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Tag: critical thinking

The Architecture of Knowing: Evidence, Secrecy, and Consensus
Lux Colloquii

The Architecture of Knowing: Evidence, Secrecy, and Consensus

Archives, Narratives, and the Limits of Certainty
02 October 2026 ~ 21 minute read

There is a certain tension in trying to make sense of a world where so much of what we know comes to us secondhand. We inherit histories, narratives, assumptions, and interpretations, then build upon them as though the foundations have already been settled. But the further you look, the more complicated that picture can become, and the harder it is to separate what is known from what is simply accepted.

Read more…The Architecture of Knowing: Evidence, Secrecy, and Consensus
It’s Plausible: Truth, Repetition, and the Manufacture of Belief
Lux Colloquii

It’s Plausible: Truth, Repetition, and the Manufacture of Belief

Disinformation in the Age of AI
26 September 2026 ~ 36 minute read

Somewhere along the way, “truth-seeking” on the internet became its own strange ecosystem, complete with its own language, symbols, authorities, personalities, and recurring narratives. What begins as a reasonable question can quickly become something much harder to disentangle, particularly when genuine facts are mixed with speculation, technical language, and claims that seem to explain everything at once. This discussion started with one such story and ended somewhere considerably more interesting.

Read more…It’s Plausible: Truth, Repetition, and the Manufacture of Belief
The Devil We Feed: Fear, Attention, and the Creation of Reality
Lux Colloquii

The Devil We Feed: Fear, Attention, and the Creation of Reality

The Observer Becomes Part of the Story
26 September 2026 ~ 40 minute read

There comes a point in any investigation when the thing being investigated is no longer the only thing worth examining. We can follow the names, institutions, documents, networks, symbols, patterns, and apparent connections as far as they will take us, but sooner or later we have to turn the question back upon ourselves. What happens to the observer who spends enough time looking into the machinery of power, control, fear, and hidden influence? And what happens when the search for an explanation becomes part of the very environment we are trying to understand?

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The Accountability Gap: Institutions, Incentives, and Consequences
Lux Colloquii

The Accountability Gap: Institutions, Incentives, and Consequences

Theranos and the Machinery of Trust
23 September 2026 ~ 21 minute read

There are certain conversations that begin with a single story and gradually reveal something much larger underneath it. Theranos is one of those stories. What initially appears to be a tale of technological deception opens into questions about institutions, incentives, accountability, evidence, and the ways ordinary people can be persuaded to trust things they have neither the knowledge nor the means to independently verify.

Read more…The Accountability Gap: Institutions, Incentives, and Consequences
The Earth We Are Shown: Narrative, Evidence, and Omission
Lux Colloquii

The Earth We Are Shown: Narrative, Evidence, and Omission

Documentary, Persuasion, and Truth
23 September 2026 ~ 22 minute read

There’s something particularly frustrating about watching a beautifully made documentary and realizing how much of what you’re seeing has been selected, arranged, compressed, and framed before it ever reaches you. The production may be polished, the narrator credible, the imagery extraordinary, and the message carefully constructed, but none of that removes the need to question what lies beneath the presentation. What is being shown, what is being omitted, and what assumptions are quietly carrying the entire narrative?

Read more…The Earth We Are Shown: Narrative, Evidence, and Omission