Topical Guide 217
Mark Dorset
Power: Distribution of Within an Organization
At that moment I understood for the first time that in any organization, whether there are two members or a thousand, there is more to the distribution of power than meets the eye, even the eye of a member. The outward and visible system of ranks may offer no clue to the invisible system of power. I was right about that in general, I think, but I was wrong in supposing that I understood the specific invisible system of power within the Tars organization.
I had decided, reasoning from my insight into the nature of power, that whether I wound up carrying the rank of Commodore or Bayman wouldn’t have mattered, so long as I had become—as I had—Scribe. That was, it seemed to me, where the real power lay. I had it, and I was going to use it.Little Follies, “The Young Tars”
I’ve seen this chart attributed to Mark Walsh at Integration Training, but I haven’t been able to verify that attribution. MD
Frustration Arising from the Impossibility of Traveling Back in Time to Assist One’s Younger Self
(Sometimes, when I bring my young self to mind this way and see the little guy brightening because he’s concocted a half-baked idea, I wish I could reach out across time and tap him on the shoulder and say, “That’s good, Peter, but there’s more to it. Wait and see.”)
Little Follies, “The Young Tars”
I was once as young and silly as you are now, but I doubt if you will become as old and wise as I am.
Attributed to Diogenes of Sinope, translated from Diogenes Laërtius and Plutarch by Guy Davenport
The evening’s short subject(s): the hilarious 47 Secrets to a Younger You.
“Two of the most amusing moms to be found lately are on 47 Secrets to a Younger You”
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times
47 Secrets to A Younger You follows friends Julie Dooling and Karma Kaufman-Castro as they navigate Brooklyn, balancing family, work, love, and lice. In the six episodes of season one, Julie's mantras move her further from inner peace and her daughter sabotages her dating life on social media; while Karma races against a work deadline in denial about her caffeine addiction and missed chances for connubial romance. Will friends and family support, enable, or undermine their efforts? Will they be able to ignore the realities of middle-age for much longer?
[more to come on Thursday, March 17, 2022]
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