FTWW #25: Fooling science, reflections and testing Stoicism under fire
My dear intellectually curious friends,
This is FTWW #25 and I must admit that time flies when you are having fun. Nonetheless, with the holidays on our doorstep I thought this might be a good stopping point.
I wish you and your families a very happy holiday season, with much love and warmth.
To quote Edith Lovejoy Pierce, “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” I hope your pages pave the way to your wildest dreams.
And now, to quote William Shakespeare, “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”
We will pick back up again in the New Year, but in the meantime here are a few things that I’ve come across that I think you will enjoy immensely. A little bit of something for everyone.
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So for those who wonder, here goes.
“The best thing a human being can do is to help another human being know more.” — Charlie Munger
[SELF] Reflections on the rewards of seeking out what magnifies your spirit — 9 Learnings from 9 Years of Brain Pickings. My favorite: “Expect anything worthwhile to take a long time.”
How Old Would You Be If You Did Not Know How Old You Are? “Keeping oneself busy” becomes a disguise for the shame of admitting that one is really awaiting death. Many tombstones should bear the epitaph: “Died at the age of 18, buried at the age of 92.”
Vice-Admiral James Bond Stockdale’s (Yes.) speech on applying Stoic philosophy as a POW in Vietnam for eight years. Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus’ Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior.
Further reading: Indifference is a power — As legions of warriors and prisoners can attest, Stoicism is not grim resolve but a way to wrest happiness from adversity
[HEALTH] There will be a lot of eating this holiday season. I’m sure you are already regretting Thanksgiving. Keep intermittent fasting in mind, your body won’t miss the calories — I guarantee it.
[TECH] Education is a hot topic in the tech community. Read about what Tech elite’s quest to reinvent school in their own image. Salman Khan, founder of the Khan Lab School.
Further reading: The Algorithmic Future of Education.
DK might know this better than many, but still good to share: What it takes to start your own venture capital fund.
Some survival math for startup CEOs. You would be surprised how many people forget simple division when it comes to cash in the bank.
[BUSINESS] 10 questions to help you define your investment philosophy.
Big data, intuition, and decision-making in finance — SFI Board of Trustees Chair Michael Mauboussin interviews Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics. First 45 minutes are the best.
Investment Industry Trends and Career Implications. Minutes 20–25 say it all — there is too much switching going on and not much thinking.
Further reading: Buyside vs. Sellside.
[MISC] In case you were wondering (because I sure was): The most Googled diets in every city.
A Brief History of Human Energy Use — and what it means for our future.
How three MIT students fooled the world of scientific journals — ten years hence. I knew all these papers were just fluff!
Further listening: Renowned theoretical physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed delivered the first in his series of five Messenger lectures on “The Future of Fundamental Physics”.
Enjoy!
