Before Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, we are always in a state of ignorance. The moment we decided to escape, we sank into the faint light of fake knowledge. The good news is that, from Leo Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, to Nassim Nicholas Taleb, we are slowly finding our way… Continue reading From Tolstoy, Kafka, to Taleb
Tag: Tolstoy
A Historical Theory of Tea and Opium
The mysterious way in which seemingly disparate historical events are connected with each other fills me with awe. The human intellect simply cannot grasp the infinite permutations and the sheer complexity of the laws of history. In 1773, the Boston Tea Party threw 342 chests of Chinese tea into the Boston Harbor, leading to the… Continue reading A Historical Theory of Tea and Opium
Factionalism in War and Peace
In Tolstoy's War and Peace, Prince Andrey enumerated the factions within the Russian high command during Napoleon's invasion. You usually see the full range or a subset of these dynamics as a group responds to situations. Rigid military theorists Non-planners favoring spontaneous actions Courtiers reconciling the first two groups Advocates of surrendering to Napoleon Adherents… Continue reading Factionalism in War and Peace
Andy Yee 