Understanding COVID, Wealth, Neuralink | Feeding Frenzy #35

This delayed edition of the Feeding Frenzy is brought to you by my vacation to Denver, Colorado. My brother moved their right after the pandemic ramped up. My family wanted to make a trip sooner than later. 

Welcome to the 35th edition of the Feeding Frenzy! Here's a glimpse at you can expect. Worth listening to, we have a podcast with cancer physician Siddhartha Mukherjee. Worth reading an article on why 70% of wealth is lost in the second generation. Another article from the Atlantic from a conversation with Johann N. Neem is troubled by the" Whiteness" category's direction. Last but not least, worth watching is Nueralink on its progress update and more.

Images from https://www.neuralink.com

Images from neuralink.com

Worth Listening

Siddhartha Mukherjee | Making Sense with Sam Harris

This podcast was interesting. Siddartha is a cancer physician, but in this conversation, they spend most of the time discussing the response to the pandemic. In many ways, it shows how unprepared our systems have been in the face of this threat. One interesting fact is they have now traced the spread of COVID-19. Spreading from China to Europe and then to New York as the hot spots have unfolded. Europe's biggest departure was right before the lockdown was implemented, which was the trigger for a massive surge of cases in New York. I'm sure this will be unpacked much further given time, but interesting understand nonetheless. 

Worth Reading

70% of Rich Families Lose Their Wealth by the Second Generation | Money.com

"If you have just never talked about money, get over it, and give your kids a crash course in financial literacy. Many financial institutions, including U.S. Trust, offer specialized learning materials and courses to get heirs up to speed."

 

How do we move around in a zero-carbon world? | Bill Gates on LinkedIn

"So, how exactly do we fuel our need to move around without emitting greenhouse gases? The answer is simple, even if making it happen won't be: use clean electricity to run all the vehicles we can, and get cheap alternative fuels for everything else."

 

'Please Don't Convert to Whiteness' | The Atlantic

"You probably saw the controversy over the table put out by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It is called things like rationality, hard work, the scientific method, and planning for the future "white culture." The fact that we're now in a world where intelligent, educated, well-meaning people see that as a plausible thing to think scares me. The emergence of whiteness as a category of analysis is not always a bad thing. But if you go too far, you make it so that there is no common world possible across racial boundaries. I see it as claiming ground for white people where a lot of people of all colors and backgrounds actually belong—and where all kinds of people have made contributions. I don't see this leading to a more tolerant country." - Johann N. Neem

Worth Watching

Neuralink Progress Update, Summer 2020

Neuralink is on the cutting edge of what's possible with current technology. As Elon states the point of this presentation is for recruiting. I'm not going to lie, but this has my interest peaked. Whatever Neuralink accomplishes, even just a fraction of what they hope to, it will be groundbreaking. I am ready for the future!

 

Tennessee Rep. John DeBerry BLM Response Speech (08-12-2020)

John J. DeBerry Jr. is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 90 since January 1995. In this speech, I could see the rise of emotion and call to service that Representative DeBerry feels. This is the kind leadership this country needs right now. I know some people won't agree with his message, but I think we need voices that stand up in the chaos.

Worth Pondering

"If we can forgive what's been done to us... If we can forgive what we've done to others... If we can leave our stories behind. Our being victims and villains. Only then can we maybe rescue the world." — Chuck Palahniuk

 

This week is a wrap and plenty to chew over for this week! Feel free to let us know any thoughts and suggestions that may contribute to these posts. It may pop-up on Feeding Frenzy or develop into a full-fledged article of its own.

Stay curious, and have a great week!

You can find previous editions here.

Recent podcast episodes you might enjoy:

Featured
Joe Jackowski on Apotheosis and The Parodies
Joe Jackowski on Apotheosis and The Parodies

Today on the podcast, we are joined by Joe Jackowski. Joe is a Marine Corps veteran and current graduate student at Vanderbilt University in the Cognitive Psychology in Context program. His primary interest is meaning in life, which broadly extends to problems in ethics, A.I., and culture.

In this episode, we sit down to discuss his first long-form article on his new sub stack, Apotheosis: A Philosophy for Influencers

Joey and Drew on Few Will Hunt
Joey and Drew on Few Will Hunt

"Everybody wants to eat, but Few Will Hunt."

Today on the podcast with Joey Bowen and Drew Beech, co-founders of the apparel brand and community Few Will Hunt.

Joey and Drew spent their daily commutes through the gritty streets of Philadelphia on the phone for a year straight.

On these calls, they talked about business and life — especially the trends of self-entitlement and shortcut-seeking they witnessed in society.

These trends made them feel alone in an ever-softening world. “Are we the only ones that still believe in the power of hard work?” Drew asked. Joey responded, “It’s like we say at my hunting cabin — everybody wants to eat, but few will hunt.”

This statement perfectly summed up their frustrations with society. It became their mantra.

Jordan Criss on Fulfillment, Imposter Syndrome, Procrastination and Eulogy Virtues
Jordan Criss on Fulfillment, Imposter Syndrome, Procrastination and Eulogy Virtues

On this podcast episode, Jordan Criss returns for a long-overdue discussion on Life and Fulfillment. We start the conversation with the idea that most people are actively disengaged with what they spend most of their time. From there, we cover imposter syndrome, healthy habits, procrastination, and focusing on what matters most to you regardless of the current outcome. Life is about playing a long game. Toward the end of the conversation, I was reminded of a book called The Road to Character. One of the core messages is to think more deeply about the eulogy virtues than resume virtues since modern life is more focused on the latter. In the end, each of us has to figure out what fits best for our life; no matter what, it will be a process. The faster you embrace the process, the less painful it will be. So with that, I pass this off to the listener. What else can we explore if you've encountered the mentioned sources, your own experiences, or any other related ideas?

