- Read: The China model
is deadhas been murdered by Xi, who’s prioritization of CPC control and loyalty has crushed China’s “animal spirits” - Listen to Malcom Gladwell’s fascinating dive into the mythology of the “Wild West” and how that distorts US gun policy.
- Think: I read awhile ago that “humans and food for humans” takes up 97% of the Earth’s biomass, with the rest being “wild.” Those figures are kinda right. If you look at the data, then “humans and food for humans” compose 95% of the “land creatures” with the other 5% being wild animals and birds. But the share of “humans and food for humans” drops from 95% to 5% if you include fish, mollusks, worms, spiders, etc. But, I am not going to “relax” about human impact because (a) our 95% share of “land creatures” was much lower (say 50%) 100 years ago, when populations and meat eating and land clearance were all lower, and (b) we are impacting the worms, fish etc. in the Anthropocene, in ways that
maywill eliminate many species. - Watch some pretty impressive boat woodworking.
- Watch and learn how Silicon Valley developed as a tech cluster in the years before it was even called that (after 1970).
- Read: Crypto-bros pivoted to AI, and now they are struggling to monetise novelty that may not be delivering value.
- Think: A fascinating paper on “The Ecological Origins of Economic and Political Systems” [pdf]
- Read: Cities fall apart when they lose their local elites, but those local elites are not always good for progress.
- Listen: The [American] football players’ union asked what was wrong “at work” and the answers are scaring (billionaire) owners into improving conditions!