Milk, No Sugar: Being Human; Charisma; Mathematics
Issue #362
š”Think
Hello again everyone!
As is customary, itās been an absolutely bonkers end to the year, with un-welcome surprises every week landing fresh like a surprise snow storm. Hence not sending this newsletter for a month!
Something Iāve been mulling over these past few weeks is the idea of transactional relationships. If I consider those who Iāve made the best connections with in a professional environment, there has been no agenda in both directions aka the opposite of this idea.
Transactional relationships can be fine, and practically expected in an office, but the challenge is always not knowing if it is one.
Something I try to figure out semi-regularly with colleagues is almost exactly that ā are we talking because you want to, or because you need something from me? The quicker you can figure this out, the quicker you can either develop a true connection with someone, or get your job done and move on.
Weāre all busy, and cutting to the chase can make the difference between meeting your deadlines or not. Are we buddies or resources?
Have a think, you may be surprised!
Luis
š· Look
š Read
ā¶ Make yourself human again
I guess that machine learning is here to stay, so the best thing we can do is try to figure out how we can keep our hands locked onto the edge of the cliff. This article explores the relationship between artificial general intelligence and capitalism, which probably to no oneās surprise are tightly paired. What surprised me is that the āaccelerationismā goals of those with the money have roots all the way back to 1990s academia.
ā· The secret history and strange future of charisma
As weāve all become accustomed to being on a call a lot during the week for work, thereās a desire Iām sure we all share ā to be charismatic, engaging, energetic, possibly convincing. The challenge with this word is that itās incredibly hard to describe, you kind of just āfeel itā. Maybe surprisingly, the word originated in old Christian texts. Anyway, read this article itāsā¦charismatic š
āø How mathematics built the modern world
Okay firstly, this is a very long article, so get comfy. Itās effectively a history of everything we know but absolutely take for granted, from how precise measurements developed over time (hello, pixels), to making accurate art (Renaissance art was incredibly mathematical), to of course the solar system. Itās all in here folks.
ā
Bonus round
How to ship fast. One for those struggling to get your teams to move faster
Learning is creation, not consumption. An argument for/against what we think learning is
š§ Listen
McKinsey: This is why we can't have nice things
If youāve never heard of McKinsey, theyāve definitely made something youāve used. They are the consultants that spread acrossā¦every industry. From tech, to banking, to war. This (very long š¤£) podcast explains just how McKinsey are in influencing our political landscape and also how layoffs work. They had huge influence on why CEOs earn so much and are looked at like celebrities, and yeah itās just a bit crappy. I listened to this over a few commutes and their influence was quite alarming.
Listen to this podcast (1 hour 23 minutes)
Spotify ā Apple Podcasts
Have a great week,
@disco_lu