Category Archives: Geeky Musings

Thinking aloud about all manner of voodoo and geekery from resident Club Troppo geeks.

Yes Minister: hilarious, truthful, too good to be true.

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Paul Frijters

Here at Troppo we have referred to the ‘Yes Minister series’ many times because of its brilliant commentary on the timeless issues of government, exemplified in the skit above. I have gone through three phases with the series: when it … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Economics and public policy, Ethics, Geeky Musings, Humour, Journalism, Libertarian Musings, Life, Philosophy, Political theory, Review, Society | 9 Comments

Techno crystal ball gazing

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Ken Parish

As some may have noticed, I’ve been musing of late about the likely future social and economic effects of the increasingly rapid and interconnected development of ICT, artificial intelligence and robotics. This article is a bit silly in some respects … Continue reading →

Posted in Geeky Musings, Social Policy | 9 Comments

Would sortition help against corruption?

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Paul Frijters

Political parties and institutions in Australia and the US are increasingly dominated by interest groups representing the few, leading to a large policy-induced increase in inequality in recent decades and a long raft of new policies favouring the few by … Continue reading →

Posted in bubble, Cultural Critique, Economics and public policy, Ethics, Geeky Musings, History, Information, Law, Libertarian Musings, Life, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - national, Public and Private Goods, regulation, Social Policy, Society | 64 Comments

Legal shockwaves following the dissection of the oath.

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Paul Frijters

Following Nick and Rex’s tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of the ‘concept’ and ‘gravitational waves’, news has just come in that the oath witnesses take in Australia has been sliced into its fundamental constituents: perjury, utopia, and blasphemy. ‘It was quite easy to … Continue reading →

Posted in bubble, Competitions, Cultural Critique, Geeky Musings, Libertarian Musings | 5 Comments

Feet of clay weekend competition: Ray Kurzweil edition

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Nicholas Gruen

People may know of Ray Kurzweil. I first saw him at a conference in Melbourne where he was introduced as the greatest thing since sliced bread (an introduction he’d clearly had a hand in writing or authorising) and kept talking about … Continue reading →

Posted in Geeky Musings, History | 11 Comments

You’d think that people would have had enough of silly design mistakes: or at least of repeating them

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Nicholas Gruen

Here are a few gripes about really stupid things. I’m back to Android (the new LG built Nexus 5X)  and much happier than with my iPhone. But why (oh why) when you press and hold the ‘on/off’ switch and the ‘power off’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Geeky Musings | 11 Comments

Surprises of the Internet

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Paul Frijters

With the Internet being a regular feature of our lives for about 20 years now, what have been the related developments that were hard to pick at the outset? What are the lessons? Five thoughts: Communication and personal expression is … Continue reading →

Posted in Best From Elsewhere, Business, Cultural Critique, Economics and public policy, Geeky Musings, History, Information, Innovation, IT and Internet, Libertarian Musings, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Political theory, Public and Private Goods, Science | 21 Comments