unintended consequences

Inherent Unpredictability

I have written before about ‘unintended consequences’. Another aspect to this is the inherent unpredictability of the future and the (current) unknowability of the future consequences of our actions. For example, might it be that if the Stonewall riots had never happened, that history may have unfolded in a different way where gay rights, and… Continue reading Inherent Unpredictability

Unintended Consequences in History

Almost two thousand years ago, Julius Caesar appointed himself as dictator for life and was subsequently assassinated by the Roman Senate whose intention was to save the Roman Republic and its system of democracy. The unintended outcome was the end of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Empire, ruled by an Emperor… Continue reading Unintended Consequences in History

The road to Hell

The culture wars of the last few years seem to have calmed down post-pandemic. Maybe people are more focussed on a return to the new normal than on virtue signalling on social media. Big business like the US movie industry has also realised that woke movies do not make much money. Nonetheless I would like… Continue reading The road to Hell

China became more liberal during the years after Mao, rapidly developing economically, transferring control away from the state in some areas and transitioning towards a market economy. Then there were the Tiananmen Square protests, the protests famously ending violently. In the years since those events, and maybe as a direct consequence, China has reversed some… Continue reading Unintended Consequences

unintended consequences of gender neutral pronouns

Though the use of a wider range of personal pronouns is putatively more inclusive, why then is it so divisive? Has this recent trend made the world better or worse?