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
Saving Investors From Themselves: “Good advice rarely changes, while markets change constantly. The temptation to pander is almost irresistible. And while people need good advice, what they want is advice that sounds good.” At the WSJ, Jason Zweig has built his legacy on keeping investors level headed in times of market turmoil through his articles. With the financial markets seeing unprecedented volatility this week, this piece he penned back in 2013 couldn’t be a more timely read. Rather than making rash decisions in a sea of red, use this as a time to step back and evaluate the best next steps for your particular situation. There are a lot of armchair pundits slinging what may sound like good advice at the moment, but in reality, the vast amount of what’s being shared this week is nothing but noise. (8 min)
Using Models to Stay Calm in Charged Situations: Having a toolbox of mental models you can leverage is crucial to critical decision making. They are also incredibly helpful in navigating charged or high-stress situations, such as the current environment surrounding coronavirus. Being able to fall back on a set of tried and true models can be incredibly useful in diffusing emotions and making smart decisions. (6 min)
Deeper Dives
How to Write Usefully: “Useful writing tells people something true and important that they didn't already know, and tells them as unequivocally as possible.” In his most recent post, Paul Graham dives into the formula for useful writing, and why writing is useful. Many people never write an essay after they finish school, which is incredibly unfortunate as writing an essay can be one of the best ways to learn and flesh out new ideas. (13 min)
The Anxiety Algorithm: “If you suffer from nightmares, one solution is to stop sleeping, but a better one is to recognize that nightmares aren’t real life. It’s just as true for daydreaming. Anxiety commandeers our senses and emotions because that's how it prepares us for possible dangerous futures, not because those futures are real.” While this article is geared towards Founders, the lessons in it can be broadly applied to anyone. Fear is a feature of anxiety that kept our ancestors safe, and as a result of that, we all have a bit of anxiety coded into our makeup. Learning to recognize that and put your anxiety into perspective is one of the most effective ways of dealing with it and setting yourself up for success. (10 min)
Media
Deep Basin – Oil Price War and Its Implications - [Invest Like the Best, EP.160]: At the outset of this past week, oil prices fell off a cliff as a result of growing tensions between Russia, OPEC, and the US shale industry. Along with the rapid escalation of coronavirus, this massive swing in the oil markets wreaked havoc on financial markets this week. As someone who doesn’t have a strong background in oil & gas, I found this pop-up episode from Invest Like the Best to be incredibly useful and informative in breaking down what happened and what second and third-order consequences we might see as a result of these recent events. Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning more about the nuances of the space.
Tweet of the Week
Useful advice as the world continues to spiral into chaos…
Song of the Week
Apple Music Link
Books
Currently Reading
Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age (Stephen Platt)
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 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 March 11, 1986, the NFL adopted a limited instant replay review. The system lasted for several years and then was discarded in 1992. Following its removal, instant replay didn’t make its return until 1999, which is when the current system was put in place. (Source)
“Happy is the man who can make others better, not merely when he is in their company, but even when he is in their thoughts." — Seneca
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