Wagner Group arose out of Russia’s landscape of corruption, factionalism, and political fiefdoms. If similar conditions intensify in the West, powerful individuals will exploit the same opportunities.

The Bay Area is a regional economy hindered by fragmented local governments. The answer is consolidation into Greater San Francisco.

The Cosmists pursued visions of resurrection and immortality but ended up recuperated into Soviet ideology. Modern tech utopians are following in their footsteps.

There is only one durable justification for space exploration. If we fail to understand it, our civilization will end on Earth, not among the stars.

Artificial General Intelligence is the central conjecture of the AI field. If it is possible, it will completely disrupt the human condition and probably kill us all.

Investor hype around AI doesn’t reflect the real impacts of deep learning. That hype rests on a false ideology in which the tech industry is the vanguard of progress.

The novelist turns his literary eye to the American story and finds we’re losing our memories under a new imperative to forget.

We face a crisis of false value. Ancient perspectives like that of Abraham offer a way out.

Those trying to justify parasitic behaviors often invoke the language of charity and compassion. But true charity is about enforcing a superior form of life.

As a normal life becomes more difficult for middle class parents to acquire, optimizing a child’s upbringing for educational and career success has become the norm—but at great expense. Is there another way?

As long as criminal enterprises offer the best gangs around, kids will continue to enter them. The question is where the better gangs could be.

San Francisco is upstream of America, and its social crises are spilling across the country. It is also the best place to find a path out.

Pietro Boselli is a model, mechanical engineer, and adventurer. He discusses the value of many sources of experience, trusting your instincts, and death-defying solo trips into the unknown.

Children need purposeful work to develop agency and self-possession. That education is unlikely to happen in school.

Complex systems like air traffic and energy operate on rigorous competency. With the managers of these systems prioritizing goals like diversity, these networks are now eroding.

The core “WEIRD” populations of industrial society are getting consumed by it. They need to biologically assert themselves for technological civilization to survive.