A Quote I Am Reflecting On
“Process saves us from the poverty of our intentions.”
- Elizabeth King
What I Am Reading
Book
The Great Stagnation
Written by Tyler Cowen
This pamphlet from economist Tyler Cowen argues that we are living through the consequences of a dramatic decrease in the rate of innovation. Stagnant wages, poorly designed Government Policies, and increases in productivity shown only via statistics, are offshoots of this low innovation problem. Cowen attacks from a Policy-front with ideas of Liberty and Freedom intertwined in his argument.
RATING: 4/5
Articles & Video
How Claude Shannon Invented the Future
Written by David Tse (for Quanta Magazine)
The future couldn’t have been what it is had it not been for the great Claude Shannon. This article from David Tse, writing for Quanta Magazine, is a great snapshot of Shannon’s life, work and ideas that changed the world.
Tweet of the Week
Meme of the Week
What I Am Listening To
Music
2020: A Playlist
I love music and I have been curating playlists all through 2020. So, as we move into 2021, here is a YouTube Playlist with 12 of the best songs I heard for each month of 2020.
Click here to listen to the playlist.
Podcasts
#240 - David Manheim on "Goodhart's Law and why metrics fail"
Presented by Rationally Speaking Podcast
If you want to understand why things go wrong in business, government, education, psychology, AI, and more, you need to know Goodhart's Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to become a good measure." In this episode, decision theorist David Manheim explains the dynamics behind Goodhart's Law and some potential solutions to it.
What I Am Watching
Videos
How Airbnb & DoorDash Succeeded: First Principles (3 steps for billion-dollar startups)
Presented by Garry Tan
Airbnb and DoorDash’s IPOs were two of 2020’s great success stories. By defying conventional wisdom the founders of these two companies created an enviable business and built companies with great customer loyalty and reputation. 2020 affected both companies severely, however, both companies emerged stronger. How so? Garry Tan takes us to the root of everything that powers unconventional reasoning.
TV Series
Medici
Streaming on Netflix
I am period drama buff and this was right up my alley. Totally binge-worthy.
The three-part series on the Medicis, the family that drove the Renaissance movement from Florence to all of Italy and Europe, walked through corridors of money, power, politics, art, and religion, is absolutely amazing.
Well acted and beautifully designed, this is a great throwback to medieval Europe and the roots of an idea we hold as the gold standard of innovation and culture today.
Click here to stream on Netflix.
Thank you for reading Don’t Be Boring #026.
You can follow me on Twitter. My handle is @vigneshs1994.
Wishing you an awesome week ahead.
– Vignesh