Archive: Ideas

The Age of Dis-Enlightenment

The Enlightenment asked whether a claim could be supported. The Dis-Enlightenment increasingly asks how the claim makes us feel.

Brett S. ChappellJuly 31, 20268 minutes

Against the Lane – A letter to the next generation

“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.

Marc O. DinesJune 5, 202636 minutes

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

Brett S. ChappellMarch 25, 20261 minute

The World Is Not Static

The Earth operates on longer cycles than we do. Deserts expand and recede. Seas disappear and return. Even Polaris is temporary. Stewardship demands we plan accordingly.

Brett S. ChappellMarch 2, 20263 minutes

The Scale Problem With 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.

Brett S. ChappellFebruary 5, 20268 minutes

Greenland: A Controlled Experiment in Collapse

Twenty years ago I read Jared Diamond’s Collapse. The story of Norse Greenland still matters because it shows how societies rarely fail suddenly. They fail slowly, through reasonable decisions that no longer fit a changing world.

Brett S. ChappellJanuary 21, 20264 minutes