Two Books that Changed my Mind in 2020
2021 is the year to step away from the screen and burrow down with a few good books as we prepare for a slow start to the new year. Continue reading Two Books that Changed my Mind in 2020
Life at Level Three
I’m standing in the pissing rain on a cold October Sunday morning. The streets are empty. My socks are a little bit damp. I look across the road and see one fearless man braving the elements outside a coffee shop while squinting at the sports section of his soggy newspaper. I let out a laugh at the absurdity of the scene. In normal times this … Continue reading Life at Level Three
It’s Not About Chicken
Don’t get me wrong, I like chickens. As a child I loved visiting the farm and feeding the little chicks in their pen. I just don’t think when deliberating what’s at stake for the U.K in signing a post Brexit trade deal with the United States that poultry should be the focal point of debate. From Jeremy Corbyn to the BBC it seems everyone has … Continue reading It’s Not About Chicken
The Corporate Capture of Social Change
“If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change” Continue reading The Corporate Capture of Social Change
Why Technology Changes Who We Trust
Trust is the foundation of all human connections. From brief encounters to intimate relationships, it governs almost every interaction we have with each other. I trust my housemates not to go into my room without asking, I trust the bank to keep my money safe and I trust the pilot of my plane to fly safely to the destination. Rachel Botsman describes trust as “a confident … Continue reading Why Technology Changes Who We Trust
Identity Politics: Commonality or Common Enemy?
(Image: Patrick Record) From the Trans Rights Movement to the rise of the ‘White Right’, identity has become a powerful force in modern politics. The shift away from broad based party politics to a more tribal system divided along lines of race, gender and sexual orientation is generally described as the rise of Identity Politics. Peter Franklin has also labeled the phenomenon as “Cultural Marxism” – a … Continue reading Identity Politics: Commonality or Common Enemy?
“The truth is there are no races”
“The truth is that there are no races” Kwame Anthony Appiah controversially wrote in 1985 launching him into fame and notoriety among his professional peers. In this fascinating conversation between two of the most esteemed and provocative thinkers on racial identity, Appiah sits down with Professor Priya Gopal to unpack the philosophy of race, it’s historical development and why it’s not a ‘biological category.’ For … Continue reading “The truth is there are no races”
Do the benefits of artificial intelligence outweigh the risks?
The discussion around Artificial Intelligence (AI) can sound a lot like Brexit. It’s coming but we don’t know when. It could destroy jobs but it could create more. There’s even questions about sovereignty, democracy and taking back control. Yet even the prospect of a post Brexit Britain led by Boris “fuck business” Johnson doesn’t conjure the same level of collective anxiety as humanity’s precarious future … Continue reading Do the benefits of artificial intelligence outweigh the risks?
Why Fascism Is So Tempting
(Image: Sky News) Have we forgotten what fascism means? Today calling someone a “fascist” is more an insulting slur than a description of one’s political ideology. In a recent speech historian and author Yuval Noah Harari argued that too often is fascism confused with nationalism. Harari argues that nationalism has been one of the most benevolent ideologies in human history. Nations are communities built up … Continue reading Why Fascism Is So Tempting
Why News And The Internet Don’t Mix
(Image: Steve Cutts) The way in which we consume information determines how we interpret it. In his seminal work “Thinking, Fast and Slow” Daniel Kahneman, Nobel prize winning behavioural psychologist describes how two basic systems govern the way we think. We have a primal ‘system one’ way of thinking which is fast, impulsive and emotional. We also have a ‘system two’ form of thinking which is slow, deliberative … Continue reading Why News And The Internet Don’t Mix
