A real society comprises hundreds of millions of social beings, each with a trillion-synapse brain, who pursue their well-being while affecting the well-being of others in complex networks with massive positive and negative externalities, many of them historically unprecedented. It is bound to defy any simple narrative of what will happen under a … | Steven Pinker Continue reading A Rational Approach to Politics Is to Treat Societies as Ongoing Experiments Steven Pinker
For both the rich and the poor, life is dominated by an ever-growing current of problems, most of which seem to have no real and lasting solution. Clearly, we have not touched the deeper causes of our troubles. It is the main point of this book that the ultimate source of all these problems is in thought itself, the very thing of which our … | David Bohm Continue reading We Have Not Touched the Deeper Causes of Our Troubles David Bohm
In the book, Liars and Outliers, Bruce Schneier examines the role of trust in enabling healthy, functioning societies. Schneier argues that some level of trust is essential for large-scale social coordination and cooperation. Without trust, societies cannot thrive, and individuals are forced to avoid interactions or spend heavily on protection from abuse and cheating. The Continue reading Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust That Society Needs to Thrive by Bruce Schneier (2012)
Description This is an article on Societal Knowledge Management that looks at the future of Knowledge Management. I wrote it for the Henley Forum and it was published in May 2021. It draws on and is linked to much of the material in this blook. Author David Gurteen Article Size and Structure of Freely Forming Continue reading Societal Knowledge Management David Gurteen (2021)
Our public interactions have become more and more like having an argument with a spouse. Conflict can’t be avoided in our public lives any more than we can avoid conflict with people we love. One of the great strengths of our society is that we can express these conflicts openly. But just as spouses have to learn ways of settling their differences without inflicting real damage on each other, so … | Deborah Tannen Continue reading Public Discourse Is Like Having a Fight Deborah Tannen
As a society, we have come to a point where people too often treat one another as objects and opportunities, rather than as fellow human beings. Respecting one another as individuals, or not doing so, seriously impacts the future for all of us. | Gail Pursell Elliott Continue reading The Importance of Respect in Society Gail Pursell Elliott
If a chimpanzee ventures into the territory of a different group, it will almost certainly be killed. But a New Yorker can fly to Los Angeles–or Borneo–with very little fear. Psychologists have done little to explain this: for years, they have held that our biology puts a hard upper limit–about 150 people–on the size of Continue reading The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall by Mark W. Moffett (2019)
Our society is dangerously polarised. We don’t listen to each other. Too many of us are separating into ideological tribes. This has to stop. The future of our democracy depends on it. This is what the Munk Debates is all about. Opening minds to different points of view. Challenging groupthink. Debating controversial issues with rigour and honesty. | Munk Debates Continue reading Our Society Is Dangerously Polarised Munk Debates
Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich, first published in 1971 and reissued in 2000, is a seminal critique of the modern education system. Illich argues that institutionalized schooling is counterproductive to genuine learning and perpetuates social inequalities. Here are the key points of his argument: 1. Critique of Institutionalized Education Illich contends that schools have become Continue reading Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich (2000)
AustraliaAustriaBrazilCanadaChinaCzech RepublicEgyptFranceGermanyGlobalIndiaItalyJapanMexicoNetherlandsPolandSaudia ArabiaSingaporeSpainTurkeyUAEUnited KingdomUnited States As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission when you purchase a book via this site. The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity The Discussion Book: 50 Great Ways to Get People Talking Tags: global society (21) | voice (5)Google Web Search Photo Credits: Midjourney (Public Continue reading The De-voicing of Society: Why We Don’t Talk to Each Other Anymore by John L. Locke
To discredit someone means to cause them to lose people’s respect or trust. We acquire most of our knowledge by accepting the beliefs of those people or institutions we trust, so discrediting authority figures or institutions is one of the most effective, though immoral, ways of opposing an idea. In practicing Conversational Leadership, we should always strive to argue constructively against an … Continue reading Discrediting People ** Cause them to lose the respect or trust of others
The wisdom of crowds is the concept that large groups of people are collectively smarter than individuals regarding problem-solving, decision-making, and predicting. However, the method can be improved with the wisdom of crowds of crowds. Continue reading Wisdom of Crowds of Crowds Crowds within a crowd outperform ‘wisdom of the crowd’
