MOST INTERESTING ESSAYS 12/4/25: THEORY & TRUTH, MEMORY & INTELLIGENCE, PSYCHIATRY, WRITING, EGYPT IN 2019, LIVE OR DIE, GARDEN OF EDEN, SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION, DEATH ROW, RIGHT & WRONG, FRANTZ FANON, TRUTHINESS, CONSPIRACY, LIBERALITY, LIFE IS LIQUID, BECOMING god-LIKE, TIPPING POINT, VANISHING WORLD
Unless or until our prejudices are eradicated, man’s inhumanity to man will continue. The truth is that “The World After Gaza” will be the same as “the world before Gaza” but with a different order of prejudice.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The World After Gaza (A History)
Author: Pakaj Mishra
NarratedBy: Mikhail Sen
Pakaj Mishra (Author, Indian essayist. He wrote “Age of Anger” reviewed in this blog.)
As pointed out in a previous review of Mishra’s book “Age of Anger”, “…unless or until human beings see themselves as part of the same society, the world will end in the Armageddon of biblical imagination.”
Leadership prejudice.
Mishra is born in a prosperous Brahmin family that becomes poor after India’s land distribution in 1947 which was meant to reform feudal landholding practices in India. Undoubtedly, the harshness of that reform has some influence on Mishra’s expressed views in “The World After Gaza”. Mishra’s father has a Brahmin Hindu background which suggests his son is raised in an upper caste in Hindu society that falls into hard times.
“The World After Gaza” is categorized by Mishra as a history.
Mishra recalls the horrendous past of Germany’s holocaust where 6,000,000 Jews were murdered by Hitler’s followers. He infers that horrendous event is reminiscent of what Israel is doing to Palestinians in Gaza. His point is not to vilify Israel but to suggest societies are inherently prejudiced and inclined to discriminate against those who are not a part of their belief system. In essence, Mishra offers a view of history that corroborates Mark Twain’s belief that “History never repeats itself, but it does rhyme”.
Whether one agrees with Mishra’s view of Israel’s actions in Gaza or not, prejudice is an undeniable truth of human societies.
There are many Jews who are undoubtedly appalled by what is happening in Gaza but there are Israeli’ leaders who believe what they are doing is in the best interest of their country. One may associate Israel’s, America’s, or any country’s leadership as either right or wrong from a personal perspective, but the nature of humanity is what it is. Prejudice is an equal opportunity exploiter of human’ equality. Unless or until our prejudices are eradicated, man’s inhumanity to man will continue. The truth is that “The World After Gaza” will be the same as “the world before Gaza” but with a different order of prejudice.
It is ironic that Trump has suffered so much from America’s legal system and is unable to see NIMBY mentality and a return to the past will not “Make America Great”.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Breakneck (China’s Quest to Engineer the Future)
Author: Dan Wang
NarratedBy: Jonathan Yen
Feng Chen Wang aka Dan Wang (Author, Canadian technology analyst and writer, visiting scholar at Yale Law School.)
Dan Wang is a highly credible author of the 21st century economies of China and the United States. Mr. Wang’s mother and father were born in China when the one child policy was the law of the land. Mr. Wang was born in Canada in either 1991 or 1992. Though Mr. Wang may be an only child, his parents advised him that living in China was challenging because of its state control and family planning that restricted their human rights.
Dan Wang has lived in Canada, America, and China.
From 2017 to 2023 he worked as a technology analyst in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. As a young man, Wang bicycled across China with young friends. Having been educated in Canada and the United States, growing up in Toronto and Ottawa and going to high school in Philadelphia, he has a broad understanding of the economies of all three nations. Of course, his specialty is technology which gives him a unique understanding of what is happening in America and China today. He graduated from the University of Rochester in 2014, studying philosophy and economics.
Trump’s apparent view of Xi.
After listening to Wang’s book, one begins to understand why President Trump’s perspective is that the world, with emphasis on China, has taken advantage of America’s economic wealth by eviscerating its industrial industries with less expensive product made in other countries. Wang presumes as a person who has an economics education that Adam Smith (the Father of Economics) and Donald Trump are right when they argue tariffs are justified in areas of national defense, or for retaliation. On the other hand, Adam Smith, noted “It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy.”
Adam Smith (Father of Economic Theory)
Smith argued if another nation can provide the same product for less cost, a prudent buyer should buy the cheaper product and use money saved to produce a different product. Wang and Trump disagree with Smith because the revenue producer that America turns to is the service industry rather than product development. What is missed by Wang and Trump is that America is the third largest agricultural producer in the world with China and India being the largest. Of course, the difference is that America has 1/3rd the population of China and India, respectively. Lower population and high agricultural production in the United States hugely benefits its economy. More significantly, food, like water, is an essential need of life. The point is that non-food product production is not necessary for living life.
Loss of industrial production to China.
