Brittle mind

Longish piece by Peter Huber at City Journal on Stewart (Whole Earth Catalog) Brand and his views on all things eco, as expressed in his new book, Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto. Penultimate graf:

Brand is a brilliant man with a precariously jumpy mind. Halfway through his book, tucked where it won’t distract any but the most careful reader, we read: “I have learned to suspect my excesses of optimism and pessimism. Apparently I often think that societies catch on faster than they do, and that large complex systems are more brittle than they are. Bear in mind that I might be that way about climate change. And many of my faulty opinions turn out to be based on ignorance; dismissing nuclear was one of them.”