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← In a dysfunctional society the loss of working knowledge becomes…
17 connected korrents · 16 moments from 9 Mar 1776 to 29 Sept 2026.
Everything filed under Europe
Europe
Everything filed under innovation
innovation
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war
Everything filed under metascience
metascience
Everything filed under mental models
mental models
Everything filed under patience
patience
Everything filed under physics
physics
Everything filed under creativity
creativity
Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject
Read this korrent: In a dysfunctional society the loss of working knowledge becomes routine, and attempts to reverse-engineer what was lost do not always succeed.
In a dysfunctional society the loss of working knowledge becomes routine, and attempts to reverse-engineer what was lost do not always succeed.
Last stated 6 years ago
19 Aug 2020
SB
Samo Burja — holds since 2020-08-19 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Technological capability has to be practised to be kept: a country that stops making something forgets how. — tap to centre the map on it
Technological capability has to be practised to be kept: a country that stops making something forgets how.
Last stated 2 years ago
6 Apr 2025
DW
Dan Wang — holds since 2020-01-01 — tap for who they are
MH
Molson Hart — holds since 2025-04-06 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The recent fall in test scores is a rich-world phenomenon, and steeper in several European countries than in America, so it cannot be blamed on American policy. — tap to centre the map on it
The recent fall in test scores is a rich-world phenomenon, and steeper in several European countries than in America, so it cannot be blamed on American policy.
Last stated 11 months ago
20 Nov 2025
FD
Freddie deBoer — holds since 2025-11-20 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Money cannot buy back a manufacturing capability a country has lost, because what is missing is the knowhow. — tap to centre the map on it
Money cannot buy back a manufacturing capability a country has lost, because what is missing is the knowhow.
Last stated 2 years ago
6 Apr 2025
MH
Molson Hart — holds since 2025-04-06 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Overturned findings do not make knowledge entirely uncertain; we are approaching the truth asymptotically — tap to centre the map on it
Overturned findings do not make knowledge entirely uncertain; we are approaching the truth asymptotically
Last stated 3 weeks ago
29 Sept 2026
SA
Samuel Arbesman — holds since 2026-09-29 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Practicing fewer skills leads to man-with-a-hammer error and shrinks learning capacity, by leaving gaps in the latticework of theory — tap to centre the map on it
Practicing fewer skills leads to man-with-a-hammer error and shrinks learning capacity, by leaving gaps in the latticework of theory
CM
Charlie Munger — holds since c. 2005 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Ordinary learning from experience makes organizations abandon things after early failure, so good things are dropped too soon — tap to centre the map on it
Ordinary learning from experience makes organizations abandon things after early failure, so good things are dropped too soon
JM
James G. March — holds since c. 2013 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Information is not lost in a black hole; the paradox is a crisis handing us clues, not a sign that quantum mechanics fails. — tap to centre the map on it
Information is not lost in a black hole; the paradox is a crisis handing us clues, not a sign that quantum mechanics fails.
Last stated a year ago
5 May 2025
JL
Janna Levin — holds since 2025-05-05 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A worker who spends a whole life on a few simple, repetitive tasks generally loses the habit of thinking — tap to centre the map on it
A worker who spends a whole life on a few simple, repetitive tasks generally loses the habit of thinking
Last stated 251 years ago
9 Mar 1776
AS
Adam Smith — holds since 1776-03-09 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work. — tap to centre the map on it
A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work.
Last stated 2 months ago
7 Aug 2026
MH
Max Hodak — holds since 2026-08-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A heavily centralised state is the most fragile kind: when Rome’s centre failed, its successors were left without the resources or administration to do what it had done. — tap to centre the map on it
A heavily centralised state is the most fragile kind: when Rome’s centre failed, its successors were left without the resources or administration to do what it had done.
Last stated 5 years ago
28 Jan 2022
BD
Bret Devereaux — holds since 2022-01-28 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A new world order based on raw power is being drawn right now, and Europe has to fight for its place in it. — tap to centre the map on it
A new world order based on raw power is being drawn right now, and Europe has to fight for its place in it.
Last stated a year ago
10 Sept 2025
UL
Ursula von der Leyen — holds since 2025-09-10 — tap for who they are
Same subject: "Lots of anonymous people worked it out by trial and error" is never the real story of an invention: on closer investigation, identifiable people always turn out to be responsible. — tap to centre the map on it
"Lots of anonymous people worked it out by trial and error" is never the real story of an invention: on closer investigation, identifiable people always turn out to be responsible.
Last stated 3 years ago
25 Oct 2023
AH
Anton Howes — holds since 2023-10-25 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use. — tap to centre the map on it
A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use.
Last stated 5 months ago
2 Jun 2026
JJ
Justin Jackson — holds since 2026-06-02 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A capability existing is not the same as a capability being absorbed: how fast a technology changes the world is not set by how fast the technology improves. — tap to centre the map on it
A capability existing is not the same as a capability being absorbed: how fast a technology changes the world is not set by how fast the technology improves.
