Designing for Failed Solutions

Mark Rubin

The other day I posted Our Wealth Gap. In it I wrote: We can’t solve a problem to save our lives! Today, I focus on an example.

The Interview

What Gun Law Changes Would GOP Lawmakers Consider? offers Steve Inskeep’s interview of Alex Conant, a Republican political consultant. Mr. Conant offers a pleasant, disciplined, and articulate voice. He almost sounds reasonable!

So how did Mr. Conant tork me off? Cause me to scream at the car radio, which I don’t do … very often. Here’s the question, the offending answer, and the highlighted sentence which reflects a desire to never solve the gun problem:

INSKEEP: But, I mean, define the problem.

We Didn’t Start the Fire

Billy Joel

Here’s the fourth iteration of We Didn’t Start the Fire (Annotated), first published on July 13, 2014

Christie Brinkley

Elle Macpherson

William M. Joel writes and sings songs. On March 23, 1985 he married tall and very classy Christie Brinkley. (They divorced on August 25, 1994.) Was Ms. Brinkley the Uptown Girl in Uptown Girl, Mr. Joel’s big 1983 hit song? Only maybe, for while Mr. Joel—the short, Downtown Guy—knew and was friendly with Ms. Brinkley when he wrote the song, at the time he was dating taller very Uptown babe Elle Macpherson.

Some readers know about my affinity for trivia. Every Monday night for five years I played