Convictions of a Sciolist

Why we should all be concerned with the recent failures of prominent regulators like Gary Gensler and Lina Khan. Way back at the beginning of 2023, I wrote about how the “Move Fast and Break Things” (MF&BT) era appeared to be at an inflection point (or, more aptly, a nadir, if you fancy yourself a New York Times reader).…

The Vision Pro virtual reality headset is designed by a small cohort of like-minded technologists based on their perceptions of the wants and needs of tomorrow’s society. Here’s hoping they’re wrong. Apple recently unveiled its much anticipated virtual reality (VR) headset to the market, with the typical fanfare and style made famous by the company’s co-founder, Steve…

Montana’s attempt to ban TikTok is part stupidity and part grandstanding. Here’s why they got it so wrong and what we should do instead. Montana recently became the first state in the nation to enact a ban on TikTok. The ban, which would take effect January 1, 2024, would prohibit downloads of TikTok in the state…

The government’s proposed law, which would require streaming services and social media sites to show Canadians a minimum amount of “Canadian content,” is symbolic of a much larger problem. Back in February, I wrote about a legal challenge that made its way up to the Supreme Court involving a 1996 law called Section 230, which effectively paved…

Epic catastrophe or monumental step towards space exploration? It depends entirely on who you ask. In today’s fractured media landscape, we have, unfortunately, become fairly accustomed to biases bleeding into most of our news coverage. So much so, that it’s basically become the norm to qualify any and all media as “left-wing” or “right-wing”—with the…

In an era characterized by divisiveness, when it comes to holding polarizing figures accountable, it may feel like we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. It doesn’t have to be. “We’re more divided than ever before,” is a phrase that’s been carelessly thrown around by many in recent years—most frequently during Trump’s presidency.…

American politics has an age problem, and it’s getting worse. Why the driving force behind America’s gerontocracy is a deep-seated advantage for incumbents, and what we can do about it. This week, Senator Dianne Feinstein announced she would not run for re-election in 2024. Fittingly, the 89-year-old Senator from California was apparently unaware of the…

Epic catastrophe or monumental step towards space exploration? It depends entirely on who you ask. In today’s fractured media landscape, we have, unfortunately, become fairly accustomed to biases bleeding into most of our news coverage. So much so, that it’s basically become the norm to qualify any and all media as “left-wing” or “right-wing”—with the…

We’ve been captivated by the sudden rise of AI tools like ChatGPT because of the dystopian future they seemingly implicate. In reality, the only people who should be worried are the specialists. A lot of readers ask, “What’s a sciolist?” After I restrain myself from the urge to tell them to “Google it,” I explain…

After more than a decade of withstanding the blowback from the “Move Fast and Break Things” era, it remains to be seen whether we’ll ever learn from our mistakes. Since the great financial crisis, those accessing the capital markets have seen meteoric highs — including an earth shattering number of unicorns and IPOs — and tumultuous lows — including…