Reflections on Activism

We attended a protest outside the Irish Parliament to object to the deal that Coillte, a State company, made with a UK venture capital company. In this Big Picture Conversation, we reflect on why we went to the gathering and whether activism works.

Carrots and Conviviality – in conversation with Carmel Duffy

Carmel Duffy is a pioneer of system change. For over four decades she has chosen to live more lightly and thoughtfully. It was a great pleasure and honour to spend a morning hearing her story which is shared here. Enjoy! Many thanks to Carmel, Pete, Tom and Ben for their warm hospitality and generous welcome. …
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My excuse for being lazy …

My excuse for being lazy is thinking up new ideas. So why would I admit to laziness? Guilt.  It’s increasingly clear that people are amazing.  Not just celebrities on TV, also regular people.  People who make our lives better,. People who work hard for family and friends and good causes.  Shop owners, tradespeople, “employees”,  and …
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Common Sense in 5 Minutes

We joined an eclectic group at Voice Box at the end of June. We were asked to talk for five minutes about Common Sense, a book about people, planet and profit by a venture capitalist.  Here is the edited version of the video showing the slides more clearly.  Enjoy! Thanks to Jaspar for great camera …
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Unnoticed by everyone, education is regressing.

Understanding education is not easy.  We all think we know what it means but when it comes to defining it and suggesting improvements the challenge becomes amorphous.  I’m trying to create a framework to help improve curriculum and pedagogy. One of the biggest problems I see as an educator, coach and parent is the rapid …
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Sapiens: Thinking, Stories and Ignorance, then choosing to die.

Yuval Harari’s brief history of humankind, weighing in at a meaty 400 pages, is enjoyable, provocative and very worrying.  The wide-ranging, scholarly story is easy to read and sensible.  I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, though I had to restrain myself from skipping to the last chapter: The End of Homo Sapiens. For …
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