better doing

40 powerful concepts

Rolled up into one page, this is a series of tweets by Gurwinder Bhogal describing important concepts with few words. Examples of concepts: causal reductionism, emergence, survivorship bias, concept creep, and streetlight effect (pictured above). | learn more

tech, startups, internet

The risk of distributing risk

Lambda School is a startup programming school that uses income sharing agreements to tie tuition payments to students’ income (no income = no tuition). That leaves ‘accounts receivable’ stretching out for years, so they sell it off to outside investors […]

tech, startups, internet

The deployment age

In this 2015 article, investor Jerry Neumann walks us through Carlota Perez’s framework on technological revolutions. “The wave that we are currently in, the Information and Communications Technology Revolution, started around 1971.” If we’re truly on the back-half of the […]

oh, chicago

Joe Berrios must pay $168k in fines after all

The once-powerful (and now former) Cook County Assessor earned the fines from the county ethics board for illegal campaign contributions. He sued to claim the ethics board had no right to make the rules he broke, but the judge dismissed […]

fun facts

Apple won’t let bad guys use iPhones in movies

I get why they’d have a strong preference here, but I’m surprised they have control at all. I mean – iPhones are everywhere! If any readers know the nuances here and care to educate me, I’m ready to listen. | learn more

book recommendations

The Upside of Stress

Author: Kelly McGonigal Kelly McGonigal preached the danger of stress to anyone who would listen. For many years. She was a health psychologist working to translate science into practical strategies for everyday life. In 2012 she abruptly changed her mind. […]

on the blockchain

U.S. DOJ prosecutes software developer

He created the Bitcoin mixer Helix, which obfuscates the origin of the cryptocurrency. The DOJ considers this a “money transmitting and money laundering business.” This major potential precedent could (should?) drive more U.S. developers to build anonymously. | learn more

big ideas

The nuclear family was a mistake

This article hit me hard because it touches on many themes I’ve considered lately. Like many immigrants, I was raised by a whole community in addition to my parents, benefiting me greatly. Isolating our kids from that type of community […]