have explained my situation, and asked for your help in case I just can’t find the feature. We will have discovered ...

I’ll make them wild.

Maybe,Thought the CreatorWho knew everythingExcept when To use a new line –Or a capital For that matter – MaybeWe are the Mink. CondemnedOn every pathway.Worked to the bone they canCreate things of durable beauty But if free, wont to untold savagery. The Mink strives. — https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/marauding-minks/

Putting the Green back in the Greenback – Evolving capitalism for the 21st century

This is taken from a comment I posted on facebook today. It was long so saving here for posterity. Capitalism has been brilliant. It’s delivered a lot of great things and has been a useful tool for organising the distribution of resources for hundreds of years.  But like many good ideas, it has reached its ...

137 years of climate anomolies

This climate visualization shows the temperature anomalies by country from 1880 through 2017, based on data from NASA. Data source: NASA GISAnimation via Washington Post

Some books I’ve enjoyed

Rather frequently people on facebook ask for book recommendations. Here are some I’ve read in the last few years which I’ve enjoyed. Matter Iain M. BanksRevolution Emmanuel Macron The Breakers Omnibus: Books and Prequel NovellaThe Power Naomi AldermanAfter On: A Novel of Silicon Valley Rob ReidThe Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam Douglas MurrayAll These ...

Monarch butterfly numbers fell by 86% last year alone

Monarch butterflies, whose numbers have already declined an estimated 97 percent since the 1980s, fell 86% last year alone in California. You can help butterflies by: – Don’t buy GMO food – the leading cause of their decline. (This is mainly for the Americans – there’s not a lot of GMO in use elsewhere.) Don’t ...

The Shepard Tone Economy

The economy depends a lot on the concept of growth. Infinite growth on a finite planet isn’t going to work. This is why humanity’s been trying to decouple growth from resource consumption. So the million-dollar question is: Can we have an economy which grows infinitely, but does so without actually expanding and consuming all the world’s ...

Podcasts I subscribe to

Full interactive list: https://lists.pocketcasts.com/84893224-ab54-4c7f-95b1-85116e7b638f CONTEMPORARY, WITH ANALYSIS The Economist: A word with The Economist: Editor’s Picks The Economist Radio (All audio) FT World Weekly FT News in Focus FT Big Read Common Sense with Dan Carlin The CSIS Podcast Edgelands London School of Economics: Public lectures and events The Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy Podcast ...

The lessons from suffering

“From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time ...

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal;nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” — Thomas Jefferson

Forging a sense of collective identity and finding common values is vital.

“Mass social movements based on coalitions of a broad range of groups will be needed to drive political support as individual issue groups are not strong enough on their own. Forging a sense of collective identity and finding common values is vital.” — Zero Carbon Britain

A Tragedy of the Commons

“The fears of embracing digital democracy and how to overcome them” — or  — “How I learned to stop worrying and love democracy” “There is a mass of sense lying in a dormant state which good government should quietly harness” — Thomas Paine, 1791 What would you do if you could redesign Government for a ...

Anybody can become angry – that is easy

To recall before updating your status, whether IRL or in conversation: Anybody can become angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy. ...