BOSS Blog 13: Artificial Sociality Manifesto

Why sociality matters System failures: Erratic human behaviour gets the blame “When a socio-ecological system fails, humans are to blame”. I hear this often. Sometimes the same individual goes on by saying something like “Human behaviour cannot be predicted”. The disheartening inference that follows logically is that it is no use trying to control socio-ecological … Read more

Launching Friends of Hofstede

Would you like to be a friend of Hofstede? I mean these two: Geert Hofstede Geert Hofstede has made a lasting contribution to the understanding of culture. My father’s death on 12 February 2020 has been a game changer. Of course, the Corona pandemic took centre stage since then. Now that CO2 emissions are back … Read more

Announcing: Hofstede’s Globe

Hofstede’s globe In 1985 or so, I made a perspex globe for Geert, showing cultures across the world in colour. Since then, the Internet came along, and Hofstede’s globe is now within reach of every Web-enabled researcher or student. I thought it a fitting addition to the Geert Hofstede exhibition. World coverage is incomplete The … Read more

Geert Hofstede online exhibition “An Engineer’s Odyssey” to open 12 February 2021

Commemorating Geert Hofstede We are pleased to announce the opening of the online exhibition “An Engineer’s Odyssey”, about the life and work of Geert Hofstede. You will find it as of 12 February 2021, one year after his death, on www.exhibition.geerthofstede.com. The exhibition follows his life right from his birth in 1928 until his 90th … Read more

Commemorative article on Geert Hofstede

La mort fait voyager son monde tu vas plus vite que le son t’es partout sur la terre ronde t’es devenue une chanson Julos Beaucarne, Chandeleur ‘75 Reminiscing Julos Beaucarne’s wife was stabbed to death in 1975, and he commemorated her with beautiful songs. “You have become a song”, he says to her. Many people … Read more

BOSS Blog 12: Schizophrenia and your inner Trump

Parallel realities in the USA As I write this, the USA are in a massive state of schizophrenia, with parallel realities. President Donald Trump is refusing to admit electoral defeat in the presidential elections, and whipping up support for a conspiracy theory (“they stole these elections”). Meanwhile, president-elect Joe Biden is preparing his administration, using … Read more

BOSS Blog 11: Why do people do stupid things?

Science & Cocktails in Paradiso On 28 October 2020, I was scheduled to speak at Paradiso in Amsterdam for “Science & Cocktails”. The speech has been postponed again due to the 2nd COVID-19 wave, then to spring 2021. It was finally held to a reduced, welll-spaced audience on September 2021. See here. This blog is … Read more

BOSS Blog 10: Status and power make the world go round

Does money make the world go round? “Money makes the world go round”. Not the gold, the paper, or even the information of it. What matters is the status and power that money can bring. Consider: o   With money, one can become a philanthropist and help people o   With money, one can buy weapons, sex, … Read more

BOSS Blog 9 – Corona across cultures

Corona across cultures By Gert Jan Hofstede, 2020 04 08 The corona pandemic is a big equalizer. We are all ants in the same huge human family hive that got infested by a tiny, deadly intruder. No, wait! The corona pandemic shames and isolates us, making us lonely individuals and isolated countries, hiding away, scared … Read more

BOSS Blog 8: The meaning of life

By Gert Jan Hofstede, 2020 03 18 My father died happy My father Geert died on 12 February this year, at age 91. He had lived through a difficult year. He’d drawn a bad lot: a debilitating disease gradually robbed him of the use of his hands, his legs, his other muscles, his speech. Yet, … Read more