Last stated 3 months ago
21 Jul 2026
RT
Ruxandra Teslo — holds since 2026-07-21 — tap for who they are
Same subject: 'As long as it takes' lacks urgency, and it is a formula available to Ukraine's allies precisely because they are not the ones doing the fighting. — tap to centre the map on it
'As long as it takes' lacks urgency, and it is a formula available to Ukraine's allies precisely because they are not the ones doing the fighting.
Last stated a year ago
10 Oct 2025
LF
Lawrence Freedman — holds since 2025-10-10 — tap for who they are
Same subject: 9/11 and Osama bin Laden's actions fundamentally shaped the world we live in today. — tap to centre the map on it
9/11 and Osama bin Laden's actions fundamentally shaped the world we live in today.
Last stated a month ago
11 Sept 2026
MY
Matthew Yglesias — holds since 2026-09-11 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A ceasefire along the current lines would end the killing and still leave a long-term settlement between Russia and Ukraine possible. — tap to centre the map on it
A ceasefire along the current lines would end the killing and still leave a long-term settlement between Russia and Ukraine possible.
Last stated 2 months ago
26 Aug 2026
BM
Branko Milanovic — holds since 2026-08-26 — tap for who they are
same subject or similar wording a cloud: claims about one subject, named for it bar: when it was last stated, on a scale from 1776 to today (stretched back to the oldest claim here) — full is today a face: someone who holds the claim — tap it for who they are
At the centre
In a dysfunctional society the loss of working knowledge becomes routine, and attempts to reverse-engineer what was lost do not always succeed.
Last stated 19 Aug 2020 · 6 years ago
Holds Samo Burja
Read this korrent →
Similar wording
Technological capability has to be practised to be kept: a country that stops making something forgets how.
Last stated 6 Apr 2025 · 2 years ago
Holds Dan Wang Molson Hart
Similar wording
The recent fall in test scores is a rich-world phenomenon, and steeper in several European countries than in America, so it cannot be blamed on American policy.
Last stated 20 Nov 2025 · 11 months ago
Holds Freddie deBoer
Similar wording
Money cannot buy back a manufacturing capability a country has lost, because what is missing is the knowhow.
Last stated 6 Apr 2025 · 2 years ago
Holds Molson Hart
Similar wording
Overturned findings do not make knowledge entirely uncertain; we are approaching the truth asymptotically
Last stated 29 Sept 2026 · 3 weeks ago
Holds Samuel Arbesman
Similar wording
Practicing fewer skills leads to man-with-a-hammer error and shrinks learning capacity, by leaving gaps in the latticework of theory
Last stated c. 2005
Holds Charlie Munger
Similar wording
Ordinary learning from experience makes organizations abandon things after early failure, so good things are dropped too soon
Last stated c. 2013
Holds James G. March
Similar wording
Information is not lost in a black hole; the paradox is a crisis handing us clues, not a sign that quantum mechanics fails.
Last stated 5 May 2025 · a year ago
Holds Janna Levin
Similar wording
A worker who spends a whole life on a few simple, repetitive tasks generally loses the habit of thinking
Last stated 9 Mar 1776 · 251 years ago
Holds Adam Smith
Same subject: Europe
A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work.
Last stated 7 Aug 2026 · 2 months ago
Holds Max Hodak
Same subject: Europe
A heavily centralised state is the most fragile kind: when Rome’s centre failed, its successors were left without the resources or administration to do what it had done.
Last stated 28 Jan 2022 · 5 years ago
Holds Bret Devereaux
Same subject: Europe
A new world order based on raw power is being drawn right now, and Europe has to fight for its place in it.
Last stated 10 Sept 2025 · a year ago
Holds Ursula von der Leyen
Same subject: innovation
"Lots of anonymous people worked it out by trial and error" is never the real story of an invention: on closer investigation, identifiable people always turn out to be responsible.
Last stated 25 Oct 2023 · 3 years ago
Holds Anton Howes
Same subject: innovation
A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use.
Last stated 2 Jun 2026 · 5 months ago
Holds Justin Jackson
Same subject: innovation
A capability existing is not the same as a capability being absorbed: how fast a technology changes the world is not set by how fast the technology improves.
Last stated 21 Jul 2026 · 3 months ago
Holds Ruxandra Teslo
Same subject: war
'As long as it takes' lacks urgency, and it is a formula available to Ukraine's allies precisely because they are not the ones doing the fighting.
Last stated 10 Oct 2025 · a year ago
Holds Lawrence Freedman
Same subject: war
9/11 and Osama bin Laden's actions fundamentally shaped the world we live in today.
Last stated 11 Sept 2026 · a month ago
Holds Matthew Yglesias
Same subject: war
A ceasefire along the current lines would end the killing and still leave a long-term settlement between Russia and Ukraine possible.
Last stated 26 Aug 2026 · 2 months ago
Holds Branko Milanovic