The myth of a winning personality
Before we tell people that they should cultivate a winning personality, we have to demonstrate to them that winning is more than just a distant possibility.
ReadTag: Ethics
Information as inaction
To be truly empowered we need both to better understand the information we are given, and to realise that the biggest abuses of information concern how it is used, not how it is gathered.
ReadAre we optimists or pessimists?
Gloom is easily mistaken for intellectual depth. Have you ever seen a photo of a smiling existentialist?
ReadThe black tie that binds
Like most dress codes worldwide, the evening suit is a symbol of elitism and exclusion. When people are required to put on special dress, you don’t need to be an anthropologist to recognise that it is designed to emphasise the difference in status between those who wear it and those who do not.
ReadShould we ever delay the inevitable?
In the 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen’s character Mickey has a moment of existential angst in Central Park. “Look at these people jogging,” he says, “trying to stave off the inevitable decay of the body.” You might dismiss this as the morose musing of a depressive. But I think that when most people watch the film, they can see Mickey has a point…
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