Five Links #047
Discover more from Bennett’s Five Links
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Another one of those ..
It's a bit hard to link to this video because I suspect not many of you will want to sit through it all. It's very long. But it's also excellent. I'm not sure if Ray Dalio is the oracle some (including Ray Dalio) think he is; but he's clearly very smart. And his Principles series are absolutely worth your time.
This video is 45 mins of him describing where he believes we are in the economic / geopolitical cycle. Spoiler alert: We're not at the fun part.
After the kids go to sleep tonight and you're wondering which crap you should watch 10 mins of before skipping onto something else - perhaps put this on instead.
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How about a Finder's Fee ..
I've mostly avoided the whole Elon Musk vs Twitter thing so far, but I'm giving into temptation now for this throwback.
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Repetition is indistinguishable from truth ..
Part of the reason I've avoided the Elon musk thing is described well in this article.
It's just - well, I'm not an expert in these things. And it seems that today there are thousands of people waiting in the wings ready to jump on opinions with their fangs out. So it's easier to just stay quiet.
This article explains why, although it can be a good idea to avoid hot-takes and instead develop considered thoughts and opinions, it's also important that we share those opinions. We should feel comfortable sharing our thoughts and inviting considered responses. Because, if we don't, the 'town square' is filled with fashionable shouting and we never really move forward.
I'm not sure I'll get there. But I agree with the sentiment.
"The faster you jump to conclusions, the more fashionable your thinking is likely to be. People who don’t have the tools to reason independently make up their minds by adopting the opinions of prestigious people. When they do, they favor socially rewarded positions over objective accounts of reality."
and
"But sometimes, that conformity spirals out of control and our ideas become as ridiculous as the fashion trends of a bygone era. I suspect that the Internet has accelerated the rate at which new ideas become trendy. Given that, our culture needs people who can reason independently and stand like sturdy steel beams in the winds of social change."
and especially
"As appealing as it sounds, people are scared to think like a philosopher. Social media has turned us all into public relations professionals who pursue likeability instead of truth. That’s why people speak along pre-vetted party lines and silence their edgy ideas. First to others and later, to themselves. In a world where anything you say online can be instantly accessed with a Google search, the costs of independent thinking aren’t worth the benefits to most people."
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Wait for this exciting new reality TV project ..
What happens when two identical twins each marry two other identical twins and each couple has a baby boy at the same time? Oh and they all live in the same house?
Let's find out!
(via r/weird)
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Blackbird, but make it slippery ..
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Bennett