The Responsibility Poem

I've talked a lot about the importance of accountability in the past (see my posts, "The buck stops here!", "12 O'Clock High", "The Accountability-Authority Matrix", "Honor Code", and "You have to hold people accountable..." for a few of my favorites).  I also want to mention my post, "Who is Will Someone?", because "Will Someone" often gets asked to do a lot of different things on teams and in organizations.  Unfortunately, because "Will Someone" is not a real person, those things just don't get done.  "Will Someone" reminds me a lot of the four individuals, "Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody" and a poem by Charles Osgood known as "The Responsibility Poem".  There are two versions, but I like the shorter version the best, which you can read below (I've also found this version with the title, "What Went Wrong"):

This is the story of four working people:

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done,

But Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought Somebody would do it.

But Nobody asked Anybody.

It ended up that the job wasn't done.

Everybody blamed Somebody;

When Nobody did what Anybody could have.

In other words, when everyone is responsible, nobody is responsible.  Just remember the tragic story of Kitty Genovese, a 28 year-old woman who was attacked, raped, and murdered on March 13, 1964 right outside her apartment building while at least 39 of her neighbors (see my post, "Who is my neighbor?" and the so-called "Bystander Effect") heard her scream yet didn't call for help or come to her aid - because "Everybody thought that Somebody would do it" instead.

"Here am I..."

On this past Memorial Day, I mentioned the book Duty, Honor, Country, & Life: A Tribute to the American Spirit by Admiral William McCraven, who retired from the U.S. Navy in 2014 after a distinguished 37 year career.  His latest book is a collection of his speeches, essays, and poems that honor those who serve, both members of the U.S. military and civilians alike.  Admiral McCraven recites a verse from the Holy Bible (Isaiah 6:8) in his chapter, "Send Me" (based on a toast that he gave to members of the U.S. military at an annual meeting of the Alfalfa Club):

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

There's a powerful scene from the 2014 film Fury, starring Brad Pitt, Shia Leouf, and Logan Lerman, that includes the same verse.  Admiral McCraven says that this same Bible verse is read by a priest, minister, or rabbi during every "Dignified Transfer" ceremony, as a fallen military member's casket is carried by six pallbearers and loaded onto an airplane for the return of his or her remains back home.  

I've been thinking a lot about this Bible verse ever since my post on Memorial Day.  I am not an English major, but it seems to me that the choice of word order in this verse seems different from what I would expect.  It says, "Here am I" versus what I think is the more common word order of "Here I am."  It's a subtle difference, but I think it's a very important one.

As I've learned, there are several stories in the King James Bible of God calling out to a servant for a specific task, to which the servant faithfully replies, "Here am I."  Apparently, the phrase "Here am I" is used sixteen different times in the King James Bible, including the story in the Book of Isaiah mentioned above.  Now granted, the King James Bible was first published in 1611, and there is no question that the English language has changed somewhat over the last four hundred years or so.  It's safe to assume that the phrase "Here I am" has become the more commonly used and preferred way of responding to a call or question.  However, the phrase "Here I am" is used fairly frequently in the King James Bible as well, so it must be more than just changing preferences around word usage or grammar.

According to blogger Daniel Grove, the phrase "Here I am" is used in the Bible whenever God is calling someone to come out and meet him.  Used in this way, the phrase places the emphasis on where that someone is in relation to God.  The emphasis here is on the individual.  Conversely, the phrase "Here am I" is used whenever someone is surrendering him- or herself completely to the task at hand.  They are completely surrendering to God's will - here, the emphasis is on God.

Taking theology out of the discussion then, "Here I am" would be the appropriate way to respond to the question, "Where are you?"  Again, the emphasis is on the "I" (the self).  Conversely, "Here am I" would be the appropriate way to answer the question, "Whoever can help me?"  The emphasis is on the other person.  "Here am I" is selfless, while "Here I am" is centered on the self.  

Grammatically, "Here I am" refers to a location or situation.  As mentioned above, it is the typical response to the question, "Where are you?"  We could also answer that very same question by saying "I am here."  Both responses emphasize the words "I" and "here".  Conversely, "Here am I" is how someone would introduce themselves and indicate that he or she is ready to do whatever is required.  By answering with, "Here am I", we are telling someone that not only are we here, but we are also ready and willing.  We are declaring our willingness to pursue some action.

