Odin Halvorson - The Unenlightened Generalists

Drawing of two soliders in a hole, bombs buzzing overhead. One says: "You said it buddy, we're in a hole!"

Politics

The Modern Axis and Allies

The 'Board of Peace' heralds a new era of fractured trust and global conflict... but there's still time to stop things from getting out of control.

A 1940s comic strip; a superhero destroys a machine. Key text: "No one has any business using this sort of thing!"

From Vibe Coding to Agentic Engineering

Finding the balance in AI-assisted development.

Philosophy

Stoicism, Community, and the Reality of Freedom

We often treat individual liberty as a state of being completely untouched by reality. But as Herbert Read and the ancient Stoics understood, true freedom is how we respond to the systems we live in.

Mental Models

Applying the Laws of Physics to Human Connection

Why siloed thinking is a trap, how Newton's Third Law dictates our relationships, and the power of embracing what you don't know.

A photo of the "alien" cast members of Babylon 5, posing for the shot.

Sci-Fi

A Babylon 5 Retrospective: The Magic of the 24-Episode Season

Revisiting J. Michael Straczynski's sci-fi masterpiece decades later. Why the lost art of the 'filler' episode and passionate acting created a universe we'll never see again.

Cover for fanboys film: nerdy white kids dressed in star wars costumes.

Film Review

A Fanboy's Retrospective: The Earnest Cult Classic That Sabotaged Itself

Revisiting the 2009 comedy 'Fanboys'. It had a sweet premise and a stellar cast, but does the cruel, predatory humor of the early 2000s hold up today?

Retro illustration of a smiling graduate in a cap and gown and six young men in suits in front of a grand university building.

Society

Carnegie's Myth of "Useful Knowledge" Broke Modern Education

From 19th-century union busting to the 21st-century literacy crisis, tracing the deliberate marginalization of the liberal arts.

Society

The Carnival Game of Meritocracy

Why the "self-made" myth ignores who pays for the tickets, who gets to throw the darts, and who works the booth.

Movies

"Work the Problem": Returning to The Martian Ten Years Later

How Andy Weir's sci-fi masterpiece continues to inspire a sense of wonder, practical problem-solving, and a vision for space exploration beyond the profit motive.