A great read as always. The point about theory reminded me of the French joke - being a notoriously scholarly nation, they value intellectual rigor our practicality...hence the phrase “that’s all very good in practice, but will it work in theory”.
I lived in Prague between 1999 and 2002 - only a decade after the collapse of communism. The Ketman habits of double thinking were deeply ingrained. Naive foreigners, Americans especially, were looked down upon for their lack of cunning. There’s a counterpoint - having the ability to ask the stupid questions out loud becomes a superpower, and an environment in which you can exercise that superpower without risk of being sent to prison will naturally outcompete one that doesn’t, I think.
A great read as always. The point about theory reminded me of the French joke - being a notoriously scholarly nation, they value intellectual rigor our practicality...hence the phrase “that’s all very good in practice, but will it work in theory”.
I lived in Prague between 1999 and 2002 - only a decade after the collapse of communism. The Ketman habits of double thinking were deeply ingrained. Naive foreigners, Americans especially, were looked down upon for their lack of cunning. There’s a counterpoint - having the ability to ask the stupid questions out loud becomes a superpower, and an environment in which you can exercise that superpower without risk of being sent to prison will naturally outcompete one that doesn’t, I think.