Human Systems and Behavior

Argument as Inquiry: Five Rules for Constructive Disagreement

25 October 2023·1876 words·9 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Critical Thinking Constructive Disagreement Communication Skills Cognitive Bias Relationship Building Decision-Making and Bias

The Architecture of Rot: Part 2: The Walls Are Made of Law

2 October 2023·2303 words·11 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Platform Economics Digital Monopoly Algorithmic Extraction Antitrust Enshittification Policy and Critique Development and Inequality Systems Thinking Historical Case Studies Political Economy

Examines how digital platforms follow a predictable three-stage decay lifecycle from user-centric value creation to shareholder extraction, using Google's internal DOJ memos as the primary evidentiary case.

The Architecture of Rot: How the Digital Economy Was Designed to Decay

1 October 2023·339 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Platform Economics Digital Monopoly Algorithmic Extraction Antitrust Enshittification Policy and Critique Development and Inequality Systems Thinking Historical Case Studies Political Economy

A two-part forensic analysis of enshittification — the structural decay of digital platforms — tracing its mechanism, its institutional enablers, and the legal scaffolding that makes perpetual extraction possible.

The Architecture of Rot: Part 1: The Three-Stage Trap

1 October 2023·2099 words·10 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Platform Economics Digital Monopoly Algorithmic Extraction Antitrust Enshittification Policy and Critique Development and Inequality Systems Thinking Historical Case Studies Political Economy

Examines how digital platforms follow a predictable three-stage decay lifecycle from user-centric value creation to shareholder extraction, using Google's internal DOJ memos as the primary evidentiary case.

The Plateau and the Pressure: When Success Becomes Systemic Failure

15 January 2023·206 words·1 min

Human Systems and Behavior Institutions Empires Systems-Thinking Adaptive Failure Historical Case Studies Systems Thinking Innovation History Policy and Critique

A historical and systems analysis of how institutional success can harden into a source of adaptive failure.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 5: The Ethos of Optionality

24 January 2022·456 words·3 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Antifragility Optionality Barbell Strategy Skin in the Game Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

Embracing antifragility through optionality and the barbell strategy for survival in uncertainty.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 4: Mindful Organizing Against Normalization

23 January 2022·342 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Mindful Organizing High Reliability Organizations Preoccupation With Failure Sensitivity to Operations Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

How high-reliability organizations maintain vigilance against hidden threats.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 3: Rites of Terror as Social Superglue

22 January 2022·340 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Rituals Costly Signals Collective Effervescence Identity Fusion Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

How extreme rituals create unbreakable social bonds through shared suffering.

The Unseen Architecture of Survival- Part 2: The Genius of the "Dumb" Collective

21 January 2022·391 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Collective Brain Cumulative Culture Causal Opacity Overimitation Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

How collective intelligence through cultural evolution surpasses individual genius.

Unseen Architecture of Survival: Hidden Forces Determining Human Survival

20 January 2022·256 words·2 mins

Human Systems and Behavior Social Dynamics Decision-Making and Bias Systems Thinking Leadership and Crisis

Exploring the hidden forces that determine human survival - from collective intelligence and ritual bonding to antifragile systems and mindful organizing.