This week’s highlights: Self Beyond LinkedIn, The Mess of Brexit, Sleep Doctors
Fifteen on Friday – Issue 317
Happy Friday,
David
Food for Thought:
Top Read of the Week: Chad Dickerson – We contain multitudes
Why It Matters: Special thanks to Kyle Westaway for highlighting this one. “Maybe if we all gave each other the space to be complex people — not reduced to public perception, our professional bios, our LinkedIn profiles, others’ narratives of who we are — we might understand each other better and give ourselves the room to be messy but wondrous human beings”
Consider as well:
- NYT – To Save the Sound of a Stradivarius, a Whole City Must Keep Quiet
- TheAtlantic – I Spent $925 on a Fake Canada Goose Coat A winter splurge turns into an e-commerce nightmare.
- Aeon – What Happened When I Made My Students Turn Off Their Phones
- NYT – Socrates Wants You to Tidy Up, Too What reading an ancient Greek dialogue can tell us about the Marie Kondo craze.
Business/Economics:
Top Read of the Week: Economist – Brexit, mother of all messes
Why It Matters: The Brexit debacle continues. With so many moving pieces, for those of us on this side of the pond, keeping straight what is at stake is not easy. Per usual, the Economist does an excellent job of summarizing the current state of things, and the profound constitutional paradoxes that are in play currently.
Consider as well:
- Adventur.es – Serving the Six-Sided Teeter Totter. You may not know who Brent Beshore is, but you should. Beshore is a sharp investor slowly building a portfolio of businesses. His writings, and this annual letter, are always a thoughtful reflection on the craft of investing and operating a business.
- II – A Farmer Found a Trojan Horse Inside an Insurance Contract. Now He Might Bring Down the Canadian Insurance Industry.
- NYT – Vanguard’s Jack Bogle Wasn’t a Billionaire. He Was Proud of That.
- McKinsey – A better way to anticipate downturns. An older piece but still relevant – Credit markets, though harder to follow than equity markets, provide clearer signals.
Culture/Tech/Science:
Top Read of the Week: TG – I Had a ‘Sleep Doctor’ Tell Me How to Structure My Entire Day, and I’ve Never Felt More Energized
Why It Matters: Sleep and its importance continues to be highlighted. Arianna Huffington has made sleep a cornerstone issue for her and public health. Just today, the Washington Post highlighted that a lack of sleep is causing a ‘public health crisis. This article looks at how sleep is tied into self, and how “early birds” and “night owls” can better adapt what they do and when they do it in relationship to their own sleep/energy levels.
Consider as well:
- NYT – Paramount Was Hollywood’s ‘Mountain.’ Now It’s a Molehill. After decades of nearly slapstick mismanagement — spinning off TV and missing the internet — the studio behind “The Godfather” is fighting for its life.
- ScienticAmerican – Is Only-Child Syndrome Real? Children without siblings have long been thought of as spoiled and selfish. Are the claims true?
- NYT – Their Warhols Are at the Whitney. Their Ugly Divorce Is on Display, Too. The tawdry divorce of Libbie and David Mugrabi is not just a tabloid story. At stake are a trophy townhouse, works by Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, and the inner workings of one of the world’s most influential art dealer families.
- Motherboard – The Rise of Netflix Competitors Has Pushed Consumers Back Toward Piracy BitTorrent usage has bounced back because there’s too many streaming services, and too much exclusive content.