Wang’s and Trump’s argument is that America’s loss of industrial production has made it too dependent on other countries. They either infer or say Americans are forgetting how to manufacture product. They argue American industries are closing because of America’s inability to compete with other nations because of labor and material cost differences. History shows America fails to expand its industries because production of things is provided by other nations at a lower cost. And as Adam Smith noted, “It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy.”
Wang decries America’s movement toward a service industry as the basis for economic growth.
America is the richest country in the world, but America has failed to eliminate poverty, house the homeless, feed the malnourished, and provide for the infrastructure needed to improve America lives. One may ask oneself-what is wrong with becoming a service industry nation? Why does America have to return to its past. As Adam Smith noted: “It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy.” The future is about being healthy, being housed, fed, and clothed. It should not be about being the richest and fattest minority in the world, particularly when there is an inordinate gap between the rich and poor.
Wang argues America’s economy is diminished, not by reduced industrialization, but by its growth of legalism that reinforces nimby (not in my backyard) litigation.
Delays in public improvements in America are restrained by lawsuits that protect the rich and victimize the poor. An example is the long delays in mass transportation improvements which become more costly with every year that passes before completion. The delays are caused by litigation. When China can build rapid transit in 3 years while it takes 15 or more years in America, one wonders why. The huge investments China has made in massive infrastructure improvements have vastly improved their economy. In contrast, America wastes investment resources litigating mass transportation improvements in California, Washington, and other states by increasing costs from delays caused by litigation. It is like throwing the baby out with the bath water because the number of people who benefit from infrastructure improvement are largely discounted or ignored. Equally appalling is homelessness in America because of NIMBY’ objection to low-cost multifamily housing that could get the homeless off the street. Cost benefit analysis should prevail, not litigation based on interest group objection. In Wang’s terms, American infrastructure decisions should be based on science and engineering like, what he argues, China bases their infrastructure decisions upon.
The fundamental point is that America has lost sight of the importance of a balance between benefit to the public and individual rights. Equality of opportunity is split between the rich and poor with the middle class being too complacent while the rich reap unconscionable reward. Where are the Eisenhower-like Presidents who promoted an Interstate Highway System that created a 421,000-mile interstate highway system?
Trump is no Eisenhower because he wishes to return America to a past rather than look to its future. It is ironic that Trump has suffered so much from America’s legal system and is unable to see NIMBY mentality and a return to the past will not “Make America Great”. Wang’s book explains how China has succeeded in improving their economy while America’s economy is failing.
Age is an existential risk that can only be managed by the checks and balances of others which is why America’s government has survived and prospered despite good and ethically or morally corrupt Presidents.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Original Sin (President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again)
Author: Jake Tapper, Alex Thompson
NarratedBy: Jake Tapper
Jake Tapper (Washington anchor for CNN.)Alex Thompson (CNN political analyst.)
“Original Sin” is a hard-hitting expose by two tough minded reporters that convincingly explain President Biden did not have the cognitive ability to be America’s President in the last two years of his Presidency. This is a particularly hard pill to swallow because the current President of the United States is old while being at the opposite end of the political spectrum. At 74, this book reviewer is old. Age undoubtedly has an impact on this reviewer’s cognitive abilities and the cogency of what he thinks and writes. President Trump is 79 years old. The difference is that what a critic writes means nothing in respect to governance of the United States and the impact it has on American citizens and world events.
Trump’s decisions and actions have had great impact on U.S. relationship with other countries, American public policy, and the economic future of Americans.
Trump has directed the firing of thousands of government employees. Because of Trump’s authoritarian characteristics, he surrounds himself with sycophants who are more interested in pleasing him than managing the government’s responsibility for America’s welfare and role in the world. Authoritarianism is untrue of Biden who throughout his public career has been a consensus builder, not an autocrat. This is not to suggest Biden is not fundamentally wrong in not immediately supporting an alternative candidate for the Presidency. The authors of “Original Sin” clearly explain Biden fails America by waffling on his candidacy for a second term.
Old age is a risk for every manager of other people’s lives and opportunities.
Biden is not at fault for getting old but people who worked with him are guilty of negligence in their service to the American people. Tapper and Thompson offer numerous examples of Biden’s intellectual decline. The importance of their assessment of Biden’s failing capabilities is a warning to all managers of other people’s lives, employment, and family responsibilities. Age is a life circumstance that affects every human being. One who is losing their cognitive ability cannot see it in themselves. It is the responsibility of others to help older people relinquish responsibility for those things they can no longer handle.
Relinquishment by a man or woman who has great responsibility is a hard thing to accept. Age effects people in different ways. The catch 22 is that loss of cognitive ability is unseen by the person who loses it. It is the responsibility of those who rely on one who is losing their reasoning ability to manage the circumstance of that decline.
