Circle Three 56 / Dog Days Are Over
Diving right into it this week. Welcome to our new readers!
News, work, and sports are picking up as summer winds down.
Contents:
Brain Bites: Psychology
Brain Bites: Culture
Brain Bites: Business
Lyric: Dog Days Are Over
Brain Bites: Psychology
Generational Thinking. Two things came across my desk this week that forced me to think on generational and societal advancement.
John Adams’ quote. The ruling class at the time felt they were risking their lives and fortunes to allow for a world in which the humanities would dominate. The humanities were the natural progression, a great achievement for a nation.
“I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculature, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine.”
Corporate Social Responsibility. How much trust do we place in our employers and institutions to evolve society for the benefit of all? It’s a big question I tried thinking about after reading statements around the purpose of a corporation. Will new technologies like AI be aligned with humanity’s long-term goals?
Modern Meditations with Bryan Pellegrino. Unobvious Q&A with professional poker player, entrepreneur, and LayerZero founder. I was inspired by his ability to reexamine his own thinking and enjoyed reading about his passion for understanding the strongest levers to pull to make optimize a business.
A TL;DR of the piece:
On quitting poker: “I decided that the next thing I did had to be meritocratic and provide a lot of freedom. I wanted to earn what my output deserved and work on my schedule.”
On technology optimism: “Opportunity is more abundant than ever. Technology and the rise of globalization have played a vital role in that. We have access to the world’s accumulated knowledge, computers in our pockets, and a reach we’ve never had before.”
On competition: “Albert Einstein hated competition — he thought it was a waste of time. So much so that he wouldn’t even play a casual game of chess with friends. As someone that’s been so driven by competition, that’s made me pause and wonder: when is competition useful, and when can the scenario be adjusted to become purely collaborative or purely knowledge-seeking?”
Brain Bites: Culture
The Young and the Rooted. If you’ve talked with me about living in Philly, you’ve likely heard me mention how Philly feels so local. Everyone in Philly is from Philly.
Well, this chart shows there might be some truth to that.
Brain Bites: Business
The Optimal Industry Structure. A counterintuitive take on the industry makeup most conducive to investment gains:
“For major winners, the optimal industry structure seems to be highly fragmented, as consolidators have the opportunity to acquire market share much more quickly, and to a far greater degree. Furthermore, it is industries that are generally economically insensitive and service-oriented that present the best opportunities for such massive consolidation.”
Notion Productivity Software. If you don’t know about Notion, consider this your alert. My entire digital life is in Notion. At some point soon I’ll publish a piece on how I use it, along with some Notion hacks. For now, here’s a short list of the different tools for entrepreneurs using Notion. Queue.so Twitter scheduling and Super website design are personal favorites (and free).
Lyric: Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine
This tune came to mind for two reasons: the dog days of summer coming to an end, and thinking about generationality.
The horses — which I just learned are referring to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation — are coming. Let’s embrace the changes they bring.
The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming
So you better runRun fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers