Category: <span>General Irrelevance</span>

A king can defend a castle. Defending an economy is another matter entirely. In the previous article, we looked at why kingdoms developed standing armies. Soldiers protected borders, defended cities, and responded to invasions. That was difficult enough. Then trade began changing everything. The moment two towns started exchanging goods on a regular basis, something…

When most people hear the phrase industrial complex, they picture modern factories, defense contractors, corporate headquarters, and government agencies. That’s understandable. But the pattern itself is much older than the Industrial Revolution. Long before corporations issued stock or governments awarded billion-dollar contracts, kings were facing exactly the same organizational problem. How do you protect what…

One of the biggest mistakes people make when discussing large institutions is assuming that coordinated results require coordinated planning. They don’t. That’s where I think George Carlin had one of his sharper observations. He pointed out that you don’t need a formal conspiracy when people’s interests naturally converge. Think about that for a minute. A…

Every few years, somebody brings up President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s warning about the military-industrial complex. Almost immediately, the conversation goes off the rails. One side starts talking about secret meetings, hidden agendas, and elaborate conspiracies. The other side dismisses the entire discussion because they hear the word “conspiracy” and assume nothing worthwhile can come from…

One of the funniest things about working multiple gigs is how quickly people assume that every skill you have comes bundled together. Nope. That’s a different billable code. I drive rideshare. That means my job is to get you from Point A to Point B safely and efficiently. If we have a great conversation along…

Every once in a while, you get one of those emails that makes you stop and laugh. Mine started with the familiar pitch: ChatGPT isn’t a magic wand. Are you struggling to get good results? Let me show you the right way. No thanks. Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t have a problem with…

Sometimes the best fan theories aren’t the ones that are true—they’re the ones that are just scientifically plausible enough to make an astrophysicist sigh. Take the movie Paul. Here’s the completely ridiculous theory: Paul didn’t just help Steven Spielberg make Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He used it as an emergency beacon. The famous…

There is something about these gig apps and the way they keep trying to get their hands around the money after the work is already done. You drive the miles.You burn the gas.You put wear on the car.You take the risk.You deal with the passengers, the deliveries, the traffic, the weather, the parking lots, the…