Putting politics of government aside, President Trump is old. The concern one has is the risk of relying on those who work for Trump, like many who worked for Biden, may see loyalty as more important than the public interest of America. Age is an existential risk that can only be managed by the checks and balances of others which is why America’s government has survived and prospered despite good and ethically or morally corrupt Presidents.
America will survive Trump but it will take time to reset America’s relationship with the world. America has had good and bad Presidents in both political parties but its foundation of checks and balances have kept it on course for the betterment of society. It is nations with leaders that have no checks and balances that threaten social and economic equality.
“The Mission” is a depressing view of American ineptitude that reminds one of the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and 9/11.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Mission (The CIA in the 21st Century)
Author: Tim Weiner
NarratedBy: Stefan Rudnicki
Tim Weiner (Author, American reporter, awarded Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for books on espionage, national security and foreign policy.)
This is a tough book to read/listen to because of its damning assessment of the American CIA. Weiner is not the only American writer to reveal failed operations of the CIA but his access to their files seems like America’s attempt to understand and improve CIA operations’ management. That is the best face one can put on Weiner’s highly critical assessment of CIA operations. The CIA’s official response is that Weiner is biased, and his research of CIA files misrepresents the complexity of intelligence work. Some historians suggest Weiner cites CIA’ failures without enough context to balance the need for a covert intelligence agency.
The more troubling concern inferred by Weiner is the Trump Presidency and his authoritarian character and tolerance for leaders like Putin who think “might makes right”. What use will Trump make of the CIA’s covert power?
As the Turkish proverb says, “fish stinks first at the head”. Weiner notes, along with the huge escalation of drone assassinations by a liberal Democrat like Obama, one wonders what Trump may do in his second term.
Weiner explains the second Bush administration uses the CIA to push for evidence of WMD in their desire for justification to invade Iraq. The facts did not matter because the President wanted action. Under the Bush administration, the CIA adopts “enhanced interrogation techniques” (brutal torture) of political prisoners kept at Bagram Air Base. Weiner argues the CIA mission of covert intelligence is distorted in a drift toward paramilitary operations causing civilian casualties. One gets a sense that the second Bush administration is reacting to the horrendous 9/11 attack because of his administration’s failure to acknowledge CIA’s evidence that Bin Laden planned an attack on the U.S. The evidence of an attack’s imminence is clearly reported to the President by CIA leadership. This is a tough pill to swallow because the intelligence purpose of the CIA seems subordinated by both Democrats and Republicans to political interest rather than nation-state security.
Weiner vilifies CIA leaders like George Tenet, Porter Goss, and Leon Panetta. Tenet assures President Bush of Iraq’s possession of WMD. Goss, a Republican appointed by Bush, and Panetta, appointed by Obama, transformed the CIA into a paramilitary force after 9/11. Obama authorized use of drones in covert killings of over 500 foreign agents based on CIA’ espionage and analysis of their activities. Weiner notes Michael Hayden authorized torture programs by the CIA. Wiener argues torture programs and authorized assassinations damaged CIA’s credibility and effectiveness. To Wiener, the CIA’s leadership decline reaches back to Allen Dulles’s Cold War and William Casey’s Iran-Contra entanglement during the Reagan years. Covert action became more important than intelligence gathering.
“The Mission” is a depressing view of American ineptitude that reminds one of the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and 9/11. Wiener offers a dim view of both Democratic and Republican leadership in America. One hopes America can be better than what Wiener reveals in “The Mission”. The jury may still be out, but Trump’s administration seems likely to continue America’s international decline.
As a mirror and catalyst for change and hope, Professor Mark Bergson offers an excellent review of the world’s religions.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Cultural Literacy for Religion (Everything a Well-Educated Person Should Know)
Lecturer: Mark Berkson
By: The Great Courses
Mark Berkson (Professor and Chair in the Department pf Religion at Hamline University)
Professor Berkson provides an excellent overview of the most important religions in the world in his lectures. Though this reviewer is not a person who follows any religion, Professor Berkson offers a broad understanding of religious beliefs and their differences in his lecture series.
CHRISTIAN, ISLAMIC, AND HINDUIST RELIGIONS HAVE THE MOST FOLLOWERS
The three religions with the greatest number of followers are Christian, Islamic, and Hinduist which are categorized as a transcendent group of religions. In broad terms, their beliefs are in salvation, divine revelation, moral law, and a soul’s journey toward a divine being as the ultimate truth and value of life. These religions reflect on both the first and second categories of religion because they transcend the self to either a divine or a more centered understanding of oneself.
A third category would be followers of a sect of Buddhists adherents, Jainists, or Confucianists which believe in enlightenment, discipline, meditation, and moral cultivation of oneself in relation to nature, the cosmos, and everyday life. This third category is not centered around a divine being but around self-effort to create ethical harmony among human beings that will offer peace to all.
Thích Nhất Hạnh was a most famous Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk who believed and taught self-effort to create ethical harmony in oneself. (Died at age 95 in 2022.)
