The Glass Cage: Automation and US
People have worried about losing their jobs to robots for decades now. But how is growing automation really going to change us? Let’s take a look at the limitations of automation and the uniquely …
Culture
The Art of Roughhousing
“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better. What if they are a little coarse, and you may get your coat soiled …
Marcel Proust: Imminent Death Reminds us that Life is Beautiful
In his book, How Proust Can Change Your Life, Alain de Botton brings to light a fascinating answer by Marcel Proust to a Parisian newspaper on what we should do in the face of a near-certain death. …
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Randall Munroe, the creator of xkcd, has written a book: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions Here are a few questions, which I loved, that are sure to spark your …
Harper Lee’s Letter to Oprah Winfrey on Reading and Loving Books
Harper Lee, author of the much-loved novel To Kill a Mockingbird, wrote the following letter to Oprah Winfrey, May 7, 2006 Dear Oprah, Do you remember when you learned to read, or like me, can you not …
Your Response to Mistakes Defines You
Sometimes we lose our way. We all make mistakes. We focus on the wrong things. We pursue goals at all costs. We teeter on ethical and moral cliffs. We get too far down a slippery slope. We steal. We …
The Darwin Economy – Why Smith’s Invisible Hand Breaks Down
In The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and The Common Good Robert H. Frank, an economics professor at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, takes on the debate of who was a …
Summary: Peter Thiel’s Zero To One
Peter Thiel, the entrepreneur and investor who co-founded PayPal and Palantir, made the first outside investment in Facebook, and was an early investor in companies like SpaceX and LinkedIn, also …
The History of Cognitive Overload
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload, a book by Daniel Levitin, has an interesting section on cognitive overload. Each day we are confronted with hundreds, probably …
Brené Brown: The Power of Vulnerability
In this TED talk, Brené Brown, who studies vulnerability, brings us into how we can live a more meaningful life. Brown went back to the research and spent years trying to understand what choices …
The Education of a Value Investor: A Quest for Wealth, Wisdom, and Enlightenment
I read Guy Spier’s book, The Education of a Value Investor: My Transformative Quest for Wealth, Wisdom, and Enlightenment, in a single sitting. The section of the book I was most interested in …
The Book of Trees: Visualizing Branches of Knowledge
“There certainly have been many new things in the world of visualization; but unless you know its history, everything might seem novel.” — Michael Friendly *** It’s tempting to consider information …
Seneca on The One Thing Nature Loans us That we Cannot Repay
The Roman philosopher Seneca weaved beautiful and timeless insights into his letters. Luckily a lot of those letters survived. While old, there is a reason we still read them today. While the language …
Maya Angelou on Haters, Life, Reading, and Love
I’ve been slowly working my way through some of Maya Angelou’s material. Notably, Conversations with Maya Angelou, Letters to my Daughter, and What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self. …
Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload, a book by Daniel Levitin, explores “how humans have coped with information and organization from the beginning of …
Seneca on Wisdom
In Seneca’s Morals: Of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger, and Clemency, the famous stoic philosopher Seneca, who brought us combinatorial creativity, illuminates real wisdom. Wisdom is a right …