Ideas & Culture - Dr Robert N. Winter (Page 2)

Why Is Everyone in My Meeting?

Open-plan offices have become acoustically ungovernable. Video calls happen everywhere, all at once, turning work into a blur of overlapping noise. Meetings proliferate without purpose, rewarding presence over thought. The solution isn’t more tech—it’s fewer invitations, clearer boundaries, and, whe

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 20 Apr 2025

Members Only

An illustration depicting a crowded business meeting in an office. At the centre, a bewildered manager in a navy suit gesture

Why Hype Erodes Communication

Hype disconnects speech from reality and shields actors from the consequences of their decisions. Hype becomes not just a linguistic trend but an institutionalised habit of avoidance. When managers are no longer accountable for what they say—because what they say has no anchor in meaning—they become

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 13 Apr 2025

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Illustration showing a corporate meeting in a modern glass-walled conference room. A visibly confused man in a suit sits at t

The Art of Not Reading

In an age of information overload, mastering the art of not reading is vital. Schopenhauer warns against indiscriminate consumption, urging deep engagement with quality works to cultivate sharper thinking, intellectual discipline, and true independence of mind.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 16 Feb 2025

An illustration depicting a man and a woman in a classic study, surrounded by overflowing bookshelves. Both are blindfolded a

Preserving a Little Magic in a Rational World

Margaret Mead argued for keeping Santa as myth, not deception—preserving wonder while nurturing critical thinking. Treating Santa as symbolic and drawing on diverse traditions fosters imagination, honesty, and cultural insight.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 24 Dec 2024

An artistic illustration depicting a magical urban evening scene. The cityscape is illuminated by a warm, golden glow, with s

Narrow Band Comprehension: Understanding Myopia in Performance and Governance

Narrow Band Comprehension limits individual and organisational performance through selective understanding. Organisations can counter it by promoting broad engagement, holistic metrics, and governance-based accountability.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 3 Nov 2024

Narrow Band Comprehension: Understanding Myopia in Performance and Governance

The Limitations of AI in Formal Reasoning

Advances in LLMs show promise, but token bias undermines their logical reliability. Small input shifts can distort outputs, posing risks in fields like medicine, law, and policy. Their dependence on pattern recognition over true reasoning demands closer scrutiny and better design.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 20 Oct 2024

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The image depicts an abstract, stylized human brain divided into two halves. On the left side, the brain is made up of mechan

Look!, there is a Tiger in that Grass

The first in a series on learning from history and its value for organisational decision-making. Today, those who draw lessons from the past risk being labelled “on the wrong side of history,” much as dissenters in business face exile for challenging dominant narratives.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 12 May 2024

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Epochs Within Epochs

While our own short lives may lack the eternality of the Holy Spirit we can transcend events by our choices. Choices which, religious or not, have deep and long lasting moral implications.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 8 Apr 2023

Our Mind is a Blurry Image of Life

The hope is much, for having gotten this far is to be forewarned and thus forearmed. In that we do well to employ scepticism when listening to a human interlocutor. Because even the best of us are filling in the blanks in our memory.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 18 Feb 2023

Ghost Writers: Rise of the Machines

Ultimately, I do not think the problem is that we are building machines so ‘smart’ that their output is indistinguishable from human compositions. The problem is that we are educating humans whose output is so illiterate, and devoid of experience, it is indistinguishable from computer generated text

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 4 Feb 2023

Inner Circle Only

As 'An' Historian

Modernists may disagree, but if challenged by these dangerous revolutionaries, refer them to the below and the glorious roots of our language.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 16 Dec 2022

CR III Royal Cypher

The design of the CR III cipher was produced by the College of Arms and continues a tradition of heraldry that has bound individual monarchs to the institution of monarchy for over a thousand years.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 13 Oct 2022

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Royal Cypher of King Charles III, which reads 'C III R' for 'Carolus III Rex', which means King Charles III in Latin.