Berkson notes Daoist’s, Shinto’s, and some Buddhists (like Thích Nhất Hạnh) believe in the balance, flow, and interconnectedness of living in accordance with nature. He categorizes these religions as “religions of immanence”.
Tenzin Gyatso (the 14th Tibetan Dalai Lama, exiled in India from his native land in China, represents the Buddhist idea of self-transcendence.)
Berkson explains religion became important to civilization because they made living life more important than just survival. Religion gave meaning to life. Religion also provided social and moral order to life. Religion gave comfort in time of grief, fear, and uncertainty. Religion inspired societies to be creative to build cities, and create art. Religion provided a belief in something greater than oneself and the possibility of transcendence beyond earthly existence.
As one listens to Berkson’s lectures, one wonders whether religion has been more positive than negative in civilization’s development.
Berkson tries to sit on a fence between two extreme opinions. One is the positive contributions of religion to human moral and ethical belief. On the other, religion has aggravated social comity by creating differences. Different religious beliefs have murdered or demeaned millions of human beings who believe only their religion is important. If you defile the truth of my religious belief, you are not one of us. On the one hand, religion brings people together and grows cultural and artistic beliefs. On the other hand, religious belief creates silos that suppress inquiry, reinforce prejudices, and delegitimize political authority. Belief in a religion can advance understanding of human nature but at the same time suppress any inquiry into faith or science.
One will better understand specific religious beliefs as a result of Bergson’s lectures.
Bergson notes tensions between religious beliefs are the basis upon which many social and human atrocities have occurred. Christianity notes that no one comes to God except through Chistian belief while Hinduism believes there are many paths to the divine. Exclusivity in religion may not cause a war, but it certainly creates tension. The core beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have led to millions of deaths because of distinctions made between the word of God in the Hebrew Bible, Christian old and new testaments, and the Qur’an.
As a mirror and catalyst for change and hope, Bergson offers an excellent review of the world’s religions.
However, in the history of yesterday and today, the Jewish holocaust of WWII and slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza rend one’s heart. To quote Rodney King amid the Los Angeles riots, “Can we all get along?”– apparently not.
Miodownik explains liquids are everywhere and influence every aspect of life on earth. As a scientist, Miodownik explains understanding liquids is understanding life.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives
Author:Mark Miodownik
NarratedBy: Michael Page
Mark Miodownik (Author, British materials scientist.)
Mark Miodownik offers some interesting information about liquids in “Liquid Rules”. It seems Miodownik had some spare time on a long plane trip. Though many know some of what the author explains, it is interesting for listener/readers who don’t think about the importance of liquids in our lives. For example, Miodownik notes how and why Kerosene is the fuel that powers jets.
The qualities of kerosene make it an optimum choice for jet propulsion.
Kerosene is safer to handle because high temperatures are required for ignition which makes it safer than gasoline. It has a low freezing point that allows high-altitude flight where sub-zero temperatures exist. Its viscosity allows it to flow in cold or hot conditions which reduces risk for fuel line’ clogging. Kerosene carries high energy production per unit of volume for longer flights. It is cheaper to refine than other fuels. And most importantly, it is chemically stable which reduces risks of vapor lock or premature combustion.
As Miodownik wings his way across the earth, he casually mentions Susan is a passenger on the same transatlantic flight who is offered a glass of wine.
She suggests wine testing is really a performance art. Her remark is an introduction to Miodownik’s more scientific examination of the sensory and symbolic dimensions of wine tasting. Miodownik explains the role of tannins, taste, and the rituals around drinking a glass of wine. He explains a connoisseur’s way of swirling a glass of wine before his/her nose to sense the bouquet of the libation. One imagines Susan looking askance at Miodownik’s academic review of her off-the-cuff remark. Who is this guy? Is he hitting on me?
Presumably, Miodownik sits back and contemplates the creation of a book about liquids.
Miodownik seems slightly discomfited by his seatmate’s look at him. Does he regret his forwardness in addressing her comment like a nerd? There is a sense of humor and a touch of irony in Miodownik’s choice of subject. One wonders what a woman’s response might be to a person she does not know explaining what she intended when she spoke of wine tasting as an art. In any case, Miodownik has introduced his subject.
As Miodownik’s thoughts move on about a book about liquids, he recalls the invention of ink.
Here is an invention with purpose. He notes the creation of ink that is made to flow predictably, dry quickly, and remain legible for years. The idea of a liquid that makes history, science, and art for the ages, i.e., an eternal gold mine for future generations. Ink reaches back to the caliphs of the Maghreb, rulers of Islamic caliphates in 7th century, northwest Africa. Ink connects with the evolution of the colors of red, green, and blue. From fountain pen writings to pointillist art the creation of ink plays a critical role in modernization of the world.
Water is the foundation of life.
