Today's strategy+business article, A Continuous Quest for Economic Balance, discusses what countries must do to balance their economies. It starts, in its first sentence, revealing a bias by focusing on "what cracks the storm [the economic crisis] revealed in the foundations of national economies." I think there is a larger crack that appeared during the financial crisis, … [Read more...] about Economic Balance Can’t Come from Sovereign State Policy Makers
Political
The Strategy of Freedom in the Middle East
Scenarios help us use our imagination. I heard and read several commentators who said something along the lines of: "we would never have chosen Tunisia as the starting point for revolution. No one could have seen this coming" That is because we are not looking. We must pay attention to the world around us in deep and profound ways. We use our imagination too little when … [Read more...] about The Strategy of Freedom in the Middle East
Public Institution Planning and Budgets
Public Institution Planning and Budgets Planning for the future can seem like a waste of time when just keeping the lights on is a struggle. Budget cuts are hitting many public institutions, including schools, colleges and universities. The gut reaction is to put the future on hold and deal with the present. That approach has some major drawbacks. First, if you don’t have … [Read more...] about Public Institution Planning and Budgets
Science, Uncertainty and Being Right
The October 2010 Scientific American reports on an exclusive poll about trust in science. For the most part, people trust scientists, but not at the highest level, especially when it comes to things that non-scientists have personal experience with. At the low end of the trust rung were food safety, vitamins and supplements, genetically modified crops, pesticides, … [Read more...] about Science, Uncertainty and Being Right
First Pass: What’s Wrong with the Grand Challenges for Engineering
At the risk of committing more overthinking of the Grand Challenges for Engineering, I want to take a first pass at discussing what I think is wrong with them in a very specific way, and honing the list into something more grand. Here is the current list: Make solar energy economical Provide energy from fusion Develop carbon sequestration methods Manage the nitrogen … [Read more...] about First Pass: What’s Wrong with the Grand Challenges for Engineering
