1) “But can we be certain?” is one of the most difficult questions to answer. In most areas,1 there is the possibility, however slight, that the thing we expect to happen will not, or that our explanation for the cause of a thing isn’t perfect. We see this today most prominently with regard to climate change and vaccine acceptance.2 And while the expression of doubt helps drive better decisions, it is also widely used to avoid making a decision3…or even to purposely block them.4 David Krakauer from Nautilus provides a wonderful exploration into how we consider doubt when trying to lives as a rational/scientific society.
2) Like many of us, I remember EXACTLY the where/what of 9/11.5 And, like all of us, my life has not been the same since that day in both small and big ways. This beautiful piece from Colson Whitehead delivers an eulogy of sorts for the lost New York City, but it’s ideas of what makes a place YOUR place holds true for anywhere you call home. At the risk of sounding profound, we dislike change and uncertainty, yet those two things drive our existence.6
3) Matt Levine of Bloomberg is my favorite financial writer. His sense of humor and conversational style can render even the most boring SEC filings interesting.7 Last week, I briefly mentioned 8s (Non-Fungible Tokens), and Matt then proceeded to write two great posts about them. I suggest you read them (and subscribe to his daily “Money Stuff”). “Twenty Percent of a Picture of a Dog” and “Fungible Slices”.
BONUS LINKS!!!
B1) Exciting news in the world of carbon capture: The largest such machine recently went online in Iceland. It should take the equivalent of 840 cars worth of carbon out of the air each year.9
B2) Interesting story here about how the role industry consolidation has played in the higher amounts of carbon produced by the meat industry. (Full disclosure, I love beef and eat it regularly, despite the evident climate impact.)
B3) A short video of Michael Pollan’s take on caffeine’s impact on civilization. (Hint: Like many things, it’s super-great…in moderation.)
B3) Can’t wait for this Bob Marley musical to make it’s way stateside.
B4) A way to use frequent flyer miles or rewards points to help refugees and asylum-seekers leave their home countries.
B5) Musically speaking, I’ve been re-living the 80’s lately, largely fueled by Tuxedo.
Death, taxes and gravity excepted.
HUGE topics…lazy of me to throw them in so superficially. For climate change, I’d say that arguments over how exactly the planet is warming are post-facto; the cat has left the station, time to start addressing how we adapt. For COVID, the scientific evidence with regard to vaccine efficacy and safety are, from a drug testing perspective, more overwhelming than overwhelmingly positive.
Better to be “directionally correct” than “perfectly wrong,” as an esteemed uncle of mine would say.
I might add as the first step of an organized disinformation campaign.
My called and told me to turn on the TV
Both good and bad, to be precise.
He also drops masterful footnotes…the David Foster Wallace of Finance, if you will.
This is that new thing where you create a version of some sort of digital asset (picture, video, etc.) then sell the “unique” rights to that thing via an auction or exchange. “There’s a market for everything,” as they say. (My son tipped me to them many months ago, and I clearly missed out on an early move oppty to fund his college savings account and my retirement fund.)
This article may also give rise to the second most popular question to block/delay decisions: “But is it worth it?” That question, naturally, depends completely on what you ascribe value to.