There is a tradeoff between intensity and extensity. The specialist is a believer in intensity, he gains his advantage by knowing something that no one else knows. The generalist is a believer in extensity, he gains advantage by making multiple bets. The specialist places more value on his own rationality, the generalist places more value … Read more
If we assume that World War 2 was the most destructive event in history, it doesn’t tell us anything about the trends of in war and peace. Pinker rejects that epochs of war are cyclical (a common suggestion) or Toynbee’s suggestion that WWII was a step in an escalating staircase. Like many depressing prospects, both … Read more
A remarkable transformation in history happened in most of the world – capital punishment was abolished, and governments used less violence against its subjects. Slavery was outlawed and people lost their thirst for cruelty. This occurred between the 17th and 18th Centuries, beginning in the Age of Reason, and ending with the Enlightenment. Some this … Read more
There are less homicides today among unrelated men. But there has not been as much decline in violence within families (women or kin). Manuals such as Everyday Etiquette and Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior used to be serious sources of moral conduct. Erasmus, one of the great foudners of modernity, wrote an etiquette … Read more
In the Leviathan, Hobbes explains the logic of violence in a fewer than a hundred words (as good as any explanation you can find today). So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory. The first maketh men invade for gain; the second, for … Read more
Pinker starts with pointing a hypocrisy that exists across all religions, but in particular, Christianity. Modern day Christians pay lip service to the Bible as their moral guide, but their morality really comes from other sources. The saints that are celebrated in Christianity all died in gruesome ways. They went through extreme forms of torture … Read more
“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” The quote is from a post-apocalyptic novel called “Those Who Remain” by the author G. Michael Hopf. One could be tempted to say that things must be this way – it is the circle of life. If such a cycle did not … Read more
In simple situations, a physical object will follow the path of least resistance, among a set of alternative paths. The way in which water flows is an example. A similar idea is the “principle of least effort” which applies to human behavior.
The Secret of Long Life Lead a good life. Two things bring life speedily to an end: folly and immorality. Some lose their life because they have not the intelligence to keep it, others because they have not the will. Just as virtue is its own reward, so is vice its own punishment. He who … Read more
In Acting or Refraining, weigh your Luck. More depends on that than on noticing your temperament. If he is a fool who at forty applies to Hippocrates for health, still more is he onewho then first applies to Seneca for wisdom. It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide yourluck even … Read more