📖 What I’m Reading: Stanislov Petrov – Wikipedia My #1 most underrated historical figure and story. “An investigation later confirmed that the Soviet satellite warning system had indeed malfunctioned. Because his decision may have averted a retaliatory nuclear strike, Petrov is often credited as having ‘saved the world’.” Against Treating Chatbots as Conscious – Erik Hoel The new ethical frontier. Why the 5% Rule is the New 4% Rule – Nick Maggiulli New data on retirement spending. Book...
3 months ago • 1 min read
📖 What I’m Reading: How Police Let One of America’s Most Prolific Predators Get Away – Ronan Farrow Crazy, long, disturbing New Yorker article. South Park creators 'relying' on so-called 'small-penis rule' to avoid Trump legal action – The Mirror “The small-penis strategy allows creators to portray a real-life figure in a fictional work while minimizing the risk of a libel suit by attributing the character a small penis. The reasoning is that any potential lawsuit would require the plaintiff,...
4 months ago • 2 min read
📖 What I’m Reading: Family Fun Pack – People’s Policy Project A proposal to, inter alia, fix childcare. Scottie Scheffler’s take on success in golf: ‘What’s the point?’ – ESPN “Out, out, brief candle! / Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more.” My Recent Experience with “Vibe Coding” – Jack Raines The right way to use AI. ☝️ Word of the Month: sibilant (adj) SIB-uh-luhnt Making or characterized by a hissing sound;...
5 months ago • 1 min read
📖 What I’m Reading: Inside America’s Death Chambers – Elizabeth Bruenig Best piece on the death penalty I’ve ever read. Elagabalus – Wikipedia “Elagabalus developed a posthumous reputation for extreme eccentricity, decadence, zealotry, and sexual promiscuity. … Elagabalus ‘abandoned himself to the grossest pleasures with ungoverned fury’ … ‘Elagabalus was not a tyrant, but he was an incompetent, probably the least able emperor Rome had ever had.’” A Consensus Statement on Potential Negative...
6 months ago • 2 min read
📖 What I’m Reading: Simon-Ehrlich Wager – Wikipedia Fun example of an academic putting money where his mouth is. Over the decades, life gets better in terms of resources. But it gets worse in terms of equality and ennui. You Can’t Put a Price on Mental Freedom – Nick Maggiulli Stock picking bad. Phone bad. WWEconomics: Kayfabe and the Trade War – Kyla Scanlon All the world’s a stage. “The show will continue because the incentives align: politicians get attention, corporations get deals, and...
7 months ago • 1 min read
📖 What I’m Reading: Mike White’s 15-Year Journey For “The White Lotus” – Trung Phan Mike White is Ed Schneebly from School of Rock. He wrote Season 1 of White Lotus in 14 days. And True Detective helped pave the way. The Grand Encyclopedia of Eponymous Laws – Roger’s Bacon “Gibson’s Law: For every PhD there is an equal and opposite PhD.” “Hanlon’s Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” “The Lindy Effect: The future life expectancy of a...
8 months ago • 2 min read
📖 What I’m Reading: Outcome Orientation as a Cure for Information Overload – Common Cognition “At all times, whenever you are doing something or reading something, you should ask yourself the question: ‘What is the outcome I am trying to achieve here?’” The Abundance Agenda – Matt Bruenig Best review of the biggest book of 2025 so far. Jordan Rudess – Wikipedia I discovered Jordan Rudess via this video. I’ve never heard a keyboard sound like it does at 3:05. Virtuosic. Turns out his life is...
9 months ago • 2 min read
📖 What I’m Reading: We Live Like Royalty and Don’t Know It – The New Atlantis Tough one. I go back and forth. Yes, we benefit from many hidden systems that are indeed miraculous. Clean water, abundant food, etc. But there are still a lot of people struggling, and abundance, as we’re learning, causes its own problems. But I generally agree with this author’s outlook. We would do well to recognize this stuff more. This is the first in a series of essays on boring miracles. 50 Years of Travel...
10 months ago • 1 min read
📣 Update: This is now a monthly newsletter. 📖 What I’m Reading: Kim Jong-nam – Wikipedia “Kim Jong-nam was the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. From roughly 1994 to 2001, he was considered the heir apparent to his father. He was thought to have fallen out of favor after embarrassing the regime in 2001 with a failed attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland with a false passport, although Kim himself said his loss of favor had been due to advocating reform.” Stop speedrunning to a...
11 months ago • 2 min read
