Who is In Control?
your Saturday roundup
Professionally, I focus on creating social benefit startups. In my Saturday morning emails I share what I’m learning and thinking. Topics range from better living and parenting to business and philosophy.
Seeing Like a State. I finally read Seeing Like a State which critiques top-down planning and formal expertise (techne), for its blindness to métis, the grounded, adaptive knowledge that emerges from doing. Unlike superstition or rigid tradition, métis is dynamic and evolves through local practice and oral transmission. It is the art of what works. Centralized systems often erase this knowledge to impose legibility, standardized rules that enable taxation, control, or a certain aesthetic of science or seen-from-above order. Yet these simplifications inevitably spawn their opposites: informal and decentralized systems that can be critical to making societies function. He posits that every formal scheme relies on an embedded, messier substrate like trust, family or custom. He provides a positive vision of bottom-up order that is beyond commerce. Worth the read.
Alpha School. I’ve often wondered if there’s a better way to do school. I’ve mentioned Acton before. I’m still inspired by its model of mixed-age groups, Socratic discussions, real-world projects, and an emphasis on entrepreneurship. Recently, I came across a review of Alpha School, known for its bold claim that students can complete their core academic work in two hours per day. The idea of front-loading essential learning to free up time for other kinds of growth is intriguing. Still, I have mixed feelings about leaning into extrinsic rewards. Do you think this model is both possible and valuable? And are there other innovative schools you find compelling?
Paradox of Control. I’ve been pondering the Paradox of Control. On one hand, I want to feel some compassion when people (including myself?) make poor or harmful choices. Perhaps the past left them little room to act otherwise. On the other hand, I know that believing you have control over your actions, an “internal locus of control”, is linked to resilience, achievement, and mental health. How do you keep both perspectives in your mind?
Until next time,
Miles