Two Most Influential Thinkers...

Alvin Toffler and Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Toffler's "The Third Wave" set my personal framework for any type of foreign development or reconstruction project. The third wave refers to his assessment that human history has experienced only three revolutions; agricultural, industrial, and information. He further breaks down how each revolution changed the structure of families, economies, cultures, religion, governments, and societies. Here he is discussing his latest book.



Using Toffler's framework, I developed the the concept of searching patent office archives for inventions that can be indigenously produced by the local population. This, as opposed to our current strategy of handing out generators to farmers still using candles and have no source of fuel is far more effective at building/rebuilding self-sustaining local economies and creating stakeholders. It is essentially the difference between teaching how to fish and handing out food which the U.S. sometimes does calling it "humanitarian" to create a dependency and bankrupt local farmers.


Nassim Nicholas Taleb is easily one of the smartest modern philosophers I have ever heard. For anyone with the occupation of forecasting, his book, "The Black Swan" is a must-read. Here he is in his own words explaining the black swan concept.