In July 2014, my Kluwer Blog entry introduced readers to something referred to as “A Mediator’s Prayer”. It was created by Mr. Ting-Kwok IU, a lawyer and mediator based in Hong Kong. I first met TK in Hong Kong at the 3rd Asian Mediation Association Conference in 2014. TK is a humble and unassuming man…
Public Service Warning: This blog post will contain spoilers. If you have not watched Arrival and intend to, please do not read any further. I’m a movie addict. I admit it. And I am ashamed to say that most times, my favourite genre of movies is the “check your brain in at the door shoot…
How many of us share the experience I have had – sitting on the last train home, late at night, with a day’s mediating behind me and no settlement? Perhaps even no meaningful progress towards a settlement? Occasionally, no offers even made? And as you do so, perhaps you find that your thoughts veer from:…
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.” These words of Voltaire are as apt today as they were when he wrote them in the 18th century. I don’t know about you but this year seems to be a curious mixture where some people purport to deal in apparent certainties, which…
John and David Sturrock 1. Introduction Several years ago, while travelling back with my son David to Oxford where he was studying as an undergraduate, we discussed my work as a mediator and his study of economics, particularly the learning for us both from Game Theory. I (John) had been familiar with The Prisoners’ Dilemma…
In the “Vitruvian Man” by Leonardo da Vinci, the great Italian artist explores the concept of symmetry and proportionality in the human body, and its implications on our understanding on the wider universe. Centuries on, we continue to be fascinated by the concept of finding beauty in symmetry. We look for it behind perfect ratios…
