What Would Jesus Disrupt? Bloomberg. I believe this is answered byMatt 21:11-13, but what would I know?
Almanac: Eric Hoffer on hatred
. . .“Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both.”
~Eric Hoffer, The True Believer (courtesy of Patrick Kurp)
People are creatures of habits – same reason why a 72 years old with 14 million dollars in his bank account can’t stop working 12 hours a day. Work is his reason to live.
“The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready is he to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause.”
Today is Easter Sunday, a day in which millions of Christians celebrate the central mystery and miracle of the faith.
It’s easy to find analogies between the events in that two thousand-year-old story and occurrences in the past year. Moments of triumph and joy. Betrayals and defeats. Deception and loss.
But that’s only because these are universal stories; themes that repeat and echo in small ways and large, in the stories of individuals and the sagas of nations. Right now, there are Christians in Syria, Russia—and very likely North Korea—who see these stories unfolding in the events around them. I can guarantee you that there are Americans who see them in the victory of Donald Trump. Daily Kos Pundit
Problems of being tall
Pew Research Center: “The generation gap in American politics is dividing two younger age groups, Millennials and Generation X, from the two older groups, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation. In 2016, as in recent years, Millennials and Gen Xers were the most Democratic generations. And both groups had relatively large – and growing – shares of liberal Democrats: 27% of Millennials and 21% of Gen Xers identified as liberal Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents. By contrast, Boomers and Silents were the most Republican groups – largely because of the higher shares of conservative Republicans in these generations. Nearly a third of Boomers (31%) and 36% of Silents described themselves as conservative Republicans or Republican leaners, which also is higher than in the past. The differences in partisan identification across generations are most apparent in the shares of liberal Democrats and conservativeRepublicans in each. All four groups have comparable numbers when it comes to groups in the middle: conservative and moderate Democrats and moderate and liberal Republicans…”
Prague exhibition to present pop singer Gott's 60-year career
The endowment held in the past the exhibitions of posters by Czech ... at Prague exhibitions and one of the highest in Czech history.
Patrick is co-founder and CEO of Stripe, based in San Francisco. I recently told a reporter he was one of the five smartest people I have known; he is so smart, in fact, that he asked to interview me rather than vice versa, and so he and I created a new episode of Conversations with Tyler(transcript and podcast at that link, alas no video, and note that was recorded in January so on a few points the timeline may feel off).
Patrick is co-founder and CEO of Stripe, based in San Francisco. I recently told a reporter he was one of the five smartest people I have known; he is so smart, in fact, that he asked to interview me rather than vice versa, and so he and I created a new episode of Conversations with Tyler(transcript and podcast at that link, alas no video, and note that was recorded in January so on a few points the timeline may feel off).
We discuss whether macro is underrated, what makes Silicon Valley special, optimal immigration policy, whether Facebook is beneficial for society, whether I might ever vote for Donald Trump, how to start a new religion, Peter Thiel, Brian Eno, where I differ from Thomas Schelling, Michel Houllebecq, how to maintain your composure in an age of Trump, the origins of this blog, how I read so much, why Twitter is underrated, and the benefits of having a diverse monoculture, among many other topics.
Here is one bit:
COLLISON: …You’ve written a lot about how the study of economics has influenced your appreciation for the arts, and for literature, and for food, and all of the rest. You haven’t written as much about the influence in the reverse direction. How has your appreciation for and study of the arts influenced your study of economics? And is this a version of that?COWEN: This is a version of that. Here would be a simple example: If you think about Renaissance Florence, at its peak, its population, arguably, was between 60,000 and 80,000 people. And there were surrounding areas; you could debate the number. But they had some really quite remarkable achievements that have stood the test of time and lasted, and today have very high market value. Now, in very naive theories of economics, that shouldn’t be possible. People in Renaissance Florence, they didn’t produce a refrigerator that we’re still using or a tech company that we still consult.But there’s something different about, say, the visual arts, where that was possible, and it was done with small numbers. So there’s something about the inputs to some kinds of production we don’t understand. I would suggest if we’re trying to figure out, like what makes Silicon Valley work, actually, by studying how they did what they did in the Florentine Renaissance is highly important. You learn what are the missing inputs that make for other kinds of miracles.Ireland and writing would be another example.
