The Future is Electric

Climate change deniers are getting angrier and angrier because there is less and less ground that they can even moderately stand upon. They are being forced off of multiple positions and the world is ignoring their opinions en masse. People used to be able to believe that warming wasn’t occurring without much cognitive dissonance. But not any more. This is a podcast version of the article of the same name on the TFIE Medium publication.

Tesla is kicking all of the luxury car manufacturers’ butts up and down the categories they sell in. That’s true of all equivalent brands, but BMW is in the most trouble. BMW’s new electrification strategy is the same as its current strategy — the generic car brand that tries to have a car for everyone. BMW’s documented and communicated strategy is to have every model be available in either a fully internal combustion, fully electric, or hybrid model. This is a podcast version of the article by the same name on The Future is Electric Medium publication.

For the past few years, study after study has been showing a decrease in both conservative support for and rates of vaccination. This appears to be related to the current trend of conservatives toward an anti-science agenda in several countries and possibly the introduction of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. This is a podcast version of the article of the same name in the TFIE Medium publication.

Bezos is right, but he’s also somewhat banal. This is an insight all CEOs need to have front and center at all times. CEOs today need to have clear strategic sight lines for disruptors in their industry and the internal and external factors which both threaten their businesses, and give them great opportunity. This is a podcast version of the article of the same name from the TFIE Medium publication.

Jordan B. Peterson, clinical psychologist, best-selling author, self-help guru and strong defender of his right to insult people while suing others for insulting him, is many things. One of those things is that he is a favorite of the alt-right and the so called manosphere, including incel and MGTOW groups, as well as the Intellectual Dark Web. What exactly is going on? This is a podcast version of the article of the same name on the TFIE Medium publication.

Conservatives, both voters and party, believe and assert so much that is disconnected from reality that it’s painful to listen to. It’s hard to think of a time in history when such a large group has been so privileged for so long in their ability to be completely and absurdly wrong about so many things and yet succeed. They have so much power and influence globally, and they are squandering it because they have no adherence to empirical reality. This is the podcast version of the article of the same name on the TFIE Medium publication.

Does Peterson really believe that global warming and climate change are faked, or not an issue, or not understood? Yes, he’s that intellectually arrogant, and is rewarded richly for being so, so he’s sticking with it. Is he right about climate change? No, even less so than on most of the other topics he spouts off about. But it won’t stop him until his audience stops listening and roaring their approval. This is a podcast version of the article of the same name in the TFIE publication.

Cognitive science is helping us understand how to communicate more effectively with people who don’t currently accept the science behind global warming and climate change. There’s hope. Find influencers and convince them. Play up “the climate is changing” angle and play down “the humans are causing it” angle. Find people inside the tribe who can be effective influencers. Talk about the hurricanes and wildfires. Don’t broadcast and expect to be effective. This is an oral version of the article of the same name in the TFIE Medium publication.

Postmodernism is mostly just a form of artistic criticism, but conservative intellectuals are constantly attacking it these days. Liberals are perplexed by the attacks, if they think about them at all. What the heck is going on? This TFIE culture piece is an oral version of the article of the same name on the TFIE Medium publication.