Random thoughts
Why winter cycling feels hard
A couple of evenings ago I was enjoying a drink with some colleagues, and a core existential question arose: why is it so much harder to cycle when its -15C than when it’s a balmy +10 or +20C? This question is existential, because it dominates the existence of winter cyclists in Montreal. As I toiled…
The (many) questions AI can’t address
This morning I read an interesting series of three articles in La Presse. They ask whether Artificial Intelligence (admittedly a wide-ranging and vague concept) will be salutary or catastrophic. One article puts the case for AI, one makes the case against, and the final one tries to balance the two. The limited case for AI…
Belief in stats and algorithms : an illusion of objectivity
Algorithms: or how to make responsibility disappear I am reading a fascinating book (Revolutionary Mathematics, by Justin Joque, Verso, 2022) in which he develops the idea that the current takeover of many everyday processes by algorithms (of which he explains the logic and maths – which I find fascinating!) is a form of objectification in…
Abu-Dhabi desert
My comments so far have been about Abu-Dhabi as a city. But the greatest proportion of its territory is desert. I have a fondness for remote places: the desert – even just an hour out of town – is beautiful. Some of my research focusses on the multiple locations from which work activities are conducted.…
Masdar City: a partial eco-neighbourhood?
What is Masdar City? Masdar City is a well-hyped suburban development close to Abu-Dhabi airport, about 30 minutes from the (rather amorphous) centre of the metropolitan area. It is hyped as : “A ground-breaking sustainable urban community and a world-class business free zone and technology hub, with innovation in [its] DNA. Driven by the UAE’s…
Trump’s is smaller
During my short stay in Abu-Dhabi I was fortunate to visit a huge1 , outrageous, and rather beautiful (in its excess), building. It is the Qasr al Watan, UAE’s presidential palace, reserved for official functions: it is a working palace, completed in 2017. After being driven across acres of lawn – itself an indulgence in…
Some thoughts on visiting Abu-Dhabi
Last week I was guest of a foreign university in Abu-Dhabi, participating in a conference on urban-planning and development. Before accepting the invitation, I had misgivings about going. The United Arab Emirates are undemocratic, run by a monarchy made wealthy by the considerable oil reserves in their territory. Their foreign policy in Sudan is questionable,…
Carney ignores his own advice, or how to fuel discontent
When one looks back, in a few months or years, and attempts to understand how Carney’s liberal government so utterly failed, the Air Canada strike will probably be part of the story. After slashing the carbon tax — against the well thought-through but manifestly vacuous arguments set out in his book — Carney is now…
Genocide and innovation: why innovate?
Israel as a cluster of innovation As an urban planner and economic geographer whose research focusses on the geography of innovation in Canada and other countries of the global north, my professional interests do not typically intersect with Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, nor with its murderous occupation of the West Bank. I am aware,…
Registre des loyers: théorie et idéologie
Un principe qui sous-tend le droit et les marchés: l’accès à l’information Il y a un principe de base qui sous-tend deux domaines, l’économie et le droit. En économie, il est bien reconnu que, pour qu’un marché fonctionne de façon efficiente, tous les acteurs doivent avoir accès à l’information. Si l’information est asymétrique, si certains…
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Richard Shearmur 