Hobbes thought civilisation exists for one clear reason: people can't be trusted with total freedom. Writing during the English Civil War, he said order needs a strong state to keep everyone in line. His grim view of human nature still influences how we see authority, security, and the fragile deal that holds modern society together.

I lived through the dotcom bubble — hype and “expert” consensus shot stocks sky-high. I sold early and was called crazy… until the crash erased fortunes. In hindsight, it was global collective folly.

Are you truly free, or steered by unseen nudges? This piece examines how power now shapes us via algorithms, feeds, and distractions. Drawing on Rousseau, Berlin, Foucault, and Sartre, it asks: in a world built to predict and guide behavior, is freedom still possible? Stay curious. Question the feed. Real freedom begins when we think beyond what’s handed to us.

From “fake news” to “special military operations,” this is how political language is quietly reshaped to suit those in power — and why the change matters for how we understand truth and authority.

Ludwig Wittgenstein is hard to understand. He was a puzzling, exacting thinker who profoundly changed how we see language, especially how words acquire meaning and how ordinary language shapes our view of the world.