Peter Gordon's Blog

 The U.S. Bill of Rights is glorious and is supposed to protect us from majority rule. But the Founders did not know about social media and ...

Margaret Heffernan writes beautifully and wisely. "While we can never render complexity simple, we could embrace it as an adventure, c...

MLK's I Have Dream speech was beguiling in many ways. But I heard a Stokely Carmichael speech shortly thereafter and felt deflated. Di...

From Wikipedia: “Executive Order 10988 is a United States presidential executive order issued by President John F. Kennedy on January 17,...

Tribalism is natural and often hideous. But over many years, it had been tamed – to some extent. Every group has historical grievance...

In the time of pandemic, changes that had been underway speed up. People adapt and change a little faster, technology adapts and changes fa...

Economists tell students and others that there are "needs" and "wants". And the distinction is subjective and personal ...

Palisades Park in Santa Monica has long been my favorite weekend escape. Many others feel the same way. It is a pleasant place for walks...

   -- Black swans can happen anytime, anywhere. 2 --  Initial responses are inevitably confused. But trial-and-error learning happ...

The 10 richest men of all time Mansa Musa   (1280-1337, king of the Mali empire) wealth indescribable Augustus Caesar   (63 BC-14 AD, R...

I never took the Stanford Marshmallow test but presume that I am patient.  The current issue of The Economist notes that transportation i...

Watching last night's State of the Union was not easy. With cameras on and the nation watching, preening and pandering were on full dis...

It's election season and we see sides of human nature that are not pretty. Seeking votes, candidates make promises they cannot keep. Vo...

The year-end issue of The Economist includes a nice essay on planning. “Beware of the Borg” (title in print edition). Everyone plans; p...