How Risk is Changing
The world seems more dangerous today than it ever has before, but study after study shows that we’re safer now. Hans Rosling’s Factfulness, Matt Ridley’s Rational Optimist, and Steven Pinker’s The...
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Industry Evolution by Meteor Strike
Two recent developments in the world of comic books have lessons for all businesses in the age of digital transformation. From the “Big Story You Haven’t Noticed” department: this month, two things...
View ArticleMy 2022 in Books
There’s a special magic in reading books versus magazines, websites, emails, or newspapers. Here’s my journey across the dozens of books I read in 2022. If you’re looking for a good read, dive in!...
View ArticleRetro Futures: AI and Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics
Older sci fi can help us see the difference between where we are as a culture and where we thought we’d be. A look back at Isaac Asimov’s 1940s robot stories can help us make sense of AI today. Some...
View ArticleThe Start of the English Major
In the A.I. revolution, figuring out the contours of our human intelligence has never been more important. Who is best equipped to do this work? I give keynote addresses all over the planet about...
View ArticleWhy You Should Read “Chokepoint Capitalism”
A new book explains how we got to our age of giant culture companies shaking down artists, why it matters to the rest of us, and what we can do about it. It baffles me that Rebecca Giblin and Cory...
View ArticleRetro Futures: “Redcrosse” and the view from 1997 and 2011 – Bonus
Yesterday, April 27, 2023 was when the plot of my 2011 near future dystopian novel began… what a weird feeling. I’ve written before about Retro Futures, by which I mean looking at how the future...
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My 2023 in Books
My annual journey across the dozens of books I read this year. If you’re looking for a good read (or things to avoid) then dive in! Good morning! This is the final Dispatch of the year, and I’m happy...
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Serendipity Engines
In commerce, there’s an incalculable difference between search and discovery. Discovery requires serendipity, and there’s no better source of serendipity than independent bookstores. Wednesday, I was...
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Emotional Truths that Aren’t True
Jonathan Haidt’s bestseller “The Anxious Generation” is a terrible book on which nobody should waste their money or attention. Image created using CHAT-GPT.* Last week I had the privilege and pleasure...
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