There are a lot of ways in which venture capitalists put their thumb on the scale when funding start-ups
Capitalism is the best economic system, as long as you assume that the marginal utility if incremental individual wealth is not diminishing
It is great if you can set your own success criteria, achieve them, become financially independent, and have fun in the process
The ability to quantify and appreciate risks provides a competitive edge, but in the face of existential risks many models break down
We are not just living in a simulation: our brain is running the simulation and emotions are its predictions
AI will not take our jobs, but creep into our workflows and contribute as intern, coach, and idiot savant
The ‘almost elite’ of well-educated knowledge workers would benefit from less individualism and more socialism
If, as a financial journalist, you want to bring down a fraudulent fintech startup, you need to be very, very careful
Once upon a time there was a mysterious country that tried to be unique in everything and to large extent succeeded
The conventional wisdom of what an entrepreneur needs to do to achieve success can be conveyed through a gazillion anecdotes
Throughout history, Italians went to extraordinary lengths to grow the most perfect and/or exuberant citrus fruit
An unstable cocktail of money, power, prestige, politics and bling brought a Florentine banking dynasty to the highest regions of power. for as long as it lasted
To understand the full potential power of blockchain technologies, think of a computer rather than a ledger
When writing a movie script: don’t try to be unique but give movie execs what they expect and follow a proven recipe
Even though the art world is hermetic, myopic, elitist, and irrational there is still inherent value in art itself (whatever the definition of art is)
Without active allies and inclusive policies, disadvantaged groups will never get the same opportunities as the privileged
The ideas that were seriously considered in covert operations and military plots shew a new light on the term ‘Intelligence’
Founders are gaslighted by VCs in order to convince them that they need to take high risks that are not in their own best interest
Use ‘validated learning’ to launch your ‘MVP’, and ‘pivot’ when your ‘value and growth hypotheses’ are falsified
Understanding behavioral economics is quite helpful when you want to understand what works in marketing.
The populist far-right has been able to gain ground due to the failure of progressives to address underlying concerns across broad strands of the population
Brain variances manifest differently in women, leading to widely-held misconceptions and many living undiagnozed and untreated
Most crypto currencies are Ponzi schemes funded and operated by hardened criminals and effective altruists lacking a moral compass
If you are quirky enough; people may just trust you because you seem harmless even if you have a history at a Wall Street trading firm
It requires a risky mix of naive optimism, grotesque bluff, and boneheaded persistence to get a scoop on a yakuza boss
Don´t settle for industrially produced teabags, but choose high-quality tea leafs and take care to optimize water temperature and infusion time
It is easy to fall under the spell of a charismatic and brilliant maniac who is convinced he has mankind’s best interests in mind
For every writing-fiction-rule you can come up with, there is a brilliant Chekhov story that disproves it
The relationship between biological make-up and human behavior is governed by complex interaction effects
We tend to underestimate the capabilities of our neolithic ancestors in the domains of engineering and social organization
Gothic architecture brought major innovations in the construction of cathedrals, using the frame (rather than the walls) to support the weight
Through an anthropological lens, the English can be characterized as a withdrawn, class-conscious, ironic, understatement-loving and uptight tribe, whose members loosen up only in the pub
Phrenology started out as an honest attempt to study the brain scientifically, but evolved away from the scientific method and was put to despicable uses
There are no less than 12 primary imperatives that explain how the evolution of technology creates economical, cultural, and social value
The histories of science and religion are intricately entangled and the conflict between the two is over-emphasized
The Mediterranean has been the pivotal connection between great European, North African, and Asian cultures and economies
Various scandals illustrate the despicable role that big consultancies play in the global capitalist system, while they try to reap benefits of their worthless services by applying dubious marketing and sales tactics
There are many documented anecdotes illustrating that Medieval monks were only human and struggled with focus and concentration
To counter the Big Evil of the New York Times you should put the truth on the blockchain ledger and solve world politics through technology
If the talent density in your organization is high enough and your corporate culture strong enough, you could give extreme freedom to your people to increase te level of innovation
There are a huge number of ways in which Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) can take over the world, rendering humanity essentially useless
Over her impressive and long career, Agatha Christie evolved from an ground-breaking writer into a global brand
Crowd-sourced analysis of publicly available data can be a powerful tool in exposing lies, as is proved by an impressive track record of impactful scoops.
If you update the brain-in-a-vat argument to the current state of technology, it reads: ‘We cannot prove that we are not in a simulation.’
Contrarian thinking is a powerful weapon, if combined with genuine curiosity and a deep respect for facts and data
The success of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics is an excellent example of how accidental biases affect scientific progress
Structural shifts in energy production and usage (especially shale oil and EVs) have fundamentally affected the global power balance
Metaphysical theories are constraint by the scientific knowledge, but plenty degrees of freedom remain for those in search (or need) of meaning
From its earliest origins math has been seen both as an formalization of divine perfection and as an effective, practical tool for solving real-world problems
Africa and Africans have never been taken seriously by the Western world, simplifying the story of the continent to ‘famine and safaris’
The lack quality control on generic drugs opened the door to fraud and deceit, endangering health and lives of the world’s poor
When managing your enterprise data, you should aim for a flexible, loosely coupled architecture that can handle large-scale batch and streaming data as well as APIs
To succeed in business: conform to reality, be cunning, but stick with whatever moral compass you have
Since the invention of the micro processor, chip production has become of imminent strategic importance for both the USA and other geopolitical power blocks
Silicon valley types and tech icons all recommend using OKRs for business steering, but each means something slightly different
The issues and conflicts plaguing modern Spain are rooted in a troubled history that until shockingly recently was a dictatorship
The subtle nuances that can be achieved by varying ingredients, shaping, and timing of your bread are under-appreciated
If you want to learn how to build good products or start yur own company, Tony Fadell recommends listening to Tony Fadell
Aging populations and the breakdown of global trade make that very bad things are going to happen all over the world, but less so in the USA
To learn how to make an open source software project a commercial success, study business models in the media industry
To benefit the most from network effects: build local scale, fiercely fight for each new value pocket, and remember that every hockey stick will become an S-curve
The initial strength of the Hanseatic League was the fluidity of the institution, but that also limited the degree to which it could scale its power
The strive for ever greater precision has been a driving force behind all landmark engineering achievements
The careful study of ancient wrecks reveals much about how – through the ages and across civilizations – engineers have solved for the same challenges in different ways
When structuring your tech-heavy organization it helps to think in archetypes of team roles and interaction modes
Earth is an unremarkable planet in an average solar system in a plain-vanilla galaxy in just one-of-many bubble universes
A subversive branch of the French royal family has been responsible for the emergence of the low countries as a geopolitical entity
Venture Capital has been of major importance in the making of the tech industry in general, and Silicon Valley in particular.
Indigenous societies show that, next to capitalism, there are many alternative blends of violence, knowledge and charisma on which a viable social power structure can be built
Thinking of decisions under uncertainty as bets leads to better, more rational, choices by challenging our innate biases
Determining the value function is a difficult problem that is nonetheless key to safely and effectively using reinforcement learning
PayPal has been successful first and foremost because of ruthless competitiveness and a maniacal work ethic
The early 20th century provided a thriving pan-European intellectual and scientific environment, for those men who had the brains and could afford to participate
Old-fashioned advertising creativity is very, very important in marketing effectiveness; unlike ‘thinking logically’
From Anime to the Karaoke machine and the Gameboy, Japanese design has had an outsized influence on pop culture
Governments of developing countries should: 1. stimulate household farming 2. push through land reform, and 3. protect their budding manufacturing industry – in that order
