The Chomp #023

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.

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Quick Bites

• The Illusion of Certainty: “Indeed one reason why the world is in a mess is because, for a long time, the ratio between ‘explore’ and ‘exploit’ has been badly out of whack. Entities like procurement have been allowed to claim full credit for money-grabbing cost-savings without commensurate responsibility for delayed or hidden costs. The shadow of this is everywhere, from Grenfell Tower to PPE shortages.” As a result of COVID-19, companies and institutions across the globe have shifted into experimentation mode. Many of them have deployed strategies far outside their normal course of business. This has led to a lot of great ideas and early success—which in turn begs the question of why this isn’t the status quo in normal times. This quick piece presents a solid case for why the illusion of certainty is the underlying cause. (3 min)

• Why We Focus on Trivial Things: The Bikeshed Effect: “The Law of Triviality states that the amount of time spent discussing an issue in an organization is inversely correlated to its actual importance in the scheme of things. Major, complex issues get the least discussion while simple, minor ones get the most discussion.” Bike-shedding—another term for the Law of Triviality—is something we all encounter. The simpler a topic is, the more people will have thoughts on it and thus, in turn, more to say about it. Conversely, when something sits outside of our circle of competence, we’re much less likely to articulate our views on it. This informative FS piece offers effective strategies to help avoid this predicament. (5 min)

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Deeper Dives

• In the Coronavirus Era, the Force Is Still With Jack Dorsey: "Dorsey is treated like a celebrity partially because the media has spent the past decade comparing him to the second coming of Steve Jobs, and, as such, the greatest founder of a generation. He spends a large amount of time in Los Angeles, hanging out with celebrities, like Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, basking in Rick Rubin’s hot tub in Malibu, or attending dinner parties with Brian Grazer.” On the surface, not many people have it better than Jack Dorsey. At 43 years old, he’s a multibillionaire and CEO of two publicly traded companies—Twitter and Square. Dorsey has long been a benefactor of the ‘cult of the founder’ philosophy in Silicon Valley. As a result, Twitter’s lackluster financial performance over the past several years has rarely been called into question—until recently. Following the launch of an activist campaign by Elliot Management to oust Dorsey as CEO of Twitter, this excellent profile from Vanity Fair digs beneath the surface on how Dorsey is weathering the storm. (20 min)

• Seattle’s Leaders Let Scientists Take the Lead. New York’s Did Not: “According to data collected by Google from cell phones, nearly a quarter of Seattleites were avoiding their workplaces by March 6th. In New York City, another week passed until an equivalent percentage did the same. Tom Frieden, the former C.D.C. director, has estimated that, if New York had started implementing stay-at-home orders ten days earlier than it did, it might have reduced COVID-19 deaths by fifty to eighty percent.” In this tale of two cities, renowned author Charles Duhigg explores the vastly different approaches New York City and Seattle took in combating COVID-19. Reading about the ineptitude of New York’s leaders will no doubt leave you dumbfounded and furious at their lackadaisical response. Seattle let scientists lead the way, while New York deferred to politicians. By taking this route, New Yorks's fatality rate skyrocketed to six times that of Seattle’s. This is an important post hoc that I recommend everyone take the time to read. (30 min)

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Media

I’ve spent a fair amount of time recently establishing a baseline knowledge of René Girard’s work. He’s an incredibly fascinating thinker and I plan to dive much deeper into his ideas in the coming weeks. Here’s a great introductory video that offers a high level overview of his best known ideas.

Tweet of the Week

CNBC @CNBC

Belgians urged to eat fries twice a week as coronavirus creates massive potato surplus

cnb.cxBelgians urged to eat fries twice a week as coronavirus creates massive potato surplusBelgians are being called upon to eat fries at least twice a week as more than 750,000 tons of potatoes are at risk of being thrown away.

Song of the Week

Apple Music Link

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Books

Currently Reading

Recently Read

• I can’t quite remember how this novel landed on my to-read list, but I’m very happy it did. With her debut novel, Namwali Serpell hit nothing short of a home run. The Old Drift is a coming of age epic chronicling life in pre-colonial to modern-day Zambia that hits the full spectrum of emotions. Part history, part sci-fi, part social and political commentary—this novel has it all. (4.5/5)

• 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)

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Parting Thoughts

This Week in History

• On April 28, 2003, Apple launched the iTunes Music Store. The service was an instant success, selling over 1 million songs in the first week. (Source)

“He who is everywhere is nowhere.” — 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