Hello in 2024! My latest post about growth went out on Friday afternoon, and I’m happily getting back into my regular posting schedule as we embark on this fresh new year.
Here’s a few things I read this week and during the break.
I included my “prompts for the year” in my latest weekly longform post. I usually write them in this planner. It’s my third year running using these planners, and I got the ‘merlot’ color this year (last year was yellow and the year before was turquoise.) I typically use the “weekly layout” of “morning, noon, and evening” for three categories around “work, admin, and personal” to-dos. I highly recommend the planner!
I loved Scott Alexander’s latest post on Capitalism vs. Philanthropy. I’ve always been skeptical of the “social enterprise” movement, and I like Scott’s clear argument for putting dollars into true philanthropy over pure capitalism. That said, I’ve been out of this debate for a while and am curious what people more expert than me (you don’t even have to be a true developmental economist to qualify) would say about this post.
I’m doing the slow read of War and Peace! The book has ~361 chapters, and the slow read involves reading 1 chapter (of 4-5 pages) per day. The person running the slow read really adds to the experience: he posts great analyses, starts discussion threads, and even includes further historical context. I am on chapter 20 even though the class is on chapter 7 because I’m Hermione Granger and cringe AF. It’s an amazing book. “If life could write, it would write like Tolstoy.” – Isaac Babel
I’ve been deeply researching General Electric — its rise, fall, and current breakup. A random side quest in my research was discovering this lovely history of “planned obsolescence,” most commonly known as the reason your iPhone goes to shit right in time for the latest model. The original culprits were the lightbulb cartel — “Big Bulb,” if I can make that happen, though they called themselves Phoebus. Of course, it had a dramatic effect on the companies’ bottom lines until the Feds stepped in around 1940. Ralph Cordiner, the stately GE chairman at the time, was supposedly ignorant and deeply horrified. It’s a great read!
I got caught up in a number of conversations about falling birth rates over the holidays that surprisingly, had nothing to do with my Indian parents nagging me for grandchildren. South Korea and Japan are particularly notable, with Korea taking the lowest fertility rate by far. A huge part of falling birth rates is related to the way the workforce treats women. Here’s a great essay on this topic in the Economist by one of my favorite Japanese authors.
And if you’re interested in a more fulsome account of what it’s like to be a woman in Korea, here’s a book that sparked a small revolution. I loved it!!! Feminist philosophers talk about the moment where everything “clicks” for them — this book was a mass-click-moment for South Korean women, almost like Betty Friedan’s book in America.
I have long had terrible migraines, speckled with little floating flashes of light called “aura.” I still remember my first migraine attack at age 20: it felt like what I thought a stroke would feel like, and I was petrified. Years later, doctors still have no idea what causes them, how they could be treated, and what to do in order to mitigate the pain. It turns out that lots of friends also have chronic, unexplainable diseases that were either ignored or are completely undiagnosed by the medical system. I thought this article was an excellent description of what it feels like to navigate that maze, to be unwell, and have chronic pain.
The Boy and the Heron. Dare I say more? I love Miyazaki, obviously. But this film was different from all of his others. The scenery was more gorgeous, the spaces more empty, and the questions posed — e.g. do I stay in this fantasy world or confront reality? — felt like a window to a future where I am lucky and wise enough to have lived a rich life.
As a part of watching and being touched by that film, I picked up the book that inspired it all. “How Do You Live?” teaches you how human beings are connected, how one can become great, and how to treat others. It’s gorgeously written and has been another excellent “chapter per day” slow read as I contemplate each lesson. If I had children, I would so badly want them to read this book.
Very excellent sales advice for non-salespeople and founders from Hacker News.