The Constitution and the Soldier
Every member of the US Armed Forces takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But as the Annenberg survey (Annenberg 2024, Annenberg 2023 ) reports, many Americans have…
The Warrior Ethos: Part 2, Culture
Recall from part 1, Mirriam-webster defines Ethos as: “the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution”. Ethos is a manifestation of the cultural matrix from which it emerges. As the core culture changes,…
The D in DIE
Diversification is a standard tool to reduce portfolio risk in finance. To do this, the portfolio manager seeks stocks with different risk profiles and potentially even industries and countries. But the managers do not just pick any old stocks. The…
The I in DIE: Death of Meritocracy
Consider a scene from a coaches conference two weeks before the college national football championship game. Coach: You know our starters got us here, but it’s not fair they’ve played every game and we haven’t played many players in…
The E in DIE
Social justice groups use the figure above as a meme to show the DIE (Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity) movement to illustrate equity. If all we are discussing is these three people, then it may make some sense. But there is…
Social Justice and the Free-Rider Problem
Lead image Source: cse.hkust.edu.uk This blog picks up on prior entries on the tragedy of the commons, rational actors, regulatory capture, and rent-seeking. For reference, see these blogs: The Tragedy of the Commons: The Political Commons The Tragedy of…
Part 3a – Cognitive 101
Part 3a – Cognitive 101 This is a long, technical piece to provide some background on cognitive issues discussed in the series. It skims the surface of many key issues but provides an extensive bibliography for even more in-depth research…