David ex Machina

Almost two years into the COVID pandemic and with the Omicron variant on the rise, it seems as though we, as a society, should have learned a few important lessons by now. Most of these gaps seem obvious and addressable, but it’s frustrating how little, sometimes even backwards, progress there has been. I hope in pointing some of these gaps out, we can start to build a better society; one that is resilient to pandemics, rather than hope our emergency measures will take us back to the way things used to be. People need space, so space is valuable, but hard to come by. Look at real estate prices ! But public space infrastructure is also lacking, both in the quality of the space and the total area. It’s very difficult to find a place to sit down in a downtown. We should build more housing of course, but that will take years. Right now, we can be investing more in parks, recreation, and opening up private spaces: more seating capacity, more space per person, more open spaces, more multip...

via Goodera Environment Theory - The theory that the environment constrains your behavior and significantly affects your psyche, and these effects generally outweigh your will power over time*. Where environment is defined broadly, as any input to your mind and body that is external from your own person. Let’s look at a few examples: People You are the average of the five closest people you interact with . Chances are if all your friends were talking about Bitcoin in 2009, you’d probably be a millionaire many times over by now. But if most of your friends did drugs, you’re more likely to be an addict.  This affects people in corporations too. How else could the same person who did cocaine and pulled 100 hour weeks at Goldman Sachs be a vegan, meditation retreat employee at Apple? Though controversial, the Stanford Prison Experiment shows how normal people can exhibit sadistic tendencies when adhering to perceived roles of authority. Information Numerous reports show how doomscrol...

https://xkcd.com/552/ Correlation is  often confused for causation . You learn this in mathematics and statistics, and most people think it’s obvious, and then forget about it. Of course the color of my socks did not affect my grade on a math test. If it’s so obvious, can it apply to real life? Turns out, it does. And the weird thing is that oftentimes the correlation is in the exact opposite direction of the true causation. Let’s see some examples (going from more to less obvious): Fact: LeBron James wears these shoes and is g.o.a.t. at basketball. Correlation: If I wear those shoes I will be good at basketball. Causation: LeBron James has his own shoes because he is good at basketball. Fact: Selena Gomez is on Instagram and is famous Correlation: If I get an Instagram account I will be famous Causation: You have to do something that warrants fame in order to get fans. Fact: Many successful people are on Twitter and tweet great ideas and learnings all day. Correlation: I need to...

via  Pixy YC has the slogan “ make something people want ,” a seemingly obvious statement that is as powerful as it is simple. Though it is insufficient to build generation defining products. Take a summer blockbuster movie, this is a product that most people will want, it is built to entertain the masses, and you will be entertained! But you will not come out a changed mind. Servant-style product development also feels uncreative. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very valuable skill to ascertain what people want versus what they say, and many incredible products are built this way (thank you Coke Coffee ). But it takes away some of the fun when boiled down to “tell me what you want me to make for you.” It takes perseverance. To go a little deeper, products that “make something people will want” tend to be more disruptive. People did not know they wanted to ride in cars with strangers to get around town, or sleep in a stranger’s home for relaxation. Someone imagined it, and now people...

Adapted from Flickr and transparentpng.com ( cc 4.0 license ) Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an SF tech exodus emerged. There are many well documented reasons for the exodus, namely a high cost of living, unaffordable housing, and increased crime - all accelerated by the switch to remote-first work. But few have been more vocal than Keith Rabois , the paypal mafia venture capitalist, after physically moving and encouraging others to move to Miami. The level of hype raised tech eyebrows, including my own, to wonder if this is self-serving publicity, or something more?  Before I dive in, let me get a few things out of the way. First, I don’t have anything against the city of Miami. Second, I actually think it’s a good thing for tech to diversify and have many intellectual strongholds, not just one mecca. One of the few positives of the pandemic is making people reevaluate their lives and figure out what matters to them, including where to live. I also agree with many of...

Via  r/wallstreetbets Disclaimer: This is a guest post from a friend that works in finance. The views and opinions expressed in this post are of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. The most miraculous aspect of last week’s wild swings in Gamestop share price, is not the fact that an orchestrated short squeeze leading to a massive asset bubble captivated the market. Indeed, high drama short squeezes and bubbles have been part of the fabric of the free market since it began. The most amazing part of the story are the conditions and narrative that resulted in a perfect storm, leading thousands (millions?) of small-time investors to believe that by participating in a classic pump-and-dump they were leading the charge of righteousness and justice. First, I should clarify, as a supporter of the free market, I believe that the “retards” and “autists” have every right to trade, whatever their reasons. Howeve...

Builder's Hierarchy Pyramid Note: Every additional layer has a higher degree of difficulty The Builder’s Hierarchy of Fulfillment ...or how to fully actualize a thing. Think You consume information. You read and learn to formulate a hypothesis for a novel idea. It may be nothing, a flash in the pan, or something bigger, a spark of genius. Everyone always has ideas running through their head, but this one sticks with you. Talk   You’ve convinced yourself the idea has merit and is worthy of sharing with others. Can it pass social muster and make sense to the peers you respect? This is a big step, after all, most people keep ideas to themselves. Talking through an idea can be exhilarating, especially in a circle of trust, where one can flow with the discussion, provide context where necessary, fill in the gaps, and take in feedback to make the idea better. Write Now to the hard part, writing it down. Most people don’t make it this far because they get deterred by the “doubters” and it...