Five Links for July 2024
every month, five mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen ... if you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.
Here are five links worth reading…
Why we stopped making Einsteins by Erik Hoel
Many have observed that we don’t have stand-out intellectuals (like Beethoven, Einstein, Tolstoy and Darwin) in any field today. Erik Hoel makes an interesting case that the culprit is the decline of one-on-one tutoring, which was the common method of educating elites for thousands of years.
The B Lane Swimmer by Holly Witteman
On status, sorting and prestige in sports (and everywhere else). The people you might expect to be the most competitive are often the most welcoming, and vice versa.
Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd says your dating ‘AI concierge’ will soon date hundreds of other people’s ‘concierges’ for you by Eleanor Pringle
There are already AI dating simulators and chat assistants to help with dating app messaging. The founder of Bumble thinks the next step could be outsourcing the early stages of dating to AI. Imagine on going on 3 AI dates with someone all before you go on your first date.
Bonus (Listen): Shopify President Harley Finkelstein - The Ecommerce Entrepreneur Class on World of DaaS podcast
Breaking down the “golden age of entrepreneurship” with someone who has thought more about it than just about anyone: ecommerce trends, modern brands, and innovation in the 2010s.
listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts or watch on YouTube
The West Coast’s Fanciest Stolen Bikes Are Getting Trafficked by One Mastermind in Jalisco, Mexico by Christopher Solomon
As bikes have become fancier and more expensive, bike theft has professionalized. How a simple crime of opportunity became a cross-border racket running bikes 2,000+ miles from California to Mexico.
Bonus (Interesting): China Is Mixed on Elon Musk—but They Sure Love His Mom by Selina Cheng
Maye Musk gets plenty of attention in her own right as a model and dietician with 2 million instagram followers. But in a culture deeply focused on the success of their children, she’s a “perfect idol.”
Bonus (Hopeful): Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapy by University of Cambridge
Opal Sandy from Oxfordshire was born deaf, but after a global gene therapy trial, she has “near normal” hearing in her treated ear and can respond to her parents’ voices.
More reading links at https://twitter.com/AurenReads
X of the Month
All the Books I read last month (not all are recommended):
Alpha Dogs by James Harding (recommended)
Ibn Saud by Barbara Bray (recommended)
HT: Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Screen Wars by Michael Beach
HT: Michael Beach
Smart Brevity by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz
HT: Roy Schwartz
Invisible Rulers by Renee DiResta
HT: Renee DiResta
Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning by Nigel Biggar
HT: Johnnie Moore
The Lost Bank by Kristen Grind
Recommended TV/movies:
The Offer – fictionalized miniseries on the making of the Godfather
Graph of the Month:
Auren Hoffman is CEO of SafeGraph (geospatial data on physical places) and GP at Flex Capital ($200M VC firm). Engage on X: @auren
and please share Five Links with your friends and allies.
I loved your quote about all busineses either being mediorce or shitshows (Paraphrasing) it reminds me of something I read a while back, someone was saying that Amazon isn't an amazing business, it's just that most others do an absolutely terrible job, so it makes them look incredible.
Auren, we know each other thru my daughter Anneka.
I wanted to ask you if you would like to give your thoughts on why Indian origin CEO have been appointed leaders of some of the big Techs. What characteristics of theirs that you notice?