Atlanta, GA July 11, 2020 Nature moves in cycles. As do generations, and civilizations. In the last couple weeks, our sons passed minor milestones, portending major ones. I’m afraid our civilization did as well. David turned fifteen in December. Unlike many that age, he was in no hurry to get his Learner’s Permit. By the […]
Atlanta, GA July 4, 2020 “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.” – John Adams, July 3, 1776, the day after the Congress voted to declare independence, […]
The Effect of Greek Mathematics on the Palladian Villa By John D. Breen Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Architecture March 1999 The effect of mathematics on architecture seems at once obvious and opaque. The apparent significance may be deduced by noting the symmetry inherent in Renaissance structures and in the details of the arches […]
Atlanta, GA May 6, 2020 A continuation of a debate between a couple sanctimonious graduate students, published in the Fall of 1996. Part I can be found here. An Election Year Debate: Josh Engel vs. John Breen Originally Published in the University of San Francisco Business Journal (November 1996) Josh Engel Rebuttal I would like […]
Atlanta, GA May 6, 2020 To take our minds from our pandemic…and to remind ourselves things could be worse…today we will discuss politics. Like a CIA Director hoarding classified documents, I consider some parts of my past best left sealed. But as with records related to atomic testing, overthrows of Iranian governments, or assassinations of […]
The following was written for the University of San Francisco Business Journal in 1995. By John D. Breen – San Francisco, CA September 13, 1995 In Leadership and the New Science, Margaret Wheatley has forwarded concepts that are superficially radical. Resistance to her notion of “de-engineering” and progress through disorder is reminiscent (on a slightly diminished scale) of […]
Atlanta, GA April 12, 2020 Back in the Mesozoic Era…about six weeks ago…we entered Lent, and have since wandered in a hell of a wilderness. Satan seemed everywhere, but even he could offer little to tempt God’s children…or to compete with government largesse Bread? That’s fine. But what we really needed was toilet paper, fake […]
Atlanta, GA April 6, 2020 I must reluctantly confess that I used to teach Economics at Stanford. I may as well plead guilty. A mediocre prosecutor, or a first-year Law student, could secure a quick conviction. While pursuing my MBA at the University of San Francisco, I worked a couple semesters as a teaching assistant […]
Atlanta, GA March 22, 2020 Randolph Bourne observed that war is the health of the state. So are war analogies. Particularly those with obscure enemies and no clear definition of victory. The War on Poverty. The War on Drugs. The War on Terror. All undefined, all un-winnable, all unending. And all profitable…at least to a […]
Atlanta, GA March 17, 2020 Do you have any homework? – Me It’s all homework. – Alexander On this St Patrick’s Day, the leprechauns are silent, the parades are stilled, and rivers in Chicago and Savannah remain blue (or brown). Only our envy is green. We crave the happy memories of simpler times…when we thought our […]