iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you? Nicholas Gruen reflects on his father’s journey as a Jewish refugee and the silent debts of gratitude he carried across decades.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Modern society rests upon a foundation of historical hardship and class struggle. The transition to technological advancement required severe sacrifices from the working class. Complex political questions remain laced with tragedy.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Nicholas reflects on Ennio Morricone's 1986 piece "On Earth as It Is in Heaven" from The Mission soundtrack. He explains how this music captures the tragedy of Western colonisation and the failure to understand other cultures. True progress requires genuine care and humility.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Worrying about a nuclear apocalypse is a complete waste of your time. Nicholas tells Nigel Marsh on the Five of My Life podcast that we must focus on fixing everyday institutions instead. Stop bloviating about the end of the world and start building.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Teaching children ethics and morality works best through irony rather than rigid lectures. Children grasp nuance quickly when parents encourage independent critical thought.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Modern economics is an incredibly fragile Euclidean structure pretending human beings can be modelled mathematically. In reality, we live in a world of emotivism where people pick up random philosophical artefacts to argue without properly understanding them.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Corporate reward systems prioritise workplace survival skills over genuine job competence, and company away days that focus on choosing "pleasant words" fail to build true workplace ethics.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

What makes the 1942 film Casablanca an absolute masterpiece decades later? It speaks to a generation whose youth was stolen by World War II, and it was made for everyone, not restricted to an elite audience. The story contains the raw indeterminacy of life as we go.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

We have built our entire existence around a colossal lie about success. Nicholas Gruen reads his favourite quote from the book After Virtue to reveal the hidden trap. This profound text matters because it exposes the design of our economic system to force permanent conflict.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Modern society offers endless external rewards, but destroys our intrinsic motivation. Alasdair MacIntyre proves this using a brilliant chess analogy about trading strategic vision for cheap candy. Stop playing for sweets.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Kilkenomics is a unique Irish festival that combines serious economic theory with stand-up comedy. Nicholas tells Nigel Marsh on Five of My Life how this event became a giant de-pomposifying machine for economists and sparked his friendship with advertising legend Rory Sutherland.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Ancient Athens maintained a stable political system for two centuries without standard elections. Citizens used selection by lottery to create a government that changed every 36 days. We must consider representation by lottery to build a truly representative democracy.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

A few generations ago we had an authority structure, but now we have an anarchic marketplace for ideas. Everyone gets a say, but that voice must be calibrated according to what they know. We should not barge into conversations when we don't know what we're talking about.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Social media hurts our democratic systems. However, we can construct new digital spaces that prioritise facts over division. By studying how Wikipedia organises knowledge, creators can design tools to encourage healthy debate and build a true digital meritocracy.

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Reposted by The Shared Centre

koenfucius @koenfucius.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

The latest video from @thesharedcentre.bsky.social summarizes an approach (a lottery) to bring policy making closer to the citizen (or vice versa) and lead to more stable, effective governance. youtu.be/8rL4lkzoNic Check out the whole collection: buff.ly/5Hz21JF

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Modern politics creates a deep trench between the left and the right. We must view society through a clear lens of shared rules and private competition to understand our ideological divide. Wealthy elites control these core rules and break our entire system.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Think a new scandal will finally sink Donald Trump? Think again! The truth is that many voters do not care about the endless controversies because our political system is broken. The fix is not shifting opinions; it means building different systems that citizens can defend.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Ideas are either regarded seriously by the policy community or as complete non-starters. Watch to learn about the Overton window of interest and the Overton window of the imagination.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Politics is broken, but we already found a cure: there is a way to bypass endless ideological debates and focus on serving the public interest. The answer lies in a house with no formal power but a massive influence.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Watch how a simple lottery system could replace endless debates and finally put everyday people back in the driving seat: what if the best leaders are the ones who never ran for office?

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Stop voting for the loudest person in the room: learn how a Council of Leaders and secret ballots, not elections, can improve institutional logic and restore trust in our modern democracy.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

What happens when you give everyday people the power to challenge Congress or Parliament? Simple: a safeguard against political polarisation, bringing common sense back to our government.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Every human conversation demands a careful balance between shared goals and private desires. When your personal motives dominate the interaction, the entire social ecology collapses. The balance between the shared and the private is the essence of whether our systems function.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

We evolved on the African savanna to solve problems in groups. So why do our modern institutions rely on endless, divisive debates? There is a way to use a different logic: one that centres on everyday citizens instead of rigid ideology.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Irish politicians faced a deadlock regarding same-sex marriage due to immense pressure from the Catholic Church. Using a random ballot, a Citizens' Assembly was able to listen to other ideas, discuss, and ultimately break the stalemate, securing a supermajority for equality.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Centuries ago, 50 random citizens ran an entire city to stop the rich from taking over. They used a system Aristotle claimed was the only path to true freedom. Why did we swap this fair lottery for a system that keeps the same few people in power?

