The unexamined life is not worth living — Socrates Do you ever think about this quote? There are probably plenty of people who disagree with Socrates, but I, for one, do not. It seems natural, even innate, to want to make the most of one’s life. To have a good life seems…
Tag: ecology
A Comprehensive Approach to Understanding Our Biosphere
Would our ancestors be proud of us? When I think of the problems humans face today: suffering, anxiety, inequality, social justice issues, war, pollution . . . I try to put things in an evolutionary context. On the one hand, we have come so far. We have created many wonderful ‘science’, ‘technology’, and…
Personal Growth as a Model for Society
Much of our lives seem haphazard and disorganized. Sometimes doing our best simply means being able to get out of bed and go through the motions. As we gain awareness we learn how to better navigate life’s obstacles. We learn to see the obstacles as the way. It is possible…
Water is Vital to Being
We can’t live without water. It comprises most of our bodies and planet. Water does so many cool things. Water is pretty weird. Even though particle physics tells us we are mostly space, we seem to be mostly water. We can’t live very long without it and it surrounds us…
Growing Smaller is a Worthy Goal
I used to own a brewery. In our rural location and with our small customer pool, we struggled to be profitable. My partners and I disagreed about how to best approach profitability. One had an MBA and swore by the neo-capitalist, Econ 101 approach to maximizing revenues. Following this popular approach,…
Are all Leaders Narcissists? (KEW Episode 124)
The words ‘leader’ and ‘narcissist’ bug me. I think these two words are overused. I also don’t think we really know what they mean anymore. Maybe we never did. Maybe the words have been usurped by the very people defined by them. Let’s start with leadership. What is this, exactly?…
Systems Thinking ( KEW Episode 122)
While this is not a definitive treatise on Systems Thinking, I wanted to talk a bit about this topic as it is relevant to many of my posts. People tell me that out-of-the-box thinking is atypical. Most people seem to think of the world in simplified, or at least minimized…
Let’s Talk About Sex Part 2 (KEW Episode 118)
In part 1 of this series, I introduced the difference between asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is basically mitosis or simple cell division. This leaves little room for variation. Evolution and change are slow, and your kids are basically clones of you. With the onset and ultimate domination…
Does Technology Alleviate Human Suffering? KEW 113
Are you a technologist? Do you think tech is going to solve all of our human problems? Do you see science, health advances, nuclear tech or some other human invention as being our salvation? Maybe you don’t even see problems around us. I find it hard to believe that everyone,…
On the Shoulders of Giants. KEW Episode 112
I recently came upon a podcast by a fella named Nate Hagens. The podcast, and Nate’s piece de resistance is called The Great Simplification and his ideas center around the future of humans on Earth. The idea behind The Great Simplification is that humans will soon run out of energy…