2024 topics

“I feel I change my mind all the time. And I sort of feel that's your responsibility as a person, as a human being – to constantly be updating your positions on as many things as possible. And if you don't contradict yourself on a regular basis, then you're not thinking.”

― Malcolm Gladwell

The final blog of the year and I am looking forward to researching and writing about some topics in 2024 which I hope will spark debate and challenge.

1. Risk and uncertainty: Here I am developing a view that our attempts to precisely model some things, provides false comfort and creates more risk. Here we will also discuss what caution is and why we see so many examples of excessive caution.

2. Stories, analogies and mental models: This includes how we try and boil the world down to a basic idea, and how that might help and hinder us. This will include stories, models and analogies including how history is merely "based on a true story".

3. Wisdom, Morals and Values: What are they, how are they transmitted, the changes we are experiencing and how people can be nudged to follow (good) rules.

4. Democracy, elections and referenda: What are our political processes, elections, referenda and what is required for democracy to thrive. We will then go into what are politicians for? When should public opinion be considered? What is our personal responsibility? Why we should take notice of what China is doing with Social Media, gambling, education and property.

5. The decisions of our age: "Safely" benefitting from AI, how might the energy transition happen more slowly or quicker than we current plan, increasing longevity, the biggest personal decisions.  

6. What would an alternative school curriculum look like? Thinking here about generic skills such as problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, effective reading and writing, how to maturely make arguments and having difficult conversations.

7. The benefits of mentoring, counselling and otherwise getting a different perspective.

What topics are you most interested in? What other topics should I be researching?

I wish you all a wonderful end to 2023 and wish you a truth-seeking 2024.

Yours gratefully,

HS