Self-awareness is probably overrated. A complex, self-regulating system doesn't need it in order to be successful, or even smart.

Only a knowledgeable, empowered and vocal citizenry can perform well in democracy.

There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet, several of the very best were English majors who could not parse a differential equation to save their lives.

Above all, TRIBES is fun, and even kind of sexy... in that every round features an Opportunity for Reproduction, which is the main aim of the game, as it is in most of Nature

I find humans tremendously interesting

In contrast, markets - oft mythologized as "natural" are the most unnatural things going. Libertarians will tell you "market laws are laws of nature", what baloney. Markets - and the other great modernist cornucopian tools - are magnificent wealth generating machines, built ad-hoc, through trial and error, constantly fine-tuned and refined, tinkered, adjusted.

If you have other things in your life-family, friends, good productive day work-these can interact with your writing and the sum will be all the richer.