Between Theorists and Empiricists

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 13:07:51 +0000

It seems to me that the central distinction in Malcolm Gladwell’s latest offering - Bomber Mafia - is that between theorists and empiricists. To boil it down to a binary choice is of course an oversimplification, but it is one that helps frame the difference between Hansell and Le May, the two figures from either camp who loom large in the book. At stake here, as it turns out, were the lives of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians who met a fiery fate in the aftermath of extensive fire bombings, topped off by the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Hansell, we have the theorist who believed against the evidence - or bad luck - that precision bombing was the way to execute a war that limited deaths. Le May on the other hand comes across as an empiricist who allowed the evidence lead him down the paths it did, albeit with disastrous outcomes for those concerned.

Ctrl+Alt+Del

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:49:48 +0000

To a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish -

- Yiddish saying via Malcolm Gladwell

Second chances - clean sheets wiped clear from all the smudges, memories obliterated, people lost in the maelstrom of life - are great… If only they were as easy as Ctrl+Alt+Del…. Sigh.

Gladwell on A Geek's Life

Between Theorists and Empiricists

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