Hey Everyone,
Welcome back to The Chomp—your weekly dose of the best content from the internet and beyond, designed to expand your mind and get you thinking. Let’s dive into it.
Quick Bites
Self-Knowledge by Looking at Others: Philosophy professor Eric Schwitzgebel explores a really interesting concept in this article that I’ve never really given much thought to, yet find to be quite obvious in retrospect. Give this a read to explore how each of our assessments of the outside world can help us learn more about our current state of mind. (4 min)
The Venture Capital Math Problem Revisited (aka How Could You Be So Wrong?): This quick piece from Fred Wilson is a great example of taking ownership of your predictions, whether good or bad. Fred’s prediction in this specific instance was off by an order of magnitude, but he made it out in the open and didn’t try to delete it or backtrack his statement. He owned it and has used it as a learning experience. Something we should all try to emulate. (3 min)
Deeper Dives
Progress, Postmodernism and the Tech Backlash: Alex Danco is one of my favorite writers that I’ve come across in the past year—I’m consistently impressed by and learn something valuable from everything he puts out. This recent post dives into the current state of anti-tech backlash and presents a compelling case of how we got here. If you enjoy his writing definitely give his Introduction to Rene Girard a read as well. (12 min)
Money is the Megaphone of Identity: Money isn’t just something that you own, it’s something that you have a relationship with. And for most of us, it’s an ever-evolving and complex relationship. This fantastic piece from Lawrence Yeo at More To That dives deep into this relationship and offers an incredibly useful lens in thinking about money and its impact on life. This is one of the better pieces I’ve read to date on the topic and I highly recommend checking it out. (33 min)
Media
I’m a believer that the current model of work as we know it is on the way out. With the progression of remote work and the cultural shift towards placing a higher emphasis on work-life balance, it’s only a matter of time before the antiquated 9 to 5 goes the way of the dinosaurs. The below chart shares some interesting data on whether a shorter workweek can help make us happier.
Tweet of the Week
In light of this past week’s market meltdown…
Song of the Week
Apple Music Link
Books
Currently Reading
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York(Robert A. Caro)
This is a 1,344-page behemoth that I’m steadily making my way through. Excited to share my thoughts when I finish in the next couple of weeks.
Recently Read
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Robert Pirsig): This book is a gold mine of philosophical quips and metaphors, but it’s not always easy to get through. You need to really be focusing to extract the full value of the ideas that Pirsig presents, and if you’re even the slightest bit distracted you’ll find yourself constantly having to go back and reread what you just read. Even when you are fully focused, it’s still helpful to reread much of his writing to ensure you’re capturing the full breadth of his thoughts. That being said, this one is a modern-day classic for a reason and it’s well deserving of that status. (4.5/5)
Parting Thoughts
This Week in History
On February, 24th, 1868, President Andrew Johnson became the first sitting US President to be impeached. He was acquitted by the senate a month later. (Source)
“Bitter are the roots of study, but how sweet their fruit." — Cato
If you found something that piqued your interest this week, please help me out in expanding the reach of The Chomp by forwarding it along to a friend or sharing it with others in your network. Until next week.
-Cody