IdeasCommentary8 min read
The Age of Dis-Enlightenment
Brett S. Chappell /
The Enlightenment asked whether a claim could be supported. The Dis-Enlightenment increasingly asks how the claim makes us feel.
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Putting the Band Together, Not the Algo
Brett S. ChappellAI,Learnings,Uncategorized#BBKing,#Hiring,#TeamCulture,AI,Leadership,Life Perspectives
In an age when AI can polish every CV, leadership is still about knowing who can actually play in the band.
Against the Lane – A letter to the next generation
Marc O. DinesAI,Investment,LearningsLife Perspectives,Stewardship
“Jack of all trades, master of none” was once a compliment. Why breadth beats specialisation, and why AI has just made the generalist more valuable than ever.
Bespoke Conformity
Brett S. ChappellAlternatives,Family OfficesAsset Management,Behavioral Finance,Hipster Effect
Finance has its own version of the hipster effect: everybody wants differentiated insight, yet many end up sounding remarkably alike. A strange story about mistaken identity becomes an unexpectedly useful metaphor for modern investment culture.
The pipes, they are a changin’
Brett S. ChappellAI,InvestmentAI Infratsructure,Credit Markets,Fixed Income,Infrastructure Finance,Market Structure
The largest AI infrastructure deal in history was not funded by banks. It was absorbed by the buy side. That shift tells you more about the market than the technology itself.
AI Can Now Detect Gaslighting and Narcissism. That’s Progress. It’s Also a Risk.
Brett S. ChappellAIArtificial Intelligence,behavioral analysis,Digital Forensics,Gaslighting,Narcissism
AI can now flag gaslighting and narcissism in your messages. It still cannot tell the difference between abuse and irony.
Podcast: Are Family Offices the Answer to Unmet Sustainability?
In March, 2026 Brett S. Chappell sat down with Aline Reichenberg Gustafsson, CFA, and Filipe Albuquerque from Stockholm-based Nordsip to talk about family offices and sustainability investments. If you have 35 minutes and want to learn more, then please tune in to this episode of ESGpresso. The spoken language is English. Links:Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Longer reading
Essays and long-form pieces worth setting time aside for.
Why Most Family Offices Should Fail (And How to Build the Rare Exception)
Marc O. DinesFamily Offices,Investment,Learnings,SustainabilityLife Perspectives,Stewardship
Why Most Family Offices Should Fail (And How to Build the Rare Exception) “Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man, but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity“ Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian and philosopher (1795-1881) Unfinished portrait of Thomas Carlyle by John Everett Millais (1877). Source: National […]
CFA vs CAIA: What Studying Both Markets Reveals About Complementarity
Marc O. DinesAlternatives,Investment,Learnings,SustainabilityCross discipline,ESG & Sustainability,Private Markets,Public Markets
Studying both CFA and CAIA reveals how public and private markets complement each other. Learn about IRR illusions, benchmark thinking, and portfolio allocation insights from 20+ years of experience.
Teach Your Kids About Investing (Without Telling Them)
Marc O. DinesInvestment,LearningsFinancial Education,Life Perspectives,Long-Term Investing
I spent over 20 years learning how markets work. Then I tried to teach my kids. Charts glazed their eyes. Monopoly taught them the wrong lessons entirely. It took a Renaissance gem-trading board game to make compound growth, concentration risk, and strategic patience click. Sometimes the best financial education doesn’t look like education at all.
The Scale Problem With Space
Brett S. ChappellLearningsAstronomy,Astrophysics,Perspective,Scale,Science,space
What looks close in the night sky almost never is. The Moon, the Sun, and even the nearest stars are separated by distances that defy everyday experience. Using a simple scale model, this piece explores how far “far away” really is, and why space stops being something you can walk through or draw long before you reach the stars.
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