How to Be a Better Reactionary: Time and Knowledge in Technology RegulationI wrote this essay for a workshop that will be held at George Washington University this week titled “Politics of Controlling Powerful…Oct 17, 20231323Oct 17, 20231323
Costs Untold: Sheila Jasanoff and the Long Trail of Emotional Abuse and Academic BullyingIn 2015, I started writing this essay about my experiences with emotional abuse and academic bullying at the hands of Sheila Jasanoff in…Nov 7, 20223411Nov 7, 20223411
Costs Untold: Sheila Jasanoff and the Long Trail of Emotional Abuse and Academic BullyingIn 2015, I started writing this essay about my experiences with emotional abuse and academic bullying at the hands of Sheila Jasanoff in…Nov 7, 202223Nov 7, 202223
Published inBlockchain BizWhy the Crypto Crash is Nothing Like the Dotcom CrashGreat internet tech emerged from the rubble of the early 2000s — but there’s no reason to think blockchain will do the sameJun 20, 20221.4K25Jun 20, 20221.4K25
What Was “the New Economy”?This paper for the Business History Conference is the shaggiest thing I have written in years. Work and personal life developments —…Mar 29, 2022538Mar 29, 2022538
The Myth of the “Pinto memo” is Not a Hopeful Story for Our TimeA few of the issues I mention below were changed after I finished this post, when Wired “updated” the article on 10/20/21, but I think it…Oct 21, 2021562Oct 21, 2021562
You’re Doing It Wrong: Notes on Criticism and Technology HypeMaybe more people are writing about the real and potential problems of technology today than ever before. That is mostly a good thing. The…Feb 1, 202186425Feb 1, 202186425
Published inThe StartupSeven Theses on Technology and the US EconomyOver the past five years, including while writing The Innovation Delusion with Andy Russell, I have been reading a number of works that…Jan 25, 20211542Jan 25, 20211542
Published inOneZeroI Won’t Buy Another iPhone Until Apple Supports Right to RepairWhy one longtime Apple fan is giving up on the companyFeb 26, 20207637Feb 26, 20207637
Rifkin’s Erroneous Riffing, or Why Basing Plans on Techno-Prophecy is Such a Bad IdeaIn the last few weeks, friends at Virginia Tech have been asking me worried questions about the futurist and writer Jeremy Rifkin, who has…Feb 11, 2019441Feb 11, 2019441
The Design Thinking Movement is AbsurdHave you ever heard of Design Thinking?Nov 26, 201817Nov 26, 201817
The Lack-of-Positive-Futures HypothesisRecently, I’ve heard several people suggest that a lack-of-positive-futures, or optimistic visions of tomorrow, have hampered advances in…Oct 4, 20187Oct 4, 20187
Proposal to Fortify University Water Supply with Sanitized Cat Feces to Increase Innovation and…In a recent publication, business school professors and collaborators put forward evidence that a parasite found in feline excrement may be…Jul 26, 2018Jul 26, 2018
There’s So Little There There: A Response to the Stanford d.school’s Defense of Design ThinkingLast week, I awoke to find a funny message in my inbox. A colleague had forwarded me an email that a leader at the Stanford d.school…Jun 14, 201810Jun 14, 201810
7 Questions and Answers on a New Academic Center on Innovation Innovation InnovationThis post builds on two earlier ones I wrote, “Learning Innovation is Evolving into an Academic Discipline,” and the follow-up, “8…May 18, 20181May 18, 20181
Design Thinking is Kind of Like Syphilis — It’s Contagious and Rots Your Brains(This essay is long. If it would be easier for you to read a pdf — though one without images and video links for now — you can down load it…Dec 6, 201791Dec 6, 201791
You Have Been Waiting Your Whole Life for Me: Cathy O’Neil Misrepresents RealityYesterday, Cathy O’Neil, author of the well-regarded book, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens…Nov 15, 20171Nov 15, 20171
95 Theses on Innovation(For Patrick McCray, in Tribute to His Support of Junior Scholars)Nov 12, 2015Nov 12, 2015
The Zombie Scale of Classroom ParticipationBeware of the Zombies!! I’ve used this scale to great effect in my classes for a few years.Dec 1, 2014Dec 1, 2014
One Reason Why I Do What I Do: A Historian’s ThanksgivingI posted this on my personal blog on leevinsel.com but wanted to share it with my Medium friends too.Nov 27, 2014Nov 27, 2014