There's a sense in which all of computing is merely a series of footnotes to the spreadsheet.
On this note, I highly recommend Mitchwell Waldrop's excellent book The Dream Machine: amazon.com/Dream-Machine-…

Really changed how I thought about the role of computers in society and how to best use them.
TL;DR: Computers are tools for thinking better.

The spreadsheet is a terrific example of a powerful tool for thinking.
I actually think bi-directional linking software like @RoamResearch and @Obsidian is probably the biggest improvement in personal computing as a tool for thinking since Excel

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More from @TaylorPearsonMe

Jan 26
One major difference I notice between professional investors/traders vs. more retail focused one is that professional investors tend to talk and think a lot more about market (micro)structure as opposed to just "fundamentals."
When I talk to more thoughtful retail investors (I am ignoring the YOLO crowd), their reasoning around investments tends to be (mostly) fundamental:

I like this stock/asset because I think the growth isn't priced in or because there's a supply squeeze, etc.
Professional investors tend to be a lot more focused on market structure. They are discussing things like:

Who is trading this? What are their mandates? Incentives?

What is the liquidity of the market?

Where are they trading it?
Read 12 tweets
Oct 22, 2021
Has anyone written about the idea of applying the Kanban philosophy more broadly than just a production line?

On a Toyota Production System kick right now and the general idea of Kanban (a tool to minimize waste) seems very generally applicable.
However, trying to think about how it would apply a layer of abstraction above just a production line.

Like, say you have three priorities in a biz: design a new onboarding system, revamp a website, Hire a marketing person.
I understand how to use Kanban inside each of those products to get them done most efficiently, but how to allocate resources across those products most efficiently? 🤔
Read 4 tweets
Aug 30, 2021
Spent way too much time this weekend reading about couches for a new place.

My impression is that everything in the $1-3k range is manufactured in the same 1 square mile block (prob Shenzen?) and so it doesn't really matter from a quality POV.
I.e. Crate and Barrel, CB2, Burrow, Article, West Elm all seem more or less interchangeable to me so just pick the cheapest one that you think is comfortable/looks good.
Only real tradeoff I could see was:

DTC brands trying to differentiate with better shipping times and return policies.

vs.

Legacy brands have show rooms so you can try before you buy.

Otherwise seem pretty much identical so it's almost a pure branding play.
Read 4 tweets
Aug 2, 2021
@CoachCarter19 I think most people fail to accurately forecast the returns on buying a single family home in a way that factors in their time.
@CoachCarter19 For people with flexible incomes (e.g. business owners or those advancing in their careers, there's a huge time component that goes into it that isn't appropriately adjusted.
@CoachCarter19 The historical unlevered returns are about 1%/year and it's also highly correlated with local labor market so you are making a big bet with low returns which usually correlates with your income source.
Read 6 tweets
Jun 17, 2021
Inflation in Brazil from 1980-200 annualized at 250% and yet a Brazilian investor that converted 100% of their assets to gold in 1980 still lost 70% of their purchasing power.

Would seem to cast some doubt on how effective gold is against high inflation in a single country?
Arguably, gold worked because an investor holding Brazilian fiat lost ~100% of their purchasing power so losing 70% was better than that.
I would think one consideration here is that Brazil's GDP in 1980 probably a very small % of global GDP so other market forces would be more important for Gold's price than Brazilian demand increasing.
Read 9 tweets
Jun 8, 2021
Occasionally, there is a saying that hits you in just the right way and just the right moment and you keep coming back to it over and over.

One of those for me is: Slow is Smooth. Smooth is Fast.

taylorpearson.me/interestingtim…
The saying is widely attributed to the Navy Seals though many other military figures have made similar observations.

One of Augustus Caesar's favorite sayings was "Festina Lente" (Hasten slowly)
When you are dealing with lethal weapons, there is a very skewed distribution in outcomes: You are either dead or not dead.

Being dead is infinitely worse than being not dead.

So, you really, really want to do everything you can do to stay not dead.
Read 17 tweets

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