Implications of Information Age Technology

submitted by jwithrow.
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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Implications of Information Age Technology

March 2, 2016
Hot Springs, VA

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
– R. Buckminster Fuller

The S&P closed out Tuesday at $1,978. Gold closed at $1,231 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $34.40 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 1.74%. Bitcoin is trading around $429 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Last week we examined the rise of the Information Age, and we suggested that the transition is still in its infancy. We also suggested that, like all inevitable changes, the Information Age comes to us bearing both positives and negatives.

Today I want to examine those positives and negatives. I do not have a list to present to you, however – that would be too generalized and boring. Instead, I am going to speak from my personal observations and experiences so this entry will inevitably miss as much as it conveys.

I had the good fortune of growing up during the 80’s and 90’s which, as it turns out, was the bridge between the Industrial Age and the Information Age. Continue reading “Implications of Information Age Technology”

Individualist Capitalism

submitted by jwithrow.individualist capitalism

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Individualist Capitalism

December 14, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Friday at $2,012. Gold closed at $1,074 per ounce. Oil closed at $35.35 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.14%. Bitcoin is trading around $443 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

The U.S. equity markets plummeted by nearly 2% on Friday. Searching for a specific explanation, the financial press blamed the big drop in the equity markets on oil falling in price to multi-year lows. Of course just a few months ago the financial press was hailing falling oil prices as a great economic stimulus. So which is it?

The truth is markets are a confluence of many individual actors, each operating in his or her perceived best interests. Markets go up and markets go down according to individual human action. There can never be a single simple explanation for market activity because there can never be a single explanation for the actions of millions of people. Continue reading “Individualist Capitalism”