Most know water is an essential need for life as we know it. What is often less thought of is that water is a universal substance that underlies world climate and biological life. Miodownik notes that water is a universal substance that underpins life and the climate systems of the world. It is the vehicle of human metabolism, emotional expression of fear, pain, happiness, and the world’s climate.
Production sweat shops.
Humans produce sweat and a quart of saliva per day. Saliva aide’s digestion, hygiene, health, and emotional expression like crying, anger, or embarrassment. Sweat regulates the bodies temperature. Water plays a role in the advance of technology with the creation of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and OLEDs that power modern screens in phones and aircraft panels. Digital watches, cell phones, movies and general entertainment are a result of liquid’s existence. The irony of water as a liquid is that it can nurture as well as destroy. It refreshes life through cleaning, and food production, but also floods land, drowns life, and erodes soil upon which life depends. Water is an agent of comfort as well as chaos.
Miodownik explains liquids are everywhere and influence every aspect of life on earth. As a scientist, Miodownik explains understanding liquids is understanding life.
Aside from global warming, Miodownik notes the growing issue of plastics pollution and potable water availability will plague humanity. He argues humanity needs to come to grips with earth’s need for natural sustainability. Roads, houses, food, and potable water need to be designed to renew themselves without introduction of new materials or resources.
Historically, collectivization of land has failed even when those who are part of the collective are better off than they were when they had no land.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Land Power (Who Has It, Who Doesn’t, and How that Determines the Fate of Societies)
Author: Michael Albertus
NarratedBy: Braden Wright
Michael Albertus (Author, professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Political Science.)
Michael Albertus develops a powerful argument for “Land Power”. Much of history and current events in relatively undeveloped countries are identified as proof of Albertus’s belief that “Land Power” is key not only to economic growth but to social improvement. He reflects on the history of Great Britain, France, and the United States while noting current affairs in developing countries like Peru, Columbia, and Bolivia support his argument.
The unfortunate truth of history is that indigenous populations, particularly in America and Great Britain, were displaced in order for “Land Power” to be the engine for economic prosperity and social change. In the case of America of course, it is the displacement of North American natives by English settlers who became Americans. In contrast Great Britain’s “Land Power” comes from a landed aristocracy and their subjugation of foreign cultures with autocratic control and rule of Asian and European countries. In France, Kings and an aristocratic government’s rejection by commoners in 1789 seem the motive force behind “Land Power” ascension.
For Peru, Columbia, and Bolivia Albertus infers examples of Britain, America, and France set a table for “Land Power” change by their governments. In my opinion, the age of technology has diminished “Land Power” importance in America, Great Britain, and France.
“Land Power” still carries weight in America, Great Britain, and France but in the tech age it seems the power of accumulated wealth has become more powerful than land. However, Albertus’s “Land Power” argument in regard to South American countries like Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia are compelling in regard to their economic and social improvement. Albertus notes private land ownership and recognition of women’s rights to own property, show that “Land Power” is a source of economic and social improvement in South America. He suggests countries like Mexico are being challenged by their failure to reform land ownership policies but today’s leaders in Peru, Columbia, and Bolivia have made significant land reform changes.
Albertus explains the major reform movement between 1969-1980 made by General Alvarado in Peru.
General Alvarado ordered nearly half of all private agricultural land be redistributed among Peruvian citizens. He dismantled large estates to empower peasant cooperatives. It has not been a perfect solution because it created an insurgent group called the Shining Path that pressed for a Maoist collective land reform for the redistributed Peruvian estates. Just as collective farms failed in China, they failed in Peru because common gains in collectives did not fairly reward performance. Collective farms distort the needs and results when a collective rather than a singular leader is responsible for performance of the collective. Nevertheless, the steps taken to dismantle half of private agricultural land, is considered by Albertus a step in the right direction because it incentivized many Peruvians who were living in poverty.
In Colombia, in 1966 through 1970 President Restrepo redistributed agricultural land to former agricultural laborers.
FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) is organized in 1964 to offer peasant self-defense for actions soon to be taken by President Restrepo to reduce land ownership inequality. Between 2010 and 2018, President Santos negotiated with FARC to settle disputes between former landowners, and new farmers that benefited from land redistribution. There is still conflict because of FARC’s false belief in collective farming which has been proven a failure in other countries, but President Santos and his successors have created a path, though no solution, for reform through the hope for understanding and compromise. Albertus infers land reform is a work in progress, not a perfect solution.
Land reform in Bolivia spans 1953 and the early 2000s.
Presidents Estenssoro (1952-1956) and Evo Morales (2006-2019) worked on land reform along the same lines as Peru and Colombia. Large estates were broken up in 1953 and redistributed to peasants. Morales clarifies indigenous land rights but formalized communal ownership of redistributed land. This is another example of a work in progress because collectivization may be a step in redistributed land, but it has not proven to be a long-range benefit to a country’s citizens. It becomes too divisive and unrewarding for optimum performance and fair rewards for those who excel.