Karlee Owens on Natural Movement, Spirals and Listening to Your Body
Karlee Owens on Natural Movement, Spirals and Listening to Your Body

Coach Karlee is a movement coach who teaches her athletes to move their bodies as nature designed: strong, secure, pain-free, and forward. Utilizing slow-motion video assessment, she can assess, address, and correct pattern errors that are causing pain and/or hindering performance goals. With a background in soccer, endurance running, and strength and conditioning, Karlee takes an intense passion for competition and athletics into her coaching style to help build mentally and physically capable athletes, regardless of age, gender, sport, or background. She prioritizes foundations for durability through awareness and integration of pain-free movement practices to maximize performance and longevity. Are you ready to unlock your INNER ATHLETE?

Gina Iaffaldano on Life Lessons Overcoming Guillain Barre Syndrome
Gina Iaffaldano on Life Lessons Overcoming Guillain Barre Syndrome

Gina Iaffaldano is a legal operations professional, writer, and everyday athlete. She has recently relocated back to the Chicagoland area. She is working on her first book, Little Gifts, which covers much of her experience with overcoming Guillain-Barré syndrome - a rare autoimmune syndrome that caused her to be neurologically paralyzed. Gina is two years in remission and is in training for her second Spartan competition post-recovery.

Recent blog you might enjoy:

Featured
Archetypes: The Green Lion and the Unicorn
Archetypes: The Green Lion and the Unicorn

In one of his most influential works, Psychology and Alchemy, Carl Jung argues that alchemy was far more than a failed science. Instead, it was an undifferentiated mix of object and subject. Alchemy was chemistry insofar as it was a science, and it was a psychological practice…

In Pursuit of Goggins
In Pursuit of Goggins

For many, David Goggins is seen as inhuman or, as he has said, uncommon amongst the uncommon, sure that is true. But I look at it a little differently. If he can forge himself into something extraordinary, why can't I? Why can't the person next to me? In this video, I discuss what it means to be In Pursuit of Your Greatness.

Archetypes: The Bull
Archetypes: The Bull

For an agricultural society, life is a cycle of deaths and rebirths. In the spring, the farmer places the seeds of his crops into the soil. Time moves forward. Storms roll over the fields and define the space between heaven and earth…

Finding Purpose and Meaning in an Overwhelming World
Finding Purpose and Meaning in an Overwhelming World

The recently released film Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of the most fascinating and well-executed films I've seen in a long time! The film explores ideas from the multi-verse, purpose, and meaning in life. So let's tap into another version of ourselves and see what we learn from themes in the film.

Unlocking A Hidden Gear with Zone 2
Unlocking A Hidden Gear with Zone 2

Over this winter, I've been experimenting with a zone 2 training protocol. With springtime weather showing up, I went on my first few rides of the year and saw some very promising progress in my Whoop data. No matter what level of performance, Zone 2 should be a tool everyone uses!

Consolidation and Stagnation
Consolidation and Stagnation

Since the Web3 piece was released, I had initially been trying to find a solution to expanding on providing living wages to more people that don't rely on larger platforms to be intermediaries. As I researched, a clear path forward wasn't clear to me, so I transitioned to think at a broader level. Recently we saw large announcements for acquisitions of Activision-Blizzard and Bungie. These consolidations of large entities are troubling as a small creator. Will we one day have to make exclusivity deals in hopes of insulating ourselves from the costs of creating? Or can we find better solutions so that content can be monetized directly between the producer and consumer?

Cancel-Culture and the Joe Rogan Controversy
Cancel-Culture and the Joe Rogan Controversy

In order to discuss the controversy surrounding Joe Rogan, and the subtleties of cancel-culture, we first need to understand what cancel-culture is. Columnist Ross Douthat, in the New York Times, said, “cancellation, properly understood, refers to an attack on someone’s employment and reputation by a determined collective of critics, based on an opinion or an action that is alleged to be disgraceful and disqualifying.” There are two balancing components we should highlight in this definition, the first being an opinion or action is allegedly distasteful.

Vigilance: Meditating on Icarus Fallen by Chantal Delsol
Vigilance: Meditating on Icarus Fallen by Chantal Delsol

Who amongst us is comfortable in our present moment, as our culture heaves beneath us and the certainties of our every-day splinter from the weight of chaos? I do not see true certainty. I do not see reliability. And who claims too?

The Wonders of Web3
The Wonders of Web3

Web3 seems to be gaining more and more mind share in the tech world these days. I recently listened to a podcast between Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant on the Tim Ferriss show. I found the juggling act between Chris and Naval instrumental in thinking about the ideas in the space of Web3. I've said before that crypto is only scratching the surface of what's coming. So I wanted to share some of the ideas I found interesting from this conversation and other thoughts on Web3.

Archetypes: The Ouroboros
Archetypes: The Ouroboros

We must understand that all things complex, like our thinking, is now, are reliant on simplicity. It is from a singular concept that many interacting concepts come into being. One begets many…

Health, Business, ScienceErich WenzelSiddhartha Mukherjee, Making Sense with Sam Harris, Wealth, Bill Gates Linkedin, Zero Carbon World, The Atlanic, Whiteness, Neuralink, Representative John DeBerry, Chuck Palahniuk, Johann NeemComment