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
COVID and Forced Experiments: “Every time we get a new kind of tool, we start by making the new thing fit the existing ways that we work, but then, over time, we change the work to fit the new tool.” COVID-19 has ushered in a great deal of change in a very short period of time. The world has been forced into many experiments, many of which have centered on the increased use of technology. There has been an unprecedented shift to remote work and a rapidly implemented reliance on food and grocery delivery services. This insightful piece from Benedict Evans explores the shifts we’re seeing and offers perspective on what may ultimately come from them. (8 min)
Unlikely Optimism: The Conjunctive Events Bias: “The extension rule in probability theory states that if B is a subset of A, B cannot be more probable than A. Likewise, the probability of A and B cannot be higher than the probability of A or B. Broader categories are always more probable than their subsets.” As humans, we often overestimate the likelihood that our plans will actually go according to plan. To achieve our desired outcomes, we often need a series of conjunctive events—occurrences that must happen in conjunction with one another—to all go right. Unfortunately, the probability of a series of conjunctive events happening is much lower than the probability of one event happening. Check this article out to learn more about why these overestimations tend to take place and what you can do to combat them. (5 min)
Deeper Dives
Masayoshi Son Talks WeWork, Vision Fund And SoftBank Under Siege: “Son lately has been fond of presenting people with Rorschach-like images to drive home the point of perspective. “Look at a shadow,” he says. “Even within 24 hours, the length of your shadow differs dramatically, even though your height in 24 hours is unchanged. People get scared or overconfident looking at the length of the shadow.” Over the next few months, Son will find out if it’s sunset or sunrise.” It’s hard to find a more polarizing figure in the world of VC than Masayoshi Son. The past year for his Vision Fund has been nothing short of a circus with the events surrounding WeWork, let alone SoftBank’s recent announcement of a $16.7B write-down due to ‘deteriorating market conditions’. This recent interview with Masa Son in Forbes dives into the difficulties he’s facing and sheds light on why he still thinks he’ll come out on top. (13 min)
Jeff Bezos’ 2020 Letter to Amazon Shareholders: “Over the last decade, no company has created more jobs than Amazon. Amazon directly employs 840,000 workers worldwide, including over 590,000 in the U.S., 115,000 in Europe, and 95,000 in Asia.” Amazon has long been in the spotlight, but never more so than right now given the unparalleled demand placed on their services as a result of COVID-19. In his most recent shareholder letter, Jeff Bezos goes into detail on the remarkable efforts being made by Amazon to navigate this unchartered territory. Highly recommended. (14 min)
Media
New York City is the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. New York City is also the most resilient city in the world. As a proud New Yorker, this video gave me chills.
Tweet of the Week
Song of the Week
Apple Music Link
Books
Currently Reading
![The Old Drift: A Novel by [Namwali Serpell]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9afe155-0a4b-4563-89b2-fa9b7713f2e3_331x500.jpeg "The Old Drift: A Novel by [Namwali Serpell]")
![Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology by [Johnjoe McFadden, Jim Al-Khalili]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6476002a-2fa8-4148-b736-b0b91daf1187_329x500.jpeg "Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology by [Johnjoe McFadden, Jim Al-Khalili]")
Recently Read
![The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by [Ryan Holiday]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F87f492a5-a033-42a9-858d-5a2cc97e9a0e_354x500.jpeg "The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by [Ryan Holiday]")
This was an inspiring quick read filled with tangible examples of overcoming obstacles—big and small. The writing is blunt and gets straight to the point, which I always appreciate. Perfect for an extra bit of motivation to stay the course as we continue along in this truly weird world of COVID-19. (5/5)
As I’ll tell anyone who asks me, Robert Caro is the best biographer ever. Period. Words can’t do justice in describing the unique ability he has to chronicle the lives of the subjects he’s written about. I learned more about New York and how it became the city it is today through this book than by living here for the past six years and spending my entire life around it combined. Robert Moses had an unfathomable impact on shaping modern-day New York, and this book succeeds beyond any expectation that can be set in telling his story. (5/5)
Parting Thoughts
This Week in History
On April 15th, 1892, General Electric was founded. It was formed by the merger of Edison General Electric (started by Thomas Edison in 1890) and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. GE was one of the original 12 companies listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (Source)
“Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
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