It's a subtle difference for sure.  And I will be honest that when I looked it up, some authorities stated that the phrase "Here am I" is just an old-fashioned way of saying, "Here I am."  But I strongly believe it is much more than that.  "Here am I" is a selfless way of saying that "I am ready and willing" to do whatever it takes.  It's more than just saying that we are "standing by, ready to assist".  It's active rather than passive.  "We are here, we are going to help."  By saying "Here am I", we are saying that we volunteer eagerly, enthusiastically, passionately.  "Tell us what to do and we will do it!"

Garbage in...Garbage out...

Whenever I come across an interesting passage in a book, I frequently will dog-ear the page or take a picture with my smartphone so that I can look up the point being made at a later time.  I was recently reading the 19th century satirical novel Erewhon by Samuel Butler (more on the novel shortly) when I came across the sentence: 

"There are few who are so holy as to feel that 19 and 13 make 32 as certainly as 2 and 2 make 4."  

I thought it was an interesting sentence, so I did what I typically do and dog-eared the page so that I could come back to it later.  Here's where things get interesting, at least in my opinion.  I looked up the passage on Google and Google's artificial intelligence (AI) engine (Gemini) came up with the following   information, which I am copying verbatim:

This famous quote comes from Walter Bagehot, a well-known English writer and economist from the 1800s.

To help me share more details, let me know if you are interested in:

• The book or essay where he wrote this
• More information about Walter Bagehot himself
• Other famous quotes about how humans think about logic

Let me know how you would like to explore this quote further!

I was a little surprised about the result.  Admittedly, Samuel Butler first wrote the book in 1872, and Walter Bagehot was a British economist who lived from 1826-1877, so it seems plausible that Bagehot could have written the sentence first.  Of course, that would mean that Butler committed plagiarism, but I'm not sure a 19th century editor would have noted that an obscure sentence in the 20th chapter (page 175 of the Penguin Classics edition) of a satirical novel was previously used by someone else.  After reading Gemini's explanation, I responded in the affirmative to the prompt about whether I wanted additional information.

To my surprise (again), here is what Gemini responded with:

Actually, my previous mention of Walter Bagehot was incorrect. This quote actually comes from Samuel Butler, another famous English writer from the 1800s.  The line appears in Chapter 20 of his brilliant 1872 satirical novel, Erewhon.

Well, at least Gemini recognized and corrected its mistake!  I was telling my wife and our son (who as a computer science engineer knows a lot more about AI than I do) about my experience, and I decided to try it all again.  The next day, I typed the exact quote into the Google, and Gemini came back with the following:

This beautiful quote comes from C.S. Lewis, a famous author who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia.  He wrote this line in his 1943 book about religion and human nature called The Problem of Pain.

Once again, I was confused by the response.  Given that C.S. Lewis lived from 1898 to 1963, I think it is logical to assume that if he did, in fact, use the quote in his book, The Problem of Pain, which was published in 1940, he borrowed the quote from Samuel Butler!  That's probably okay, but when I prompted Gemini to explain further, here is the response that I received:

I need to correct my previous answer.  That quote actually comes from Samuel Butler's famous 1872 satirical novel, Erewhon.  

Just to give Gemini one final chance ("The third time is a charm" after all), I checked again one day later.  At least it was consistent and claimed that the quote came from C.S. Lewis.  However, this time Gemini stated that the quote came from his book, The Screwtape Letters.  Once again, I can neither confirm nor deny that C.S. Lewis included this particular quote in his book, but the fact that I've received three different citations to the quote (two of which were corrected when I asked for additional information) leads me to be very suspicious about the accuracy of all these responses!

The irony here is that the whole reason that I read Samuel Butler's novel is that he talks about an early form of artificial intelligence (AI) in a famous three-chapter section of the book called "Book of the Machines."  Butler was heavily influenced here by the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection in On the Origin of the Species and technological innovations produced in the Industrial Revolution.  The material he covered in "Book of the Machines" involved concerns that machines would attain artificial consciousness ("intelligence") through a process similar to natural selection.  He first raised these concerns in an excellent article published in 1863, "Darwin among the machines", which I found to be a much easier and enjoyable read than his novel.

There is no question that "artificial intelligence" is going to be a game-changer (maybe it already has been one).  However, we also need to acknowledge that AI obtains its information to "learn" from what is already available in the public sphere.  Sometimes that information is correct, but sometimes that information is wrong.  As the saying goes, "Don't believe everything that you read on the Internet."  If the information used by AI is false, then AI learns incorrectly.  As I discussed in a recent post on Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (see my post, "Magnifica humanitas"), AI is not human.  However, as my example above clearly shows, AI is at least human-like in one regard - it's far from perfect!  As the adage goes, "Garbage in...Garbage out!"

