Contents

Consumption Week 3

My notes from some of the media I consumed this week.

Contents
  • Alex predicts vertical farming to be a major contributor to low-calorie greens within 5 years.
  • Main issue is financing - VCs are too used to getting huge returns on bullshit software products. Hardware and real change takes more time.
  • May need to position at premium level (think Tesla) due to higher costs.
  • Mr Beast had a single-focussed obsessed ambition from 15. Hugely ambitious, “ignores” rules. But a bit naïve and high-risk.
  • Everything is a chain of one-second decisions, single steps. Overcome each one.
  • Pain is temporary, gain lasts forever.
  • Don’t assume others are better than you - that they have their shit together, their opinions are all well considered, they love their life. You only see the outside.
  • You need an organised mind to be disciplined. Achieve one by meditating and reducing input (consumption).
  • Everyday résumé. Affirmations are outweighed by actions. Don’t tell yourself you’ll do something; prove it to yourself.
  • Conventional- vs independent-minded continuum. To increase the latter, spend time with independently-minded thinkers - those who ask why it can’t be done, not those who assume it can’t be.
  • Follow your curiosity and interest. Curiosity gives energy. Work should feel fun.
  • You have to work hard to be successful. There are no shortcuts. Working smart is not enough.
  • In many situations, the outcome is more important than the mechanism. Focus on the action, not why it works.
    • You don’t need the perfect gym/diet plan. Simply exercise and eat real food.
  • More about the music industry than business/how to be a CEO.
  • Her route: Journalism → music journalism (+ networking) → music industry
    • Same industry for a long time, got to know people.
  • The overall theory seems solid. Lost civilisations (including Atlantis) who had now-lost advanced technology, potentially killed by extra-terrestrial impact and/or climate and/or cataclysmic pole shift.
  • Some of the convo is a bit too conspiratorial e.g. with Elon, COVID, anti-Leftism, etc., as Rogan often is now.
  • Mackay’s famous Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds book is bullshit. In reality, the Tulip Mania was tiny, mostly among rich people collecting them for bragging purposes (like NFTs are today), and it caused no real financial problems. On the other hand, he said the Railway Mania of the 1800s was not a bubble, and yet in reality it crashed the economy.
  • Predicting a bubble is easy in hindsight, but difficult in the moment. High debt levels are one key factor that can cause a crash. But there needs to be a spark.
  • Relationships are most important (platonic and otherwise). Married people live longer.
  • Health and luck are also major factors.
  • Book recommendation: Don’t Trust Your Gut.
  • Waldinger says “I don’t know” when he doesn’t know. Admirable.
  • Tech is exponential, hence huge gains. What else can be?
  • If you’re told not to do something “for your own good”, question if there is a hidden motive, e.g. Nvidia’s broken functions.
  • It’s only recent where most founders are kids. Traditionally it was older experienced people. It’s not too late.
  • Be a utility - something others need to run their business and make money.
    • AWS. Energy.
  • Aim for mass appeal or go very niche - don’t sit in the middle. The internet enables niches, although it can take time to build an audience.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/global-risks-2023/

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  • Highest impact risks are the most obvious, immediate ones (energy and the cost of living).
  • Least prepared for the slowly approaching end of existence (climate change).
  • Same reason people are more afraid of sharks than cigarettes - fast/now vs slow/future.

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/company-transforms-wind-turbines-concrete

  • REGEN Fiber transforms wind turbine blades into reinforcement fiber that increases the strength and overall durability of concrete and mortar applications such as pavement, slabs-on-grade, and precast products.

https://interestingengineering.com/health/circumcision-alter-penis-microbiome

  • For the study, investigators examined changes to the microbiome and mycobiome in 11 toilet-trained children who had undergone circumcision. Results showed that certain types of bacteria, such as Clostridiales, Bacteroidales, and Campylobacterales, were found in lower quantities after circumcision.
  • Or, you know, wash yourself.
  • Is a sample-size of 11 babies really a good measure for 4,000,000,000 males?

https://interestingengineering.com/science/best-places-to-be-during-a-nuclear-attack

  • Concrete-reinforced buildings provide some protection. Try to be behind corners facing the blast. Avoid windows, doors, corridors.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/01/17/1065026/evs-recycling-batteries-10-breakthrough-technologies-2023/

  • Of the four metals Redwood is most focused on, they can reach close to 100% recovery of cobalt, copper, and nickel. For lithium, the figure is about 80%.

https://milk.com/wall-o-shame/security_clearance.html

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34437937

  • Never lie on official documents… But also, yes, lie on official documents.
  • Comments also say the same with job interviews - you should interpret “ever” as “still”.

https://www.designboom.com/technology/3d-printed-bladeless-hydraulic-turbine-setur-01-10-2023/

  • 0.5kW or 5kW options - but could they be scaled up?
  • Could the water utility industry make use of them?
  • Cynicism is a psychological protector. It’s more comfortable to get fatalistic and call it pragmatism.
  • 80% of women who didn’t have kids, didn’t intend to not have kids - the most common reason being that they didn’t find the right partner early enough.
  • What best predicts whether someone becomes a leader? The amount of time they spend talking.
  • Complicated systems function predictably according to specific parameters, even if they are incredibly numerous.
  • Complex systems are never fully understood and are therefore impossible to predict with certainty.

https://youtu.be/35JuW3bcp04

  • No rare-earth metals, reducing China from the supply chain.
  • Synchronous reluctance motors (SynRMs)
    • Although according to comments it’s not a new concept and is already being used - it’s effectively an alternator in reverse.

https://youtu.be/mstolgDkzkQ

  • The route through Kazakhstan/Azerbaijan/Turkey is taking trade from the northern route through Russia as China is losing trust in Putin.

https://youtu.be/gg5MdeC6qzI / https://youtu.be/8pM9o2Ifcro

  • Quieter
    • EV tyres use multiple sound-deadening techniques because EV drivetrains are quieter meaning tyre noise is a higher % of overall noise.
  • Handling
    • EV tyres are stiffer and harder to counteract distortion due to added weight when turning, braking, acceleration.
    • EV tyres need smaller grooves to disperse water as weight of EV counteracts.
  • Efficiency
    • Reduced rolling resistance through manufacturing techniques to maximise EV range.

https://youtu.be/xo_fMcSLp7Q

  • I believe it. Atlantis was in the Sahara before it was a desert, perhaps 5000~10000BCE. North Africa was incredibly rich and powerful thousands of years ago.

8/10

7/10