Thursdays are now all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at how actor Ryan Reynolds became a digital marketing ninja.
Quote of the Day
"Did you think he [Trump] was an astute businessman? No, never."
(Mark Cuban)
Book excerpts
- How to stay objective (and more): lessons learned from "Psychology of Intelligence Analysis" by Richard J. Heuer, Jr. (novelinvestor.com)
- An excerpt from David Gessner's "Leave It As It Is: A Journey Throughout Theodore Roosevelt’s American Wilderness." (outsideonline.com)
- An excerpt from Jessica Garrison's "The Devil's Harvest: A Ruthless Killer, a Terrorized Community, and the Search for Justice in California's Central Valley." (buzzfeednews.com)
- An excerpt from Clair McNear's "Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider’s Guide to Jeopardy!" (vulture.com)
Big Tech
- How would you even go about breaking up Big Tech? (ben-evans.com)
- Alphabet was going to build a high-tech neighborhood in Toronto. What went wrong? (onezero.medium.com)
- Facebook ($FB) was once a hotbed for the trafficking of stolen artifacts. (theatlantic.com)
Pandemic
- If you thought the PPE distribution system in the US has been fixed you would be oh so wrong. (epsilontheory.com)
- The US' response to the pandemic in Trump's own words. (slate.com)
- Covid-19 is the nail in the coffin of American exceptionalism. (rollingstone.com)
- Britain is facing some of the same questions in light of a botched pandemic response. (theatlantic.com)
Longreads
- If everyone believes their own 'facts' how do you find any common ground? (theatlantic.com)
- What it's like to immerse yourself in the 'hustle gospel' of GaryVee amidst the pandemic. (marker.medium.com)
- Post-pandemic, is anyone going to want to return to expensive, uncomfortable clothes? again (nytimes.com)
- An extended Q&A with Mark Cuban about a range of topics including his interactions with Donald Trump. (nytimes.com)
- The history of the automated rice cooker is a history of Japanese innovation. (atlasobscura.com)
- Are you familiar with the bicycle bubble of the 1890's? (lookoutinvestor.blogspot.com)