One who read/listens to Albertus’s insight to land reform believes his story has merit but his history is too optimistic when a little additional research shows land reform is a losing proposition when not fully supported by institutions that had implemented change.
History shows land collectivization when large landowners lose their land is a fool’s errand because it fails to reward those who excel as part owners of redistributed land. Human nature gets in the way. Those who work harder than others expect to have proportionate reward. Collective farming disincentivizes personal high performance. Historically, collectivization of land has failed even when those who are part of the collective are better off than they were when they had no land.
“Republic of Lies” is a deeply troubling book that explains much about why lies of a President of the United States are ignored.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Republic of Lies (American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power)
Author: Anna Merlan
NarratedBy: Suehyla El-Attar & 1 more
Anna Merlan (Author, journalist, BA degree in Modern Literary Studies from University of California, Santa Cruz, master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.)
Anna Merlan’s “Republic of Lies” explains conspiracy theories are created by people who have real concerns, fears, and grievances about the world in which they live. Some people capitalize on people’s concerns only to satisfy their desire for money, power, or prestige without care or thought about others. Conspiracy theorists seem to believe everything that happens in society is about plots by others to control or create havoc in their lives.
The digital age.
The advent of the digital age has increased the threat of interest groups that see others as alien to their learned beliefs. The fault is not always in the conspiring groups but in listeners who fail to recognize theories are only theories based on different life experiences and beliefs of like-minded people. The root of the problem with conspiracy is that life experience, and differences in one’s appearance provide a basis for prejudicial bias, identification and belief that is as easily wrong as right. Discrimination based on the color of one’s skin or ethnicity become “de rigueur”, i.e. something required by etiquette or current fashion, rather than the substance of who you are as a person.
Investigative journalism is an important part of the American way of life and its search for truth.
Merlan is an intelligent and brave investigative journalist who interviews extremists to find what they believe and why they believe it. Merlan explains how conspiracy theories are by definition beliefs based on perceptions of events in the world. There is a disconnect between what is real and unreal when what human beings see is based on personal life experience and perception. That is why conspiracy is always a theory which can either be right or wrong and still have great impact on and consequence for society.
Alex Jones (Conspiracy radio host, convicted of civil liability for defamation and required to pay over $1 billion in damages to families of Sandy Hook victims.)
Merlan reveals conspiracy theories in the 20th and 21st centuries that have caused an erosion in trust, strained interpersonal relationships, and promoted extremism. Those who share conspiracy theories often deny the proofs of science and what is evident from repeated human atrocities. People become stuck in misbegotten beliefs that polarize groups of humanity who believe you are either one of us or one of them. In that separation, only those who have the same beliefs are worthy of acceptance. Others are disposable and not worthy of life or liberty.
CIA mind-control program.
Merlan reminds listeners of the CIA mind-control program using LSD in the 195os-1970s, and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study of 1932-1972 as acts of American government that erode public trust. Programs like these have created fertile ground for conspiracy theories to argue there is a deep state government that controls the creation and administration of public policy. The formation of QAnon in 2017 is an internet-born conspiracy factory that trades on the mistrust of government. The internet is no longer mere propaganda tool but a decentralized grassroots generator of government-distrusting American citizens’ groups.
“Republic of Lies” is a deeply troubling book that explains much about why lies of a President of the United States are ignored.
The fear of government is legitimized by American government’s mistakes of the past. Turning to an authoritarian President is American citizens answer to distrust of government. The concern one has is in the character of the authoritarian that has been chosen.
Science is unquestionably dependent on precise measurement while art or literature may have little to do with it.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Perfectionists
Author: Simon Winchester (How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World)
NarratedBy: Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester (British-American author and journalist)
The beginning of “The Perfectionist” has an interesting vignette about Simon Winchester’s father that sets the table for his book. Simon’s father is characterized as an engineer that was asked to investigate why ammunition being used during WWII was misfiring. Bernard Winchester went to the production’ plant and precisely measured the ammunition that was being manufactured. Its quality was found to be well within specifications required to fire properly when used. Simon’s father followed a shipload of the ammunition to its destination to re-measure the specifications after delivery. The on-board jostling of cargo boxes caused miniscule damage to ammunition resulting in misfires in the field. Simon’s father’s discovery led to better packaging of the ammunition. Simon notes his father is highly praised by the military for his diligent investigation which made corrections in the way ammunition was packaged for transport to the front.
Simon’s father followed a shipload of ammunition to its destination to re-measure the specifications after delivery.
Simon Winchester’s story of his father is the subject of “The Perfectionist”. There are many ways of categorizing the advance of civilization. Manufacturing precision is Simon Winchester’s category of choice. Simon explains how improvements in precision, reaching as far back as the 18th century, led to technological advancement in the modern world. To Winchester, much of that advancement came from the needs of the military.
