Thursdays are now all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at the economic and financial contradictions of 2020.
Quote of the Day
"Philosophy is useful. It’s also important. In fact, I will go as far as to argue that philosophy is likely more useful and important to the average person in the 21st century than any other time in human history."
(Mark Manson)
Book exceprts
- An excerpt from "Philanthropy – from Aristotle to Zuckerberg" by Paul Vallely. (theguardian.com)
- You can put Joseph Henrich's new book "The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous" in the theory-of-everything history category. (theatlantic.com)
- An excerpt from "Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary" by Timothy Snyder, (nybooks.com)
Media
- A big profile of Reed Hastings, the low key CEO of Netflix ($NFLX). (nytimes.com)
- 'High Times' was poised to profit from the legalization of cannabis, but that has not happened. (politico.com)
- Cameo has taken off. What does that say about us as a society. (wired.co.uk)
- What effect do Rotten Tomatoes scores have on movie performance? (theringer.com)
Cities
- Disasters have reshaped cities for millennia, as well Covid-19. (theatlantic.com)
- How cities become associated with the signs on their buildings. (nytimes.com)
Longreads
- The events industry is undergoing its Napster moment. (skift.com)
- The FTC is investigating Intuit ($INTU) over TurboTax practices. (propublica.org)
- America has never had an anti-racist majority, until maybe now. (theatlantic.com)
- Why aren't coaches more willing to adjust their strategies on the fly? (actionnetwork.com)
- A profile of Kílian Jornet the world's greatest mountain runner. (theguardian.com)
