Post 1 - the beginning


Hey,

  So for my first post, I thought I should start by reflecting on why we—or at least I—are doing this. I’m a policy person. I like starting with what problem I’m trying to solve. There are far too many solutions in the world that don’t have a problem to solve (I’m looking at you, Bitcoin). So, what problem is this blog trying to solve?

The world is such a noisy and complicated place: there’s a constant flow of information, whether it’s at work, from social media, or Netflix. That makes for a lot of headlines, but I’m not sure there are that many trendlines. I’m hoping we can use this blog to think about what’s really important. How should we be thinking about and reacting to things like climate change, demographic shifts, automation, artificial intelligence, populism, the rise of China, trade wars, inequality, migration, and social media? Do those things matter, and if so how much? I’m not sure I can always tell what’s important in this world of ours, and even when I can I don’t think I know what I should be doing about it.

We can open with one post per week each, and in a month or two I think we should see where we are and how it’s going. If well, maybe we think about setting up our own domain and spending some money: if we’ve both fallen off the wagon, or run out of things we want to say, then I guess we should stop, or at least pivot. It’s an experiment, and I’m always keen to experiment with new things.

Plus, I think it will be a fun way to commit to writing back and forth! Both of us are busy, and having a structured commitment to write to each other once a week seems like a nice way to stay in touch. It’s too easy to fall out of touch with old friends, especially when they don’t live nearby, and yet the research is very clear that it is friends that can make or break happiness. 

So, that’s what I have in mind. To start, I’m guessing quality will be terrible, but if we can talk about interesting things, understand them better, and maybe even prompt some action on our parts, that will be a win.

Anon

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