By Joel Bowman, on January 1st, 2019% In the days of sailing vessels, there were two main problems: too much wind (see Typhoon) and not enough wind (doldrums). Sailors also speak of the quiet before the storm. That pre-storm quiet is a well-known warning of things to come. I suspect the metaphor also applies to political life: there’s a period of quiet before “all hell breaks loose.” Metaphorically speaking, the same concepts apply to political life, where we fluctuate between having too much going on or not enough happening.
We seem to be in such a period now—not just in the States, but in many countries around . . . → Read More: Slow Start for the New Year
By Joel Bowman, on January 31st, 2018% In some ways, a picture really is worth a thousand words. A picture can often tell a story or communicate feelings that would take a thousand words to tell. If you are old enough to remember the 9/11 attacks, you doubtless remember the video of the buildings on fire and smoking, and people jumping to their deaths to avoid being burned alive. That video has more emotional impact than any of the stories you might have read about it. Reading is more cognitive: we understand more fully. Video is more visceral: we feel more.
When I was an undergraduate . . . → Read More: Who Reads?
By Joel Bowman, on September 4th, 2017% The term, loose cannon, has been around a long time. Cannons used on sailing vessels were large, typically weighing several tons. To avoid damage from the recoil when they were fired, they were mounted on rollers and secured with rope. The cannon jumped backwards when fired. If you have ever fired a weapon, you are familiar with recoil. The cannons get hot when they are used in battle, and each time a cannon is fired, it jumps higher and rolls farther. If the ropes holding the cannon secure were to break, a loose cannon would roll backwards and crush anything—or . . . → Read More: Loose Cannon on Deck
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