The Oracles Below, and India’s Agency Problem
“A startup doesn’t have to be your life’s work, but if it is, you become much harder to defeat.
Sunday Snippet
A curation of 3 of my favourite finds from the week across art, business, culture, food, science and everything in between.
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Ordinary Abundance, and IndiaMart
“The curse of discipline is that every day looks the same. The curse of indiscipline is that every year does."
No, You Don't Want to Time Travel
Time travel is a very bad idea. Very, very bad. So, let’s say that you, being the genius that you are, have solved the physics problems of traveling through time.
Renting Out Your Face to AI
“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.” - Dalai Lama
Singapore's Roti Canai; and Value of a Founder's Time
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas
What I Learned About Wealthy People
“You cannot be sure that you are right unless you understand the arguments against your views better than your opponents do.” - Milton Friedman
Krabi, and India's Return to Its Visual Language
“Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make.”
Faking a Private Jet, and the Cost of Status
“An old friend of mine, a journalist, once said that paradise on earth was to work all day alone in anticipation of an evening in interesting company.” - Ian McEwan (Machines Like Me)
How Christianity Went Viral, and Mad Madras
“He who has never sinned is less reliable than he who has only sinned once.” - Nassim Taleb
The Tribute System, and the Biggest Returns
“To understand others, watch what they reward.
Pharma, Food and the Fluent Consumer
“I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another. And that is I say ‘I’m not entitled to have an opinion on this subject unless I can state the arguments against my position better than the people do who are supporting it.’ I think only when I reach that stage am I qualified to speak.” - Charlie Munger
The Problem with the Economy Class
“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D." - Steve Jobs
Dhurandhar, Punjab, and China
“You’ll never meet a hater who is doing better than you.” — Konstantin Kisin
Chop Suey, Coffee, and Billionaire Disorders
There are things money can’t buy and hard work can’t win. One of them is happiness.
Araku's Bamboo Biryani
“You will rarely outperform your self-image.” - James Clear
Islam's Strategies to Spread So Fast
The best jobs are neither decreed nor degreed.
Zombie Flow, and Generational Guilt
Your real résumé is just a catalog of all your suffering.
Lady Bouncers of Delhi, and GIFT City
The people doing the work often don’t have time to answer those watching.
Walking Through Walls, and the NASA Brand
“Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults.” — Benjamin Franklin
A Day in the Life of an Enshittificator
“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” - George Santayana
Trump Playing Chess, China Playing Go
Long term companies are not obsessed with quantifying performance. They are in it for the brand.