"He who knows most knows best how little he knows"

I recently read a book about wine, Reflections of a Vintner: Stories and Seasonal Wisdom from a Lifetime in Napa Valley by Tor Kenward.  Tor Kenward has spent nearly 50 years at the forefront of Napa Valley's wine, food, and tourism industry.  Kenward was drafted and sent to Vietnam during college, and upon returning from his tour of duty, he realized that life was too short and that he only wanted to do things that brought him joy.  That pursuit of joy eventually brought him to Napa Valley, California, where he worked for several years at Beringer Vineyards as their designated "Vice President of all the Fun Stuff" (perhaps his description of what he did, not theirs).  He and his wife Susan launched TOR Wines in the early 2000's, where he continues to make outstanding wines today.  The book is part memoir, part reflection on the wine industry in general, and part words of wisdom for anyone looking for how to live a better life.

There was one theme that Kenward kept repeating throughout the book.  What's amazing is that if you weren't paying attention, you would have easily missed it.  He kept repeating the sentiment that the older he got, the more he became aware of the less that he really knew.  At some point, he finally offered a statement that I think is absolutely one of the most profound statements on wisdom that I have ever heard.  Seriously.  Kenward said, "The wisdom that comes from age is misrepresented. You just forget more of what you already know."

On the surface, Kenward's statement sounds a lot like a self-deprecating statement describing how you forget a lot of what you have learned as you grow older.  And while that is true up to a point, I think Kenward's meaning is much deeper.  The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates described wisdom in a similar way, stating, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing" (incidentally, I used this exact quote in a post several years ago that also discussed something that I call the "Analogy of the Marbles").  True wisdom begins when we recognize the boundaries of our own understanding.  Here, wisdom is finally attained when we recognize what we do not know.  

I am also reminded of a movie quote from the Jedi Master Yoda, from the original Star Wars trilogy.  Yoda said, "You must unlearn what you have learned."  True wisdom is finally achieved when we recognize that the only path to learning is by setting aside our rigid habits, assumptions, notions, and preconceived limits.  Yoda's definition of wisdom is more active than passive here.  We actually need to let go some of the knowledge that we have acquired over time, so that we can move forward to learn and acquire new knowledge.

I enjoyed reading Kenward's book.  Admittedly, as you have no doubt recognized, I enjoy learning (and posting) about wine!  My most important takeaway from the book, however, had absolutely nothing to do with wine, but rather wisdom.  Unlearn what you have learned.  Recognize that you can't know everything.  Thomas Jefferson reportedly said, "The wise know too well their weakness to assume infallibility; and he who knows most knows best how little he knows."

Confucius says...stay humble!

The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius lived in the fifth-century BCE during a time known as the Spring and Autumn period.  The name "Confucius" is actually the Latinized form of the Mandarin Chinese word for "Great Master Kong" or "Wise Teacher Kong" that was coined by Jesuit priests in the 16th century.  By tradition, Confucius is said to have authored many ancient texts, and many of his aphorisms were collected in a text known as the Analects.

Confucius once said, "The good man does not grieve that other people do not recognize his merits.  His only anxiety is lest he should fail to recognize theirs."

Rather than constantly seeking praise, attention, and recognition, Confucius is telling us that we should instead focus on recognizing the abilities and contributions of others.  We should use the "we" a lot more frequently than the "me."  

Phillip Bourne wrote an article a couple of years ago for the journal PLOS Computational Biology called "Ten simple rules for good leadership".  His second rule was on being humble.  Bourne wrote, "A great organization is facilitated by a good leader, but not solely the result of one.  Recognize that and be humble...Give credit whenever possible and take little for yourself."

Stay humble my friends!

Krakatoa's Child

Every once in a while, I come back to a previous post with an update.  I posted about the famous eruption of the volcano Krakatoa on August 27, 1883 a few years ago (see "Krakatoa").  Krakatoa was actually an archipelago located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the modern day country of Indonesia.  Krakatoa became increasingly active with a series of small eruptions occurring from May 20-October 21, 1883.  However, the volcano more or less "blew its top off" on August 27, 1883, destroying nearly 70% of the island and surrounding archipelago, which collapsed into a caldera.  The eruption was one of the deadliest and most destructive eruptions in recorded history.

