What I want for Christmas…
1. more wisdom in the world, large and small, surrounding us, so that…
1.1. … national leaders can listen to each other, to expert constructive critics, and to the people they represent in their decision making,
1.2. … organizational leaders recognize and value human capital and promote true creativity and innovation conducive environments,
1.3. … scientific icons and knowledge self-proclaimed gurus recognize their own and everyone's ignorance and take honest steps to proactively seek production and/or utilization of new knowledge,
1.4. … religious leaders stay truthful to their own preaching and act in ways that truly promote mutual understanding and respect among everyone,
1.5. … political leaders stay truthful to their role of representing those who entrusted them with their vote and ultimately their lives,
1.6. … business leaders stay honest and dedicated to both customers (or potential future customers) and shareholders alike, and not just to self-interest,
1.7. … people are more appreciative of each other and manage thus to stay happy and to induce happiness in those around them by simply sharing a smile, a listen, and a good word whenever, wherever, and with whomever
2. less censorship, direct and indirect, anywhere and everywhere, and by anybody and everybody,
3. less surveillance anywhere and everywhere,
4. less waste anywhere, everywhere, and by everybody, including much less waste of human capital by sub-optimal resources allocation in human capital markets,
5. more compassion and mutual respect anywhere, everywhere and by anybody and everybody,
6. more art and culture and less consumerism,
7. more empathy and understanding and less ordering and imposing,
8. more self-realization objectives achieved by everyone everywhere and less pride in "great" purchases supposedly making us look "better,"
9. more time to simply take pictures of nature and smile, and more fridge magnets of places we've visited,
10. much more application of Carnot's views in thermodynamics to the entire world, so that we strive as a global society to achieve "close-to-Carnot-ideal-efficiencies" in everything we do, from love and affection, through education, to acting as economic, social, political and cultural actors.
Adrian S. Petrescu, December 2014
