Substack Library
GlossaryThe Cacophony Economy
June 3, 2022A business has three moving parts—content, distribution and financing. Since the advent of modern capitalism about 250 years ago, there have been a series of battles over who controls distribution. Today, this fight centers on information. What’s referred to as the “creator economy” is in fact a cacophony economy. Anyone can post anything, thus the cacophony. What we see, however, is a function of algos that feed off emotions like anger and lust or something quite old-school, ad spend.
Complexity and Adaptation
May 27, 2022If you are new to Things I Didn’t Learn in School you can see what I am up to here. If you want to skip directly to my conversation with poet Heidi Seaborn, click this link. Also, last night, The Wall Street Journal published a piece I wrote about family and Putin’s propaganda, which you can read here. For US readers, happy Memorial Day!
The Hedgehog vs. The Fox
May 20, 2022Frameworks are mental shortcuts that, while inaccurate, organize reality. An ancient but useful one is the distinction between the hedgehog and the fox. “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing,” wrote the ancient Greek poet Archilochus. Hedgehogs rely on one trick to survive—playing dead—while foxes employ many. Similarly, some thinkers rely on a single idea used again and again to make sense of reality while others shift tactics and frameworks.1 On social media and in politics, hedgehogs do well. But if the goal is understanding and preserving wealth, it is helpful to find your inner fox.
Zero Covid Lessons
May 14, 2022Concepts are less persuasive than actual experience. You know, in the abstract, car crashes are undesirable; then you are in one and the scream of tires, metal crunching into glass and a massive adrenaline jolt forever changes your perception of risk. Covid is doing the same, particularly in China.
Too Many Tech Bros, Not Enough Frackers
May 7, 2022Welcome! If this was forwarded to you, you can read what I am up to here or sign up to receive the free or paid version below. This week is both an essay and a Mother’s Day podcast with my amazing wife Marina, which you can hear here.
A Conversation with Neuroscientist David Linden
April 29, 2022We are wired a bit funny, according to Johns Hopkins neuroscientist David Linden. Our brains send us contradictory thoughts and emotions. We also want to predict the future even when some things, like imagining a world we are no longer a part of, is impossible. You can hear the full conversation here.
Russia, One-Off or Precedent
April 23, 2022Observing Russia is disturbing. How disturbing is in part a function of distance. When the war broke out, I was a few hours away in Cyprus. Later, in New England, an ocean separated me and I felt safer. Last week, driving Palo Alto’s Sand Hill Road, the idea of a Russia-like swing in US politics felt implausible. But what if what is unfolding in Russia is a disease that can spread?
Undermoney
April 16, 2022Undermoney is both the name of a new novel and a term invented by this week’s podcast guest, Jay Newman. Jay defines the term as money “which is unknown publicly but that controls individuals and events.” Given the theme of this Substack, I was of course intrigued to speak with him. You can hear the full episode here.
Scholz, Xi and McCarthy’s Choice
April 10, 2022The more Buchas are revealed, the more stark the moral choices both government leaders and the rest of us face. It’s not overdramatic to say that the fate of liberal, open society hangs on what choices are made. The person who faces the most immediate and difficult choice is Germany’s Olaf Scholz. China’s Xi and House Republican Leader McCarthy also matter. Politicians, like us all, are motivated by self-interest. It’s also true that most ethical teaching, both Western and Eastern, remind us that harmony is only achieved by balancing our own interests against the legitimate interests of others.
Crossing the Rubicon
April 3, 2022Things I Didn’t Learn in School has two parts—writing about what is going on in the world (macro) and podcasts of individual life stories (micro). To understand, it helps to both zoom in and out. The very best novels—Les Miserables or War and Peace—do exactly that.