Krakatoa's eruption was heard almost 3,000 miles away by scientists on the island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.  The accompanying pressure (blast) wave circled the world at least 7 times.  Massive tsunamis that occurred in the aftermath caused most of the 36,000 reported deaths.  There were multiple reports of human skeletons floating across the Indian Ocean on rafts of pumice stone hundreds of miles away from the eruption, some of which washed up on the shores of the east coast of Africa up to a year after the eruption.  

The eruption itself caused a volcanic winter as temperatures dropped by an average of 0.4 °C in the northern hemisphere.  Global weather patterns changed, with some areas reporting record rainfalls and widespread flooding, while other areas experienced severe drought.  The ash darkened the skies and changed the character of the setting sun as far away as the United States.  Krakatoa's eruption served as inspiration, albeit indirectly, for the famous painting The Scream by the artist Edvard Munch and the classic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Here is the update to this story!  The smaller island (also a volcano) of Anak Krakatoa (which is Indonesian for "Child of Krakatoa") formed after the 1883 eruption.  I mention Anak Krakatoa now, because the volcano began to erupt just this past Friday (September 4, 2026).  More than a quarter million airline passengers have been stranded over the weekend, due to the closure of several airports in the region caused by the ash cloud.  So far, there haven't been any tsunamis, and I haven't seen a reported death toll either.  Regardless, Anak Krakatoa continues Krakatoa's legacy and provides us with yet another reminder of nature's power!

The word of the day is...arbejdsglæde

I mentioned the term "arbejdsglæde"  in a recent post (see "The Trust Hormone").  It's actually a Danish compound word that is made up of the word "arbejde" meaning work and "glæde" meaning happiness.  Together, the two words form the word "arbejdsglæde" which literally means happiness at work.  There is no English word equivalent.  Perhaps that is one simple explanation for why Denmark is consistently ranked amongst the highest countries in the world - they actually have a word to describe happiness at work, where most people spend up to a third of their lives!  For example, in the 2026 "Happiest Countries in the World" survey conducted by the World Population Review, Denmark ranked second (behind Finland and ahead of Iceland and Sweden) as the Happiest Countries in the World survey.  For context, the United States of America ranked 24th (see also "The Nordic Exceptionalism: What explains why the Nordic countries are constantly among the happiest in the world").  

The core pillars of "arbejdsglæde" focus on:

1. Flexible (and reasonable) working hours: According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average American works 1,790 hours per year, while the average Dane works only 1,540 hours per year.  Danes tend to leave work at a reasonable hour on most days, and they get five to six weeks of vacation per year, several national holidays, and generous maternity and paternity leaves.

2. Low power distance: A high power distance tends to reflect a highly centralized, hierarchical power structure where the manager/boss sits at the top of the pyramidal organization chart.  Here, decision-making occurs at the top levels of the hierarchy.  A low power distance suggests a more flattened organizational structure, where decision-making tends to occur throughout the hierarchy.  According to Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede, the average power distance in the United States is 40, compared to an average power distance of 18 in Denmark (the lowest in the world).  Apparently, there is a Danish law that states that any workplace with more than 35 employees has to open up seats on the Board of Directors for employee representatives, who are elected by their peers and serve on an equal footing with the same voting rights as the other members of the Board.  

3. Generous employee benefits: Danish workers enjoy a very generous benefit package compared to American workers.  For example, Danish companies provide unemployment insurance at 90% of original salary for up to two years.  In addition, Danish workers receive constant education and training to upskill jobs.  The so-called "Nordic model" provides free healthcare and subsidized education, which do not exist to nearly the same degree in the United States.  Notably, these benefits do come at a cost - the Danes are taxed at a much higher rate than Americans, though they happily pay these higher taxes.

4. A focus on happiness: The Danes focus on happiness - they literally have a word for "happiness at work", whereas the United States does not.  At least the United States doesn't have a word like "karoshi", which in Japanese means "death from overwork".  Denmark, similar to the other Scandinavian countries, focus on work-life balance and psychological safety in the workplace.

I am not saying that the Danes have figured everything out.  However, perhaps there is something that we can learn from Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark.  We hear a lot about "happiness" in the United States these days, mostly because people seem less happy.  Perhaps at least part of the answer is right their in front of our eyes - in Denmark...