A former student, now an adult, stopped by and gave me a copy of of On Creativity by the late and controversial quantum physicist David Bohm. Thumbing through quickly, On Creativity had an air of consilience to it that I think I will find enjoyable, though I am not sure I will agree with Bohm’s conceptions of thought and mind. At least, the book should challenge some of my preconceived opinions.
Thus, making it useful.
[ by Charles Cameron -- crowdsourcing and ye olde fine line between genius and insanity revisited ]
.
.
Surowiecki should really have titled his book Extraordinary Popular Intuitions and the Wisdom of Crowds, no?
Via Shlok, cutting edge thinker, strategist and amigo John Robb has launched a new site, add it to your daily “must read” list or blogroll:
What Resilient Communities .com does
How do you take control of your life in an increasingly unstable world?
- Decide. Right now, your success is akin a cork on an increasingly turbulent ocean. Change that. Make the decision to take control of your future. This decision requires a change in mindset and perspective.
- Act. Take steps to actively reduce your dependencies and gain degrees of freedom. Learn how to produce what you need at a level that meets or exceeds what you currently buy. Learn how to make an income either locally or online in a way that has meaning and substance.
- Align. Network with other people that want control and meaning in their lives too. Learn how to build or join online networks with the people who have the expertise to help you become resilient and/or share similar goals. Learn how to raise capital from that community to fund projects — or — how to build the online network required to design and build useful new products or services.
- Community. Build, join, or move to a local community that’s dedicated to building a resilient future. A community that isn’t dependent on a global system run amok or vulnerable to disruptions. A community that you can trust. A community that rewards your contribution with reciprocal loyalty. Learn how to form a community that’s worth living in and how to propel that community into a stable, bountiful future.
The goal of this site is to help you with every step along that path.
I have a deadline to meet this week for a publisher, so my posts are going to be short and to the point.
Just received the above title as a gift from my father-in-law. Having read Kershaw’s 2 volume bio of Hitler, as a historian, he merits the accolade “critically acclaimed” and is one of number that I direct students to read who express an interest in WWII or the history of the Third Reich. Here Kershaw explores the Nazi Gotterdammerung of 1944-45; a worthwhile lesson for those who hold supreme confidence in the ultimate rationality of states in existential matters of war and peace.
That Hitler had been unfathomable to the blinkered and idealistic Neville Chamberlain seems all too comprehensible, but that the Fuhrer also took in the wily, Georgian monster who ruled of the USSR is less so – until you grasp Hitler’s obsession with triumph or death. In matters of war the difference between the 20th century’s greatest dictators was that Josef Stalin miscalculated on small stakes while Adolf Hitler gambled for the pot.
Recklessly.
Occasional ZP commenter and SWJ Editor and author Major Mike Few passes the editorial torch to Major Peter J. Munson, USMC author, blogger and occasional ZP commenter:
Though a change, it is not one of command. Peter Munson has replaced Mike Few as our editor. Mike took SWJ to a new level we only hoped to attain and Peter’s vision will ensure we stay on that upward climb. Many thanks to both as we keep on, keepin’ on.
Carl Prine- Small Wars Journal Change of Command
I’m not sure what this particular change of command entails – perhaps the ceremonial exchange of a mouse pad, followed by light refreshments and the appearance of some brown-nosing First Sergeant to congratulate both of them excessively, all done online of course – but I thought it would be nice to highlight some of the intellectual firepower they expended here as we wish them well.
We’ll start with Few who spent his sentence at SWJ largely making it relevant again after it fell into a fat vat of who gives a **** following the so-called “Surge” in Iraq. Because Munson also suffers no fools, he’ll take on SWJ’s apparently unceasing flood of submissions with a well-sharpened pencil and a stubby eraser.
Best replacement possible.
In my first post here, I would like to thank Dave Dillege and Bill Nagle for taking me on as editor of the Journal and for helping to start getting me snapped in to my new duties. In the next week, I will be working through the pending submissions and figuring out the website, so bear with me as I get up to speed. I hope to carry on the great work that Mike Few did during his tenure as editor, getting relevant and timely content to you, the reader. More to follow this week as I get to work.
Hearty congratulations to Peter and all of us here hope that we will continue to see Mike in a larger role of author at SWJ and elsewhere!
Zenpundit is a blog dedicated to exploring the intersections of foreign policy, history, military theory, national security,strategic thinking, futurism, cognition and a number of other esoteric pursuits.
Customized Web Site & Blog Design