Winchester notes that John Wilkinson standardized and precisely measured cannon barrel rifling in the 1770s to improve accuracy.
The inaccuracy of weapons like cannons, mass production of reliable weaponry, and strategic advantage for military commands were founded on improvements in precision. Winchester notes that John Wilkinson standardized and precisely measured cannon borings in the 1770s to improve accuracy and reliability in battle. In the 1800s, the French began standardizing gun parts to allow interchangeability when field weapons were damaged or just quit working. In visiting France, Thomas Jefferson recognized the value of that interchangeability during America’s civil war when weapons often broke down and could only be repaired by craftsman who understood how a uniquely designed gun could be repaired.
Eli Whitney chose to hoodwink the American government during the War of Independence when he falsely claims to have a manufacturing plant that could produce standard gun parts.
Around 1801, Whitney contracts with the government and is paid but never produces any standardized parts. Whitney puts on a false show of interchangeability with parts that were manufactured by craftsman rather than a standardized process of production. (Whitney is neither penalized or required to repay the government.) The consequence of mass production of precise gun parts and ammunition is to kill more people in war which started an arms race that continues through to today. Progress in weapon design and manufacture is a harbinger of good and ill. Moving away from weapon production to the rise of industrialization, precise measurement remains a critical component of societies’ modernization.
Though there are precursors to the steam engine that reach back before the 18th century, James Watt (pictured here) revolutionizes its design with the help of Matthew Boulton.
Winchester explains how refinement of the steam engine enables the Industrial Revolution. Watt is obsessed with refining the containment of steam from an operating engine. Watt knows leakage of steam is correlated with loss of steam engine power and potential. The key to achieving better efficiency comes from John Wilkinson who develops a machine that could bore a precise hole through solid iron. With that level of precision, Watt recognized he could produce an engine with perfectly cylindrical, leak-proof chambers that could more efficiently power pistons to produce energy. Watt, Boulton, and Wilkinson open the world to the industrial revolution. Winchester suggests precision is the pursuit of perfection, i.e., a preeminent turning point in history. One may take issue with that conclusion because invention and innovation seem more important than precision, which is a tool rather than a cause for modernity.
The remarkable story of the jet engine is told by Winchester.
It is surprising that the jet engine became a reality as early as the beginning of WWII. Like nuclear bomb invention, Germany’s Hitler initially fails to grasp the importance of jet engine propulsion. However, Germany becoming the first to create a jet plane, the Heinkel He 178, to fly with jet propulsion. Hitler is more focused on refinement of the V-2 rocket as a revenge weapon against England than on jet propulsion for airplanes.
Frank Whittle (1907-1996, English aviation engineer and pilot who invented the jet engine.)
The original idea for the jet engine came from Frank Whittle, a British engineer in the early 1930s. Whittle realized Newton’s laws of energy could propel an airplane without propellers. Newton’s third law says for every action in one direction there is an equal but opposite energy reaction. Whittle acquired a patent on the idea of a jet engine but because of the five-pound cost of patent renewal and lack of any financial support for his brilliant idea, his patent expired. As a result, no single entity holds a patent on jet propulsion. It is not until May of 1941, that Frank Whittle’s turbojet engine first flies a plane.
1945 Gloster Meteor British jet.
There are many issues to be resolved for the idea of a jet engine to propel an airplane. There is the extreme pressure and heat generated by fuel being ignited within a turbine that must be designed with precise measurements, i.e., measurements within millionths of an inch. Winchester notes that the slightest deviation in blade shape, alignment, or material composition could cause vibration, inefficiency, or worse–engine failure and pilot death. The jet engine components had to endure extreme temperature changes and withstand metal fatigue while operating with high-speed rotating parts. Thousands of parts had to be precisely designed and integrated to provide the propulsion necessary for flight.
Whittle’s ultimate success leads him to be Knighted in 1948.
Whittle is recruited in 1937 by British Thomson-Houston, an engineering firm, to build a prototype of a jet engine. With money to create a prototype, Whittle turned his design idea into reality. With the help of two retired RAF officers, Whittle formed a company called Power Jets Ltd. In 1944, Britan nationalized Power Jets Ltd and Whittle was compelled to resign from the board in 1946. However, Whittle was ultimately recognized and knighted in 1948 for his contribution to Jet engine development.
The next big area of change addressed by Winchester is computer chip manufacture.
Transistors like these in the early years of computers are used in computer chip manufacture.
Winchester’s primary subject is Moore’s law postulated in 1965 by Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel. Moore predicts microchip computing power and efficiency would double every year and then every two years with continued miniaturization of chip transistors. His prediction, as of today, holds true. The size of computer chip transistors is measured in millimeters in the early 1960s. Today, measurement is at an atomic level, trending toward the use of quantum theory to continue Moore’s law prediction.
