… with very few exceptions, man-made technologies evolve from previous man-made technologies and are not invented from scratch. This is a key characteristic with evolutionary… Read More »Matt Ridley on the Wright Brothers: innovation is gradual
What is tacit knowledge? Wikipedia says, “Tacit knowledge or implicit knowledge (as opposed to formal, codified or explicit knowledge) is the kind of knowledge that… Read More »Tacit knowledge
Great! Was it any good? What are you going to do to make your best get better? This might be about: Improving concrete skills Working… Read More »“I did my best.”
Because you’re waiting for their help, but they don’t make time; Or don’t do what they say they’ll do; Or do it badly; Or can’t… Read More »If someone keeps letting you down
Another aspect of the limits of knowledge is the contingent nature of most of what we know: Truth is usually* truth-in-context. A pair of non-parallel… Read More »Educated (11): Truth in context
An education should give us an awareness of the limits of knowledge. Most obviously: That there are things that we (humans) don’t understand; That some… Read More »Educated (10): Limits to knowledge
You’re probably familiar with the old saw “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a… Read More »Educated (9): taxonomy and the fruits of knowledge
“Educated” (past tense) isn’t a thing. It’s a lifelong gift, one that only turns into a sentence if you try to give it a full… Read More »Educated (8): unfinished business
If you can raise your children to like and believe in themselves, and to be interested in life and other people, the rest is detail.… Read More »Educated (7): you, life and other people
Schopenhauer had quite a lot to say about reading. He liked good books, but was highly skeptical of most books, and especially of contemporary ones.… Read More »Schopenhauer on reading yourself stupid