Tag Archives: philosophy

White Paper: Ignorance and Transgression: Distinguishing Uninformed Anomaly from Deliberate Innovation in Unusual Works

Posted on December 17, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Unusual works appear in every creative, intellectual, and technical field. Some arise because creators do not know the rules of a genre or discipline; others emerge because creators know the rules and deliberately violate them. While both categories … Continue reading →

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A Typology of Reasons Why Animals Are Worthwhile to People: A White Paper on Instrumental, Relational, Moral, and Civilizational Value

Posted on December 15, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Debates about the value of animals often collapse into narrow frames: economic utility, emotional attachment, environmentalism, or animal rights. Such reductions obscure the reality that animals matter to people for multiple, overlapping, and historically persistent reasons. This white … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Why Polk County, Florida—and Sheriff Grady Judd—Became a National Flash Point in America’s Crime Debate

Posted on December 15, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Polk County sits at a crossroads of American cultural politics about crime: fast growth, suburban–exurban churn, and an “I-4 corridor” media ecosystem that turns local incidents into national content. Sheriff Grady Judd has amplified that effect through an … Continue reading →

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Plain Speaking and the Construction of Legitimacy: A White Paper on Rhetorical Transparency as a Strategy of Authority

Posted on December 13, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Plain speaking—characterized by direct language, minimal euphemism, and an aversion to ornamental or evasive rhetoric—has historically functioned as a powerful strategy for establishing legitimacy across political, religious, legal, and institutional contexts. This white paper examines plain speaking not … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Red Sky Heuristics: Atmospheric Optics, Weather Systems, and the Question of East–West Universality

Posted on December 11, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The proverb “Red sky at night, sailors’ delight; red sky in morning, sailors take warning” is one of the most widely circulated pieces of folk meteorology. Its empirical accuracy is surprisingly high—approximately 70–80% in mid-latitude climates—and its validity … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Competitive Advantage of Multi-Tool Athletes: A Structural Analysis of Positionless Development in Football and Other Team Sports: A Case Study of Bixby High School (Oklahoma) and the Broader Evolution of Athletic Versatility

Posted on December 10, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Elite athletic programs increasingly rely on positionless skill development, producing players who can run, pass, catch, block, tackle, diagnose plays, and shift roles without losing strategic coherence. Among high school programs, Bixby High School in Oklahoma represents a … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Necessity of Epistemological Humility in Human Judgment and Action

Posted on December 8, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Epistemological humility—the recognition of our limited knowledge, fallible reasoning, and susceptibility to error—is not merely a philosophical virtue. It is a practical necessity for individuals, institutions, and societies navigating an increasingly complex world. Human understanding is unavoidably partial, … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Psychology of Hierarchy and Card Passing in the Game Presidents

Posted on December 8, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The card game Presidents—also known as Asshole, Capitalism, Kings, and other regional variants—contains a rule in which the highest-ranked players receive the best cards from the lowest-ranked players at the start of each new round. This mechanic creates … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Dealing with the Inescapable Problem of Unanticipated Misunderstanding: A Framework for Communication, Institutions, and Personal Practice

Posted on December 7, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Human beings cannot anticipate all the ways in which they may misunderstand others or be misunderstood. This limitation arises from the inherent asymmetry of perspective, the opacity of intent, the under-specification of language, and the unpredictability of how … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Layers of Epistemic Unbelief and the Conditions for Their Resolution

Posted on December 6, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Epistemic unbelief—the refusal, inability, or resistance to accept a claim as true—does not arise from a single cause. Instead, it exists in layered forms, ranging from simple ignorance to entrenched moral rebellion. Each layer requires different corrective mechanisms; … Continue reading →

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