The last chapter of “The Perfectionist” is about measurement as a tool. Ironically, understanding measurement evolves through history. It may be a standard of change, but it is also a subject of change. The idea of distance measurement has evolved from an organic explanation that only imperfectly describes the visual world. That imperfectness leads to an obsession with exactness that boggles the mind.
As a caution, Winchester suggests the pursuit of precision may blind us to other values. The aesthetic beauty of a musical composition, architecture, a great novel, or mere thoughts of human beings may have little to do with precise measurement but can change the world. What one sees or feels is what we discount or respond to with emotion and/or appreciation, regardless of measurement analytics. Science is unquestionably dependent on precise measurement while art or literature may have little to do with it.
It is interesting to be reminded of the danger of a strong executive branch and the consequence of rule by an authoritarian President. Trump shows loyalty to his beliefs, rather than competence, as the primary qualification for appointment to America’s federal government bureaucracy.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Alexander Hamilton
Author: Ron Chernow
NarratedBy: Scott Brick
Ron Chernow (Author, biographer of Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Ulysses Grant, and Mark Twain.)
Though this critic did not care for Chernow’s biography of Washington, his examination of Alexander Hamilton is of some value. Chernow’s attention to detail is impressive. Considering the detail of Chernow’s biographies, it is quite an achievement for Chernow to have had the time to fully research and write histories of one, let alone four, important American’ leaders and influencers.
Traditionally, Alexander Hamilton’s father has been identified as James A. Hamilton, a largely unsuccessful Scottish trader in the British West Indies (approximately 1,000 miles from the American’ continent–made up of the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and the Lesser Antilles.)
However, Chernow suggests James Hamilton may not have been the father of Alexander because his mother, Rachel Faucette, may have had sexual relations with other men. Ms. Faucette had become James’ lover while being married to Johann Lavien. Faucette had become unhappy and left Lavien in 1750 to take up with James Hamilton. Lavien had Faucette imprisoned for adultery. Lavien eventually divorces Faucette in 1759.
Chernow suggests Faucette, at some point, may have had an affair with Thomas Stevens, a successful merchant and landlord, while living with James Hamilton.
Chernow’s evidence is primarily from reports of Alexander’s close physical appearance to a son of Thomas Stevens. These two young men, Alexander and Thomas Steven’s son, Edward, were about a year apart in age with Edward being the older. Alexander and Edward became close friends, and Thomas Stevens played an important role in Alexander’s life when his mother died. Stevens took Hamilton into his household on St. Croix. Alexander became part of the Stevens’ family.
In Hamilton’s time with the Stevens family, he became educated by reading books and being employed in the mercantile trades of the West Indies.
By any measure, whether Alexander is the son of Stevens or Hamilton makes little difference. By definition, Alexander’s paternity is illegitimate. One asks oneself–so what? Alexander’s genetic inheritance from Faucette and either father leads him to become one of the most important historical influences in the creation of the American Constitution.
Hamilton arrives in New York City in 1772. Hamilton is only 17. The American Constitution is adopted, signed and ratified on September 17, 1787, and implemented on March 4, 1789.
Hamilton’s influence as a representative of New York is to create a centralized government with taxation authority.
This national government is to have the right to enforce national laws that apply to all citizens according to enumerated powers of a federal government under the direction of a President and Congress elected by American citizens. Chernow notes that George Clinton, the governor of New York, is opposed to the strengthening of the federal government because of his interest in maintaining his power as Governor of New York. Hamilton is one of the three representatives of New York at the convention, two of which were opposed to strengthening the federal government.
Chernow explains how the convention succeeded in strengthening the federal government.
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)James Madison (1751-1836)
The two framers that are shown to have the greatest impact on the draft of the Constitution are Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. Chernow explains Hamilton pushed for a strong centralized government with broad powers to tax, regulate commerce, and enforce laws. Madison supports a strong federal government but argues for states’ rights and strict limits on federal authority. Hamilton wishes for broad flexibility for the federal government in the interpretation of implied powers while Madison insists on an explicit statement of the powers of the federal government to limit its implied powers. Hamilton looks to America as an industrializing nation that should be supported by a national bank with federal support for infrastructure improvements while Madison sees America as the agrarian breadbasket for the world with limited banking and industrial’ support by the federal government. Hamilton believes in rule by an educated elite while Madison is concerned about concentration of power in an elitist aristocracy. In the end, Madison takes on the role as the principal author of the Constitution which is intended to limit Hamilton’s expansive interpretation of federal government control of State governance.
It is interesting to be reminded of the danger of a strong executive branch and the consequence of rule by an authoritarian President.
Trump shows loyalty to his beliefs, rather than competence, as the primary qualification for appointment to America’s federal government bureaucracy. Chernow successfully reminds listener/readers of the history of early American government creation, but “Hamilton” is not a page turner like his biography of Mark Twain.
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