This is the first weekly reading round up I’ve done, so please excuse the lack of real organisation or theme here; I’ll try to get that going organically, as I go along, and see where we end up. In the meantime, here are this weeks (fairly brief) links:
Ayn Rand TV interview - cool find from Marginal Revolution, if you’re into that
Paul Graham essay - What You’d Wish You’d Known. I’m starting to wade my way through these, there are some real gems here, enjoyed this one this week
“I suspect if you had the sixteen year old Shakespeare or Einstein in school with you, they'd seem impressive, but not totally unlike your other friends. Which is an uncomfortable thought. If they were just like us, then they had to work very hard to do what they did. And that's one reason we like to believe in genius. It gives us an excuse for being lazy”
Megan McArdle article - If Everyone Else Is Such An Idiot, How Come You’re Not Rich?. Great piece from the Atlantic from 2011, and introduced me to the hugely interest concept of Chesterton’s Fence (quote not from the piece itself, but Chesterton)
“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, "I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away." To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: "If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it. This paradox rests on the most elementary common sense. The gate or fence did not grow there. It was not set up by somnambulists who built it in their sleep. It is highly improbable that it was put there by escaped lunatics who were for some reason loose in the street. Some person had some reason for thinking it would be a good thing for somebody. And until we know what the reason was, we really cannot judge whether the reason was reasonable”
Profile of venture capitalist Josh Wolfe - blog post from Neckar’s Insecurity Analysis substack, which I can happily recommend in general too
PETITION blog post - They’re Real And They’re (not) SPACtacular Part IV nice (continuing) summary of how the SPAC bloodbath that was inevitably going to happen, happened. Also, general recommendation of PETITION, great substack and lots to learn and enjoy
“Well now there’s an anti-SPAC memo circulating titled “The SPAC Hack: How SPACs Tilt the Playing Field and Enrich Wall Street Insiders”.* From whom? Elizabeth Warren! Of course! After all, she’s the queen of ranting and raving about Wall Street and doing f*ck all about it, in actuality. There are no points for second place, Senator. And by “second place,” we mean for “failing to actually pass any legislation that does anything about any of the topics you go after.””