We are on the homestretch of a two-year study of the STEM talent pipeline in the US, including both K-12 and higher education. We are formulating our final recommendations. It would premature to present them. However, it may be valuable to relate a range of observations of the “system” of education in the US. Considering […]
What are reasonable aspirations for a human-centered energy system? In Beyond Quick Fixes (Oxford, 2024), I propose a ten-year, multi-stage plan to transform the energy system in the US. The plan includes five elements: Starting Point (Status Quo): Unacceptable emission levels Baseline Initial Success: Emission limitations Leveraging Baseline: Renewables, including nuclear Innovative Leaps: Storage & […]
Should we meet on Google, Teams or Zoom? Do you have access to a Google drive, or Box, or the Cloud? Are you on Windows or Mac? Which version of Windows or the Mac OS? Which version of Chrome, Explorer or Safari are you using? These questions are akin to asking me which cell phone […]
We have of late experienced an accelerating infodemic of misinformation and disinformation. The former relates to erroneous information that is forwarded without the sender realizing it is erroneous. The latter concerns information that is intended to deceive. In this post, I highlight a reading list of a dozen sources that, in effect, provide a short […]
Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, now Meta, and Elon Musk at Twitter are in the process of destroying the value created by their formerly immensely successful enterprises. A recent Economist (November 3rd) outlines their misadventures, arguing that their conglomerative aspirations have set the stage for overreach. Zuckerberg is trying to move beyond the original vision, while […]
Emily 2.0 has been rapidly evolving. The next release will be my digital twin, hence it will be renamed Bill 3.0. The lovely young woman that embodied Emily’s persona will be replaced with the grumpy old man that is me. This is truly unfortunate but the twin construct will not otherwise work. Bill 3.0 will […]
There are two long-standing debates in economics that fundamentally affect how one views the challenges our society faces. The two sides of the first debate are often associated with Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman on one side and John Maynard Keynes and Karl Polanyi on the other. Wapshott (2011) and Delong (2022) elaborate this debate […]
After eight years, I finally upgraded my iPhone 6 to an iPhone SE, the slim traditional version of the iPhone 13. I still have my iPhone 1, by the way, from 2007. The expanded capabilities of this new digital device enabled a major upgrade of my cognitive assistant, Emily, who I introduced in my blog […]
It seems that everyone in the country, from both the right and left, feels that the US is headed in bad directions. The Supreme Court seems totally committed to States Rights as envisioned in the early 19th century. Each state can make its own decisions on abortion, the environment, sexual equality and voting rights. The […]
I recently read Serhii Plokhy’s Atoms & Ashes (Norton, 2022), a chronicle of six nuclear disasters over several decades in America, England, Japan, and Russia, three in the military and three in electric utilities. In all six cases, the consequences of the disaster were much worse than expected and governments did their best to cover […]
I recently read Dennis Duncan’s Index, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age (Norton, 2022). He provides a wonderful chronicle of the emergence of various common elements of books, and a glimpse into the notion of standards. Manuscripts were originally written in scrolls, so just one very long […]
The time that I can devote to reading has soared over the past two years. I spend much less time getting to and from meetings – typically zero. Here are my four favorite books of the past two months. I highly recommend them. Top of the list is Andy Norman’s Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, […]
Recent experiences have caused me to think about contrasts among science, technology, business and policy programs in academia. I have intensely interacted with these programs at over 50 universities in North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. My sense is that academia is an amalgam of many intellectual cultures, which do not dovetail […]
My intellectual path for well over five decades has been dominated by science and technology, influenced along the way by behavioral and social sciences, and more recently economics, politics and history. Thus, I have become increasingly interdisciplinary. However, the epistemological threads have all been dominated by the idea of evidence-based reasoning. What about the musical […]
The Life of the Automobile by Steven Parissenien (2014, Thomas Dunne Books) presents a panorama of automotive invention and innovation over the past 150 years. There have been many hits, for example, Ford’s Model T, Mustang and Taurus; GM’s ’55 Chevy, GTO, and Escalade; VW’s Beetle and Golf, and Citroen’s 2CV and DS. The number […]
I have been involved in a variety of engagements with automotive companies over the past three decades. These companies’ abilities to understand marketplace desires 3-4 years in advance is a key element of success. There are several compelling examples of getting this right and numerous instances of getting it wrong. Beyond uncertainties about customers’ future […]
Most organizations and people like to think that everything is under control, proceeding as planned, and the sought outcomes will be realized. If anyone suggests otherwise, they will be chastised for not being team players, perhaps for having bad attitudes, or quite simply for being outright wrong. Unpopular positions are seldom socially acceptable in organizations. […]
It’s a great idea, but can we do it? Can we make it happen? We are going to boil the oceans and then provide everybody gourmet seafood dinners. Ok for those who eat seafood, but how is this going to be accomplished? Making the elements of a solution happen – executing — tends to be […]
Consider two surprises for General Motors (GM) and how they reacted, initially poorly but later quite successively. Both illustrations involved Ford surprising GM. The first led to a major failure and the second to a substantial success. Indeed, failures to achieve corporate objectives are quite common in the automobile industry. Not every vehicle is a […]
There are times when organizations are performing excellently but, despite their confidence, their futures are not bright. Kodak and Polaroid dominated the film and instant photography industries, respectively. My mother inherited a quantity of Kodak stock in the 1930s. It provided generous returns for several decades. People would always seek “Kodak moments” and needed a […]
2-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security to your account to prevent someone from logging in, even if they have your password. This extra security measure requires you to verify your identity using a randomized multi-digit code that your service provider texts to you each time that you attempt to log in. Alternatively, they […]
I am in the middle of reading Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom Through the Ages (Princeton University Press, 2021) by Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod. This delightful volume provides an entertaining history of taxation, which they define as “the extraction of resources by coercive rulers.” This got me thinking about taxation in […]
Let’s say technology innovations relevant to your enterprise happen every N years. Further, it takes you M years to decide to adopt an innovation and once adopted the innovation is sustained for L years. To remain at the forefront, you need at most M = 1 and L = 1. That way, you will always […]
