|
November 22 · Issue #191 · View online |
|
š Welcome back to P.S. You Should Know⦠probably the best newsletter published on Sundays between 6-7am CST, and definitely the best one published by me. Now in its fourth year!
|
|
|
š§āāļøš¶ Daphne joining my meditation session.
|
š¦ One evening this week, Kim brought up a topic that I spent about a minute confidently opining on until I finished my thought with, āactually, I have no idea what Iām talking about.ā It felt good to both recognize and acknowledge that fact so promptly. How often am I guilty of confidently spewing nonsense without the benefit of realizing it? Iām reminded of Daniel Kahnemanās point on the subject: āIn general, confidence is a very poor cue to accuracy. Because intuitions come to your mind with considerable confidence and there is no guarantee theyāre right.ā Iāve been testing a new wearable tracker for a few weeks, the Amazon Halo. While the early feedback from users is mixed, itās certainly differentiated. One of its more unique features is a tone-of-voice analysis that samples my voice throughout the day to chart whether my tone of voice is positive/negative and high/low energy. The feedback certainly makes me more conscious of my voice and how others might perceive it. The tech doesnāt work super well today, probably because the microphone is far from my mouth on my wrist. But, I expect itāll improve significantly in the coming years. Letās imagine a future where these two ideas intersect. What if a similar wrist-worn device could subtly vibrate when some overconfident mumbo-jumbo exits my mouth? I bet itād be good for all of us if I retracted my worst ideas more quickly and frequently.
|
š Check out the Common Threads Charity Auction! Iām proud to serve on the Chicago Board of Common Threads. They teach cooking skills to kids from underprivileged communities and have been continuing programming virtually during the pandemic. Every $25 raised provides groceries for two meals for a family of four (which are made during their virtual lessons). Big thank you to our friends at Made In Cookware and Factor (link to $40 off first order) for their auction donations!
|
|
|
|
Chuck E. Cheese fun facts. āA thing I think about a lot is that in 1980, Chuck E. Cheese sued Showbiz Pizza for ripping off their concept and won, and then in 1984 Chuck E. Cheese went bankrupt so Showbiz Pizza bought the company, and then they turned all the Showbiz Pizzas into Chuck E. Cheesesā | learn more
|
The physics of war in space. A very intriguing primer on how to conduct war in space. āScenes from Star Wars, books, and TV shows portray a world very different from what we are likely to see in the next 50 years, if ever, given the laws of physics.ā | learn more
|
Financing the American home. āOn American streets, the [30 year mortgage] is everywhere. It makes up around 80% of an $11.3 trillion mortgage market. Yet, with the exception of Denmark, it doesnāt exist anywhere else in the world. Even baseball exists in more countries.ā | learn more
|
|
What do people actually see on Facebook in the US? Published by Facebookās VP of Analytics, Alex Schultz: āThe vast majority of what people in the US see on Facebook is in their News Feed. Most of the content people see there, even in an election season, is not about politics. In fact, based on our analysis, political content makes up about 6% of what you see on Facebook.ā | learn more
|
Automation & the young telephone operators of the 20th century. Automation does indeed lead to job losses, but then what? This analysis explains what happened when automatic switching took over for hundreds of thousands of young American women. | learn more
|
76 growth marketing hacks. Ironically, this content itself serves as a tool for growth. āFree list of growth marketing tactics and hacks to rapidly scale any business from B2B to DTC.ā | learn more
|
|
Yes, itās all your fault: active vs. passive mindsets. āThe hard truth is that most things in your life ā good and bad ā are your fault. The sooner you realize that, the better things will be. Hereās how to cultivate an active mindset and take control of your life.ā | learn more
|
Telling the 800-lb gorilla to shove it up his ass. On competing with big companies. āEvery founder frets about competition from a big company, me included. We scoff at their inability to innovate and for prioritizing shareholders over customers, but still we quiver in fear.ā | learn more
|
|
Amazon jumps deep into the pharmacy business. This goes well beyond their PillPack acquisition from 2018. The new offering, Amazon Pharmacy, allows customers to order prescription medication with free delivery, accepts most insurance, and even lets you compare your insurance price to the cash price (which is sometimes less). Meanwhile, in a fun bit of foreboding, Walgreensā CFO downplayed the threat to the brick & mortar pharmacy. | learn more
|
|
Are infections seeding some cases of Alzheimerās disease? The most widespread theory is that a type of plaque builds up in the brain to cause Alzheimerās, but no treatments to remove the plaque have shown good outcomes fighting the disease. Maybe the plaque is an immune response to infection. āA fringe theory links microbes in the brain with the onset of dementia. Now, researchers are taking it seriously.ā | learn more
|
How raising children can change a fatherās brain. āThe bodies and brains of fathers, not just mothers, are transformed through the love and labour of raising a child.ā | learn more
|
Four simultaneous gene edits; explained in a fun video. Eleanor, a PhD student at Cambridge, makes fun videos explaining science. In this video, she explains BEAM-201, a new CAR-T base editing development candidate. She does a great job! | learn more
|
|
Always start a food business, especially in a pandemic. A new project from Eric, who happens to be a PS subscriber! Theyāre selling a Texan pastry called Kolaches in Chicago. āHereās some good advice that I never heard: Start a business, itās easy. Start a FOOD business, those have the highest success rates. Do it in a pandemic. A quote I have always loved is: āItāll either be a good time, or a good story.āā | learn more
|
|
Floating cities: the future of civilization? āSeasteading isnāt the answer to our most complex problems. The answer is more experiments in government. But at its core, floating cities would allow market competition āin the most powerful industry on earth: governanceāā | learn more
|
|
Square sold a lot of bitcoin in Q3. āSquare said that it sold $1.63 billion in bitcoin through its Cash App during 2020ās third quarter.ā One side-note: I still donāt know anyone who uses this app. | learn more
|
|
š¼ If you love P.S. You Should Know and want to show your support, considerĀ becoming a patron.
P.S. Here are some other ways you can contribute⦠1ļøā£ Share details about a project or problem youāre working on. 2ļøā£ Introduce me to someone entrepreneurial (especially in Austin). 3ļøā£ Tell a friend about P.S. You Should Knowā¦
|
Did you enjoy this issue?
|
|
|
|
If you don't want these updates anymore, please unsubscribe here.
If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here.
|
|
Chicago, IL 60622
|