Paul Fallon

Architect, writer

Every day I engage at least one person I don’t know in conversation and ask them my question.

I have countered my concerns about our vast country and its myriad problems with examples of abundant generosity.

The Question I Carried

Cycling across America with two saddlebags, and one question in tow. (JustinJensen/ flickr)

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Life

Opinion

Howard Roark, the architect protagonist of 'The Fountainhead,' never took an afternoon off from conceiving bold structures to dabble in community service.

If altruism means selfless, don’t call me that.

April Is National Volunteer Month. What Would Ayn Rand Say?

Paul Fallon: "What light could the originator of Objectivism possibly shed on volunteering?"
Pictured: Ayn Rand, the Russian-born American novelist, is shown in Manhattan with the Grand Central Terminal building in background in 1962. (AP)

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psychology

Tension turned our altruistic story into a gripping one. Each character displayed a few warts, myself included. Though the text reveals deep affection for everyone involved, not everyone likes what I wrote.

After two years of living, working, arguing, and building together, he severed communication over [a] single word.

My Memoir, My Truth: When Those We Write About Object To Our Version Of The Events

Paul E. Fallon: I may be comfortable divulging details of my personal life, but that doesn’t mean others will bless how I interpret their actions. (Thong Yo/ Unsplash)

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Arts

An architect who oversaw construction of an orphanage and a school after the devastating earthquake reflects on the hard truth that, where poverty is pervasive, progress is slow. 

On Shaky Ground: Haiti, Five Years Later

Workers carried more than 100,000 pounds of steel uphill on their shoulders: more than 1,250 hours of brutal hauling at a total cost of less than $1,000 in wages.

Pictured: Children of Grand Goave, Haiti, who visited the Mission of Hope's building site every day. (Paul Fallon/Courtesy)

Transforming a subsistence economy into a productive one requires incentives that reinforce each other to improve the overall quality of life.

A well-choreographed concrete block brigade building Mission of Hope's school in Grand Goave, Haiti. (Paul Fallon/Courtesy)

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Business

Economy

policy

We preserve the cave floor we deem valuable, while violating other areas by erecting a walkway. We collect and analyze charcoal fragments. We chip away and stabilize, but we do not contribute, add or embellish.

...we cannot pretend the cave away; it is found, and humans are compelled to explore. Our constant push to achieve, obtain and understand drives progress. That’s why we dominate this planet, even to the point of endangering its natural balance.

Ancient Cave Drawings, Modern Science And The Pretense Of Preservation

Paul Fallon: "My gut response to research in the Cave de Chauvet Pont d’Arc is to cease our meddling and seal it back up." Pictured: A drawing in the Cave de Pont d'Arc in southern France. According to UNESCO, the cave contains the best preserved ancient figurative drawings in the world. The drawings were unexpectedly discovered in 1994 by researcher Jean-Marie Chauvet. (AP Photo/DRAC Rhone-Alpes, Ministere de la Culture)

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I’ve never laughed as long or hard as I did during my teens and twenties, but I prefer the more balanced happiness – call it contentment – that arrived in my forties and fifties.

A Starker Beauty: Embracing The Autumn Of One's Life

Paul Fallon: My contributions, like the faded leaf, are subtler than during the mid-summer of my life, but they are more gentle and personal, too. (nachett/flickr)

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family

I came away with the modest impression that, perhaps, Pilobolus holds the key to how humans can successfully navigate a world of divisive politics, fragmented culture and monolithic economics.

I’d like to see Pilobolus lead their workshop at the United Nations, so world leaders can rediscover the power of eye contact, the energy of proximity, and how individual identities can thrive within a coherent whole.

Lead And Let Lead: Life Lessons From A Modern Dance Company

Paul Fallon: "Pilobolus performs around the country and across the globe, but I’m thinking their audience ought to include those who could use a refresher in the art – and necessity – of working together." (Stijn Vogels/flickr)

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[Fourteen dollars] seemed like a very good deal; so good that when I did the math, it seemed unsustainable, perhaps exploitative.

I’ve had a great experience using Uber, and I want the service to succeed. But I also want people to earn a living wage.

Driving A Hard Bargain: Calculating The Toll Of Uber's Reduced Fares

Paul Fallon: "Uber’s price cuts hurt drivers more than they hurt the company’s bottom line." (kattebelletje/Flickr)

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Technology

Transportation

Civil Engineering -- creating the land, water and transit ways that define cities today -- reached its heyday in the 19th century, when our desire to reshape the environment was at last matched by our ability to do so.

A view of Boston from Washington Tower. (Bill Damon/flickr)

Our ancestors’ legacy surrounds us in steel and stone. Our legacy ricochets, invisible, through cyberspace.

What Will We Leave Behind? The Changing Landscape Of Innovation

Are the great civil engineering feats behind us? Pictured: A view of Washington Tower, Mount Auburn Cemetery. (Chris Devers/flickr)

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Do I heed [the] call to battle ... or do I keep my wallet in my pocket in the naive belief that elections should be determined by the will of the people rather than the power of the purse?

I wish to have a voice in my country’s affairs, but I want that voice to spring from an informed intellectual contribution, not a financial one.

If I Don’t Want Money To Rule Politics, Should I Give Money To Stop It?

Paul E. Fallon: If I donate money to chip away at super PAC clout, I'm helping ensure that big money determines election outcomes. L-R, Elizabeth Warren, Scott Brown, Jeanne Shaheen, Karl Rove. (All photos/AP)

Paul Fallon

Recently published

The Question I Carried

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April Is National Volunteer Month. What Would Ayn Rand Say?

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My Memoir, My Truth: When Those We Write About Object To Our Version Of The Events

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On Shaky Ground: Haiti, Five Years Later

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Ancient Cave Drawings, Modern Science And The Pretense Of Preservation

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A Starker Beauty: Embracing The Autumn Of One's Life

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Lead And Let Lead: Life Lessons From A Modern Dance Company

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Driving A Hard Bargain: Calculating The Toll Of Uber's Reduced Fares

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What Will We Leave Behind? The Changing Landscape Of Innovation

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If I Don’t Want Money To Rule Politics, Should I Give Money To Stop It?

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