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Our current system allows politicians to prioritise funders over voters: we need a standing citizen assembly chosen by lottery to assert itself into the voting process. It is time to expose the difference between party lines and what the people actually want.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

There is a way to see exactly when politicians are ignoring you for their funders. We do not need permission from the government to start building this new constitutional pillar. The campaign for real accountability begins with us.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

What if we could have a secret ballot on the issues Congress refuses to touch? From Brexit to gun checks, discover the one mechanism that could make parliaments responsible again. The power of the "better angels" is closer than you think.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Imagine a branch of government run by ordinary people like you: these everyday people meet, deliberate, and vote on the same issues as the legislature. It is already working in places like Michigan. You will never see voting the same way.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

It’s commonsense: the rules of the political game need to be kept out of politicians’ hands. But where most democracies did that, the United States did not and is now backsliding on gerrymandering, voter suppression and partisan courts.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Politicians divide us because that’s the most effective way to to get our attention. Juries start out trying to solve a common problem. And after they’ve deliberated citizens feel better understood, even if they don’t agree.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Wanna know why politicians won’t tell you the truth? You wouldn’t vote for them if they did!

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Imagine rerunning the Brexit vote using a citizen assembly. Shortly after the original referendum, a citizen jury met to discuss the issues. After four days, the group swung from 26/24 majority in favour to a 30/20 majority against, roughly the position today.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

In early 2020, medical establishments treated Covid like influenza despite contrary evidence. Leaders prioritised public reassurance over facing the scary facts. This reveals a fundamental flaw in systems that value rule-making over genuine problem-solving.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Competition can be a trap. For centuries, we have designed institutions that run on and reward self-interest, squeezing out the shared centre that actually matters. We either learn to collaborate on a planetary scale or we watch everything we have built fall apart

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Open competition for power in our politics has its downside. We need some countervailing institutions to slow the rise of psychopaths to the top and to focus democracy on what kind of future we want rather than on which memes can be got to fly.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Are we hardwired to fail, or are our institutions just designed poorly? History shows that when we build for our "better angels," things actually work. It’s time to move past the contest and start solving problems before it’s too late for all of us.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Why does every political leader today sound like they’re reading from the exact same PR script? Back in the 70s, leaders actually admitted when they changed their minds or disagreed with their party. Today, it’s all 14-second soundbites and stolen credit.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Ever feel like the system is just a game where the rules don't apply to everyone? When we let partisan interests take over the shared centre, justice disappears and costs blow out. Watch to see why we need a neutral umpire to get back to reality.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

We're wrecking the "game" of society by letting partisan interests run the show. From the courtroom to your social media feed, the lack of a neutral umpire is fuelling dysfunction. It's time to demand a reality we can actually share again.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Imagine a party leader admitting to a journalist that their personal views contradict their own party. That level of honesty feels impossible in modern politics. See why independent politicians give us hope and remain a stabilising healthy influence in a very bad situation.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Tired of the mudslinging and the constant "felon" vs "liar" drama? It’s time to move past the electoral circus and get back to actual dialogue. Find out why a citizens' assembly might be the only way to actually unite us all.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

The survival of the loudest online Ever wonder why the internet feels so toxic? It all comes down to how social media environments reward outrage. It is a battle for your attention where shouting always wins, so the internet morphed from a democratic dream into a massive shouting match.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Do you feel like politicians are just putting on a show? You're right. Our whole electoral system is built for drama, not deliberation. Discover why your vote feels like a ticket to a bad play.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

When a lion cub playfully bites its mother, it’s learning how to survive. That instinct is why humans invented theatre. We play out events to understand our reality. From childhood to the language you speak, human connection is one massive game.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Are you tired of politicians answering to algorithms? We swim in a toxic swamp of echo chambers and endless news cycles. Uncover the truth about our political landscape and see how a citizens' assembly provides a real solution to this mess.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Have you ever watched a politician defend something you know they don't believe? Seeing Penny Wong forced to argue against her own rights broke Josh Szeps' faith in the party system. It proves our political setup is fundamentally broken.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Next time someone cuts you off, watch what happens if they just wave to say sorry. Your anger dissipates. Uncover the hidden psychology behind driving and why we all crave basic human acknowledgement on the road.

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The Shared Centre @thesharedcentre.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Ever feel like your conversations are being hijacked by someone else's agenda? Our political system has industrialised rage to keep you from focusing on things that actually matter, like education and care. Stop falling for the link bait and see how the game is really played.

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