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Boots theory —— "The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet." —— This quote, an excerpt from Terry Pratchett's novel "Men at Arms", is the Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" theory ofsocioeconomic unfairness. The theory is a satirical take on the idea that it is more expensive to be poor than to be rich, and it still holds to this day. Another way of interpreting the story is "false economy." We are exposed to hundreds of ads every day to buy this, buy that, leading to a culture of consumerism. The difficult aspect is not simply acquiring the funds to purchase the better product, but rather deciding if it holds significant value for you. Telegram

A hot take on ChatGPT: link This is why people are worried about the misinformation these large language models present. Telegram

Got rejected from Thiel Fellows . I'll apply again this year. Telegram

Theory of Conspicuous Consumption The other day in class, my professor mentioned Louis Vuitton was doing a collab with Yayoi Kusama (famous Japanese artist), and told us he was looking forward to buying one of the bags from the collection. The travel bag they have on display will set you back for at least $1,000. You might be thinking "yeah that makes sense given the brand", but why do we purchase excessively expensive items knowing full well that they are worth less than their quality? The answer is in the Theory of Conspicuous Consumption. Thorstein Veblen, a famous philosopher from the 19th century coined the term Conspicuous Consumption in his "The Theory of the Leisure Class" book. Conspicuous consumption is the act of displaying ostentatious wealth to gain status and reputation in society. Both an LV bag and a regular bag will carry your items, but the LV bag is a visual representation you can afford and have the means for a lavish lifestyle. Have you ever noticed these so called "luxury brands" have their logos all over their products? That's partly because people purchasing those items want them there as a visible evidence of their wealth. Veblen argued that the middle class admired the lifestyle and consumption patterns of the leisure class and always sought to imitate them in order to improve their own social status. When you visit San Francisco, you'll realize it's nothing like Boston or Washington DC where people dress aesthetic and drive fancy cars. The lack of Conspicuous Consumption in SF gives it a very laid back culture where people do not care about the materialistic aspects of life and rather focus on innovating. You'll see someone on the street dressed like a hobo, and for all you know, they might be running a startup with $100mln in ARR. You can argue billionaires dress humble, but grey t-shirts Mark Zuckerberg wears cost $500. Billionaires flex on another level that is not obvious to an average peasant because the peasant can't comprehend more than a gucci bag as a sign of luxury. Telegram

Attention is the oil of the 21st century. Majority of human population turn to the endless scroll of TikTok videos the moment they find themselves doing a boring repetitive task (brushing teeth, waiting for the bus, etc.). With the introduction of internet and social media, we got used to instant gratification and the quick dopamine hits to the point where we can't get out of bed without checking our phones first. There are no long term studies on the impact of social media on the brain as mainstream social media has been only around for the past 15-20 years. Social media can affect the ability to focus and pay attention in the long-term, by changing the way the brain processes information and rewiring attentional networks, leading to attention deficit, impulsivity, and impulsivity. Studies also suggest that heavy social media users have a higher likelihood of developing symptoms of ADHD. if you use your phone more than 3-4 hours every day, maybe it's time to evaluate some life choices. But how do you get out of this cycle? Cal Newport suggests getting off social media for a month and seeing if your life changes drastically. Are your friends (or your follower base) reaching out to you asking why you went off the grid? If you don't get an enormous amount of messages, then you are probably better off not going to that said social media platform. My personal take on this: deleting social media outright is the solution. People are afraid of missing out on what's going on with their friends life, but at the end of the day, if your deeply care about your friends and family, talking to them in person or giving them a call once in a while should be your go-to solution. Reject TikTok, embrace boredom. Telegram

Let's get the 🍞 in 2023😤 Telegram

Bay Area, nucleus of innovation. Telegram

Twitter HQ📍. Papa Musk is probably there right now. Telegram

Colonizer 1:0 Colonized Telegram

Time is relative. If you were planning to start something this January, don't. Start it today. You are way more likely to stick to your goal if you don't attach time constraints to it. Telegram