Very interesting to see the way an existential conflict creates a forcing function around the salience of domestic political division [in Taiwan]. Certainly this mirrors what I saw in Ukraine, wherein the modal person took it as a default that “opinions about the Zelenskyy administration” and “mobilization against Russia” were worthwhile to disentangle. Perhaps revealing that, in contexts like Iran where the war lacks existential salience, the political valence is harder to remove.
I really enjoyed this discussion. What stood out to me wasn’t any single policy recommendation, but the recurring emphasis on credibility, resilience, industrial capacity, and institutional speed. Those all point to something even more fundamental: a civilization’s ability to learn.
I sometimes wonder whether the long-term advantage of a nation comes less from the amount of military power it possesses than from how effectively it incorporates feedback and adapts after success as well as failure. Competition is important, but perhaps learning is the deeper variable that ultimately shapes the outcome.
A great read. Loved the part on RoboCom and the problems of geographic/combatant commands. The Plutarch quote is so rich!
Very interesting to see the way an existential conflict creates a forcing function around the salience of domestic political division [in Taiwan]. Certainly this mirrors what I saw in Ukraine, wherein the modal person took it as a default that “opinions about the Zelenskyy administration” and “mobilization against Russia” were worthwhile to disentangle. Perhaps revealing that, in contexts like Iran where the war lacks existential salience, the political valence is harder to remove.
I really enjoyed this discussion. What stood out to me wasn’t any single policy recommendation, but the recurring emphasis on credibility, resilience, industrial capacity, and institutional speed. Those all point to something even more fundamental: a civilization’s ability to learn.
I sometimes wonder whether the long-term advantage of a nation comes less from the amount of military power it possesses than from how effectively it incorporates feedback and adapts after success as well as failure. Competition is important, but perhaps learning is the deeper variable that ultimately shapes the outcome.