Monthly Archives: January 2007

The Mainstream Media Model

Photo: Alberta tar sands, Melina Mara, Washington Post A recent survey suggests Canadians now think the environment is the most pressing issue facing us ñ ahead, for the first time, of health, education, the economy and unemployment. This finding follows … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 4 Comments

Finding Our Way Home

Bird of Paradise, photo from ATPM.comWe are all dislocated people. We were not meant to live in cities, in climates that our naked bodies are not suited to, in lands where finding wild and healthy food isn’t easy and delightful. … Continue reading

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment

Decision-Making: Weighing the Evidence

Early in The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki makes this statement about decision-making: “There is no evidence that one can become expert in something as broad as decision-making, policy, or strategy…or perhaps even management. … Large groups of diverse individuals … Continue reading

Posted in Working Smarter | 1 Comment

Sunday Open Thread – January 28, 2007

What I’m planning on writing about soon: Experience-Based Decision Making: It seems an obvious choice, until you understand why the alternatives hold sway. Finding & Working With Others to Save the World: Ways to enable billions to sync with us, … Continue reading

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 5 Comments

Saturday Links for the Week – January 27, 2007

Ink and watercolour by fellow Salon blogger Susan HalesPreparing for Civilization’s End Wild Food: A BBC program tells you how to find wild edibles in your own neighbourhood. Thanks to Andrew Campbell for the link. Learning Self-Sufficiency: India’s Barefoot College … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 2 Comments

Addictions

The major media are buzzing again with concerns about the extent of gambling addiction, especially among young people. Estimates are that about 4% of gamblers (between 0.5 and 1.0% of the adult population) are ‘addicted’ to gambling, compulsive to the … Continue reading

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 5 Comments

Unlearning Helplessness

Malcolm Gladwell wrote an extraordinary piece in the New Yorker on Learned Helplessness a couple of years ago, and it remains one of his most important articles. What is Learned Helplessness? It’s the exaggerated feeling of lack of control, of … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 4 Comments

How to Be Good (To Yourself)

Recently a couple of people have written me that they’re feeling defeated, and about ready to give up, and asked what keeps me going. I’m less depressed now than I have been in years, and I think it’s largely because … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch | 7 Comments

Preparing for an Emergency: What We Should (But Probably Won’t) Do

The aftermath of Hurricane Stan, Guatemala, 2005What would you do if an emergency ñ a pandemic, earthquake, or building/bridge collapse, happened where you were at 17:00 tomorrow? Chances are, you wouldn’t be prepared. You wouldn’t even know what to do. … Continue reading

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 5 Comments

Art as Story

Artwork from Kate Bush CD A Sky of Honey, via Andrew Campbell In an article last week, I described Jungís four orientations for learning, understanding and seeing the world: sensual (through the senses), emotional (through the heart), intellectual (through the … Continue reading

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments