Posts by Guillermo Pablos Murphy

" Si uno recorre la línea de pensamiento que va de Maquiavelo a Weber, una línea que no es acumulativa ni carece de momentos de retroceso, observará cómo se atanza un modo de entender la política con una lógica propia que la distingue de otras actividades humanas con las que antes estaba demasiado vinculada e incluso confundida. La política moderna se emancipa de la religión, se diferencia de la moral, reclama una validez distinta de la de la ciencia, pugna porque la economía no la condicione demasiado. La grandeza de estos pensadores, su aportación a la democracia (pese a que algunos eran poco o nada demócratas) consistió en haber liberado a la política de un seno religioso-moral que impedía su afirmación como tal, que la sometía a dictados ajenos en una amalgama de constricciones de diverso tipo. " - Daniel Innerarity, (2025), 'La condición política: un elogio de Maquiavelo', in "Revista de Occidente" (Issue 535, December 2025) p. 127

Author name and surname(s), ((c.) original date(s)) 'Title of work', in "Container or publication" (commentary by [name]; translation by [name]; Issue; Edition, Year of edition), Book / Chapter / Page numbers / (Timestamp). [link] - - - This citation format addresses: 1. Who said this? 2. When? 3. Where (media)? - Priorities: 1. Authorship. 2. Historical context. 3. Verifiability: Information to access the source or to aid in identifying it if the original became unavailable. - Assumptions: 1. English-speaking audience. 2. Can't use italics. - Examples: Niccolò Machiavelli, (c. 1517), 'Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius', (translated by Ninian Hill Thomson; 1883), Book I, Chapter IX, 41-45. https://archive.org/details/cu31924030435659 - Note: Not all elements are required. Modify if doing so clarifies authorship, historical context, or verifiability.

"Cada uno es hijo de sus obras." - Miguel de Cervantes, 'Don Quijote de La Mancha' (1605 and 1615), Chapter 4 "Each man is the son of his deeds."

I recently analysed the UI/UX design of Lloyds Bank's website. Video: https://youtu.be/gmABVFNIAJA - Key takeaways: 1. Use images to evoke emotions associated with the outcome you’re selling. E.g., mortgage with _home_. - 2. Align images with target demographic. Relatable but aspirational. E.g, young, optimistic people in appealing settings. - 3. Signal reliability with symbols and font choice. E.g., Lloyds’ logo, serif font = authority, stability, trustworthiness. - 4. Use colour psychology. E.g., green = stability, growth, and tranquillity. - 5. Good rhetoric in text. Focus on outcomes as the products. Conversational language humanizes the sales pitch. E.g., home, comfort, belonging; your, you. - 6. Show scope and successes to establish credibility E.g., list services, show customer numbers. - 7. Embed helpfulness in design E.g., prominent support sections, friendly icons, showcasing app interface - 8. No surprises E.g, rounded buttons, arrows, one main CTA

I became a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) through the Project Management Institute (PMI) on 09-08-2025. The PMI is the leading professional association for project management. I was evaluated for "knowledge, skill, and understanding of the processes, terminology, and best practices in project management" and “Predictive methodologies, Agile principles, and business analysis needed for effective project management”. The exam consisted of 150 multiple-choice questions completed in three hours. My score was graded "Above Target", the highest grade. • Credly badge: https://www.credly.com/badges/a8270f3a-9978-47a4-8405-c6d86a03b518/public_url • LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/guillermo-pablos-murphy_im-happy-to-share-that-ive-obtained-a-new-activity-7360987895916019712-Wm2g?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAADJEdT4BB5dPGU7gJizFjf6uIihxZWrMjpI • My video on the exam prep: https://youtu.be/uhVZyaR0AdE?

" This laying down of your life to do a difficult thing, in an act which has got integrity - is culture. And that's what the invitation always is: to do a brave thing. From the front of your property to the back, and from the start of your life to the end. To make a grand gesture. A simple, uncomplicated, grand gesture. That's culture. And the opposite of it is slavery and debt. And there's this great tilt that needs to happen. It starts on the very small scale, with this little tiny patch of land. My life. My family. That's how conquest happens. " - James Gillick, "The Grand Gesture: Reviving Sacred Art, Craft, and Culture" (~01:23:26), The New Humanum. James Gillick is an English figurative artist. Link to the full film on YouTube: https://youtu.be/96J2RIQLvC4?

An intriguing idea. "This often led to similar customs" is especially interesting. Common customs → shared laws → cities → conflicts ( → and, if conditions allowed, empires) Most imperial expansion occurred across similar agro-ecological zones on the same latitude (Rome, Caliphates, Mongols, Imperial China, Ottomans, Spain, Russia, Habsburgs). The historical exceptions I can think of occurred outside of Eurasia (Inca, Zulu, Mali). (Exception: Japan) Empires and conflicts spread most easily where nature doesn’t fight them. When communication became the core of economic activity, we got maritime empires (Britain, USA). (Exception: Athens) Now, decentralised information exchange is the core. Axes of coordination may form through common time zones, because that’s how digital economies are organising. This might mean more physical interaction longitudinally, within a time zone, because the growth of a digital economy might pressure the physical economy to reflect it.

" As far as I can tell, there’s an incredibly broad inclination in human beings to enslave each other. From the great scale into the small scale, with debt, usury, law... The other side of the coin is what we'd call culture, which is actually the proper use of coin within society: spending it on beautiful objects. " - Paraphrased from James Gillick, "The Grand Gesture: Reviving Sacred Art, Craft, and Culture" (~00:23:10), The New Humanum. James Gillick is an English figurative artist. Link to the full film on YouTube: https://youtu.be/96J2RIQLvC4?

If American films say: “Do something.” British films say: “It’s too late.” Spanish films say: “You’ll pay either way.” French films say: “Why do anything at all?” Indian films say: “Everything you do will echo forever.” Russian films say: “You must suffer until it means something.” - ChatGPT’s summary of the core narrative instincts and underlying worldviews in each country’s cinema.

" A set of traits that can guide us [when trying to define an empire]: • Territorial extension greater than one million square kilometres. • Longevity. An empire is a multi-century reality, an uncontested power - at least at a continental level - lasting more than a century. • From a central point, it produces other centres that surpass the original one or at least reach the same level. • The empire generates a machinery of cooperation and integration among different peoples, which dies with it but is irreversible. • The empire ends up collapsing from within, that is, due to internal decomposition. " - Elvira Roca Barea, “Imperiofobia y Leyenda Negra. Roma, Rusia, Estados Unidos y El Imperio Español”. Chapter 2. (2016)