It is said that a brain‘s size positively correlates with its host‘s level of intelligence. The ability of human beings to use tools in very elaborate ways, to create art or to invent and tell stories to each others, seems to prove a certain supremacy over other creatures. As long as we won‘t have discovered supernatural life, humans regard themselves as being the pride of creation. Ok, then – all
Having enjoyed a few days of skiing in Italy, I was reminded of a pearl of wisdom by a ski instructor of my kids. After a downhill run, when discussing what to improve skiing, the instructor told my son: “Not the slope must change – it can’t – you must!” This simple statement by a veritable expert in this field (as opposed to my son’s father) had deeply impressed my
During winter, it sometimes snows in Germany, even in climate change-raddled 21st century. In the first weeks of January 2019, we are experiencing heavy snowfalls – a weather condition that results in a variety of effects, from the impossibility to bike to work, over flight cancellations or accidents. to snowball fights and deep powder skiing. Weather is a phenomenon beyond the reach of human beings. It is broadly predictable but
Yesterday over lunch, we discussed the libertarian notion of essentially getting rid of legacy complexity, such as legislation, regulation, etc. Some of the early proponents and creators of crypto currencies have expressed libertarian world views by trying to leave the monetary system of central banks and hand over the power of money creation to the people.
At school, I was never good in maths. At the university, I was interested in statistics, but only marginally. Honestly, I started tu learn about the beauty of maths many years later, when working with more intelligent people than me who understand computers and data, in general. After I started working on Blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies in 2014, I began to realise that some aspects of maths, such
A change agent is a person from inside or outside the organisation who helps an organisation transform itself by focusing on such matters as organisational effectiveness, improvement, and development. This is, what the dictionary says. For me, change agents are everywhere, and always behind the next corner. My behaviour could be defined as my actions based on several given different preconditions, such as my environment, my state of mind and
At the beginning of 2019, none of the new theories and labels for the era after postmodernism, which itself seems to have come to an end, have so far gained widespread acceptance. Post-postmodernism, trans-postmodernism, post-millennialism, pseudo-modernism. digimodernism or metamodernism are some of the attempts to find an appropriate label for the times we are living in. My suggestion is: Predecentralism. With predecentralism I mean an era before most of our
Speaking in your mother tongue doesn‘t stress you at all, while having a conversation in another language might result in hard mental work. Even if you are fluent, let‘s say, in french, it most probably requires a significant effort to produce the melodious timbre of a Parisian. Whereas we have internalized and synchronized our native languages with our thoughts, we have to systematically translate our thinking into foreign words. This
Today, I stumbled upon this interview with molecular-biologist-turned-buddhist-monk, Matthieu Ricard (in German). A few years ago, I listened to his famous Altruism and although my favorite way of meditation is not focusing on a specific topic, s.a. love, or altruism, but trying not to think at all, I’m absolutely convinced by his general approaci of altruism. In his interview he demonstrates that he’s a very practical person: referring to the
From the early days of capitalism, when from 1633 the Hollandische Mercurius referred to capitalists as the owners of capital, on to David Ricardo who, in his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation is seen as the one who actually coined the term capitalism, until today: the structure and behavior of the enterprise as the main capitalist entity, hasn’t changed that much. With the advent of blockchain technology, the evolution