Virtue without power is benign, but power without virtue tears lives and civilizations apart.  So it’s a pity good people often don’t understand how power works, and what people holding the levers of power are up to. Part of wisdom is understanding that ignorance of reality leaves us susceptible...

Early in his career, the famous actor Sir Michael Caine struggled with an errant chair disrupting a scene. It blocked the doorway he was supposed to enter through, and his teacher gave him a piece of advice that stuck with him:  “Use the difficulty,” Caine said. “If it’s a comedy, fall over (the...