Random Roundup #21

Jonathan Berkowitz
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read

The Mind:

Charlie Munger might be the lesser known than his business partner Warren Buffet, but he’s not one bit less impressive.

He’s one of those rare people that cut out all the fluff and leaving only the good and pure wisdom to impart.

This well-animated commencement speech he gave to the graduating class of Harvard ’95 is a must watch — Charlie Munger: The Psychology of Human Misjudgement.


The “Fooled You!”:

Turns out you should not force quit apps on IOS.

Is it just me or does it seem like every commonly held assumption is being disproven lately?


The Winner of the Week:

YouTube now responds to searches for terrorist videos with playlists that debunk extremism.

Way to go Youtube. A really smart way to go about dissuading those in vulnerable positions from turning to extremism.


The Cool:

Kids nowadays don’t have the attention spans or inclination to read books to grasp the gist of a topic. Their relationship to technology has changed the way they learn and so the way they learn will have to change too.

That’s why funny, relatable and engaging videos like History of Japan are a great example of how even the most complex and obscure can be made fun and easy to learn — and over 30 million people seem to agree.
(9 min video)


The Food For Thought:

I featured two articles by author Mark Manson on last week’s Roundup and I have no problem showing him some more love with his brilliant 5 things that should be taught in every school.

If I could humbly add a sixth — it would be to teach the basic psychological tools and techniques to deal with the sorts of problems kids face nowadays — kind of like we’re doing over at Captain Calm.


The Short Read:

I’m a staunch believer that there is nothing new under the sun, only new combinations and iterations. U.S Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, echoes the idea by saying we should arm ourselves with books since they have are unlimited in what they can teach if we’re willing to pay attention. Someone else has probably already gained the knowledge that you seek, and they’ve likely put it in a book to share with you. You’ve just got to find and read it.


The Long Read:

Reverse engineering a successful lifestyle business could potentially be the most personally beneficial thing I’ve come across in the past year.

Building a lifestyle business is a key focus for me right now and learning from the experience of others will be hugely beneficial. James Mattis would be proud.

Take a read if you want a glimpse into this world.


The Fly In The Soup:

Hear the story about the worst waiter in history?

“Edsel Ford Fong greeted patrons with a ‘sit down and shut up!’ Routinely, he cussed out his customers, sexually accosted female companions, and unapologetically spilt soup across laps.” Turns out his antics also made a legend: people would come to his San Francisco restaurant “just to experience his wrath.”


The Upvote:

The Osprey Farpoint 40 is BY FAR my favourite backpack.

I’ve used it as my only piece of luggage for a 6-month worldwide backpacking trip as well as two 5-day mountain hikes and well over 10 weekend getaways.

It has not disappointed once.

They’ve also got an overly generous warranty which meant I got a new one when I returned mine for a broken zipper string after yanking too hard. (Drunk me’s fault, not the bag’s.)


The Distillery: Treat the cause, not the symptoms.

Which of the following two ways would you cool down a boiling pot?

A) Throw in a handful of ice cubes into the boiling pot.
B) Move the pot off the heat.

“B” — of course!

So why do we so often take the ice cube approach to dealing with our problems in life? Why do we try to treat the symptoms and not the cause?

How about we try to identify the root causes of our problems and go about addressing those. Me thinks you’ll be amazed at the results.

If you enjoyed this Edition, please tell me so by leaving a 💚 or sign up to get the newsletter delivered straight to your inbox over here. 💌

Until next week,
Adjo (“Goodbye” in Swedish)

Jonathan “Ice ice baby” Berkowitz
www.JonathanBerkowitz.me


Random Roundup is my weekly newsletter. Every weekend I send out 5–7 of the best things I found on the internet that week. That’s it, no gimmicks.
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Jonathan Berkowitz

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Head of Growth at Captain Calm App (http://www.captaincalm.org) | Founder at LinkedFire 🔥(https://linkedfire.co)

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