Shows
EE Times CurrentTo Walk Again: the SAM Suit SagaThis week’s podcast: A few years back, engineers created the SAM car, a vehicle that enabled quadriplegic former Indy racer Sam Schmidt to drive again. Now they’ve followed with the SAM suit, an exoskeleton that let Schmidt dance with his daughter at her wedding. Sam, the SAM car, and the SAM suit, with Arrow Electronics chief marketing officer Victor Gustaf Gao.2021-07-0926 min
ion driveISSUE 13: The Depth of the RichesGood evening.My apologies for a few quiet weeks since the last update. A lot has been happening at work and in family life. Vaccination in the United States continues apace and work travel looks to resume, at least partially, as early as this month. As a result, for this spring and summer, I expect to publish once every three to four weeks. The new cadence is in part to ensure the quality of each update measures up to your expectations. Popular among many writers today is the importance of publishing frequently. I am not one...2021-04-1012 min
ion driveISSUE 12: Among Whispering PinesGood evening.1.When I was 12, I got a job as student reporter for my school paper. To file my first report, one of my cousins, a civil engineer, took me to her work so I could observe engineers install a new railroad track that would pass not far from the school. On that sunny summer day in the back canyons of north San Diego County, I was mesmerized.The first step in laying down a track isn’t obvious. It happens below the surface. Like drainage systems on a farm, the ground is first gr...2021-03-1513 min
ion driveISSUE 11: Wreckers of Outworn EmpiresGood evening.1.At the end of last week’s update I touched on legibility, the human inclination to simplify complex systems so as to impose control over them. Treated extensively in the 1990s by political scientist and anthropologist James C. Scott of Yale University in his book Seeing Like a State, legibility is an intellectual cousin to high modernism, which exudes unwavering confidence in the potential of science and technology to master nature, including human nature, to meet human needs. The Bauhaus movement is perhaps legibility’s most beloved transatlantic celebrity. On the hilly bank...2021-03-0924 min
ion driveISSUE 10: Places Where Ancient Groves RemainGood evening.Before we get into this week’s update, I wanted to thank readers who wrote in or spoke to me after last month’s Issue 2: Portugal is the New West Coast. While most were kind in agreement and glad to see more attention on Portugal, a few pointed out additional considerations on the ground.First, despite publicly stated intentions at the top for an entrepreneur-friendly environment, not everyone in the government seems to have gotten the memo. Bureaucracy doesn’t always match the rhetoric. A reader pointed me to this recent tweet by Cloudflare CEO Ma...2021-02-2714 min
ion driveISSUE 9: No Man Clever Enough to Know All the Evil He DoesGood evening.1.It used to be that when a person of influence passed on, eulogists and biographers would offer an assessment of the person’s life and its significance. More recently, it seems, the honor can be accorded in advance, when such person is alive and well and has simply alighted from their most visible perch.Not a day after Jeff Bezos announced his exit as Amazon CEO (though he remains Executive Chairman) did The Guardian dispatch a column entitled ‘A managerial Mephistopheles’: inside the mind of Jeff Bezos by journalist and essayist Mark O’Conn...2021-02-2218 min
ion driveISSUE 8: A Curious Case of SinecdocheGood evening.In his 2004 annual shareholders letter, Jeff Bezos states his view on value creation:Our ultimate financial measure, and the one we most want to drive over the long-term, is free cash flow per share. Why not focus first and foremost, as many do, on earnings, earnings per share or earnings growth? The simple answer is that earnings don’t directly translate into cash flows, and shares are worth only the present value of their future cash flows, not the present value of their future earnings. Future earnings are a component — but not the only impo...2021-02-1405 min
ion driveISSUE 7: A Problem Well Put is a Problem Half SolvedGood evening.As readers of this newsletter know, I am skeptical of crypto’s role as a currency, but remain curious as to its potential as an asset. In my January 10 update, I wrote:[A]pplying the innovator’s dilemma framework to our subject matter, if crypto is the disruptor, who are the incumbents? There would seem to be two. First, government-issued fiat currencies fulfill the role of money as we traditionally understand it. Second, there is gold, or rather, any alternative asset class that provides diversification.In the first instance, it’s not a frin...2021-02-0807 min
ion driveISSUE 6: A Remembrance of Earth's PastGood evening.In my January 4 update I observed that a few philosophies seem to wield outsized influence in today’s innovation hubs such as Silicon Valley, Seattle, and Beijing. I named two philosophers in particular: René Girard and his mimesis theory, and David Christian, who coined the term Big History.Mimesis, in short, posits that the human proclivity to imitate others inevitably lead to destructive conflict, as illustrated in the Biblical story of brothers Cain and Abel. Peter Thiel, a prominent venture capitalist and former student of Girard’s at Stanford, extends the mimesis framework to ways...2021-01-2407 min
ion driveISSUE 5: Un Bon Croquis Vaut Mieux Qu'un Long DiscoursGood evening.Today’s update is a bit more meta. When I started this newsletter last month I wanted to focus on exploring the innovation stack that will power wealth creation and human prosperity in a post-COVID world. In my December 29 update, I wrote: Already in 2020 we’ve seen the distribution of healthcare, education, and work into private homes. Resilience and sustainability will take on new meaning and climb higher on the board room agenda. Here, brand-building, digital, and value investing each plays a key role in disruption and wealth creation.Further afield, the seco...2021-01-1703 min
ion driveISSUE 4: Hamilton vs. SatoshiGood evening.Last week an old classmate from Teddy Hall said to me in a group chat:In ten years all remote workers will be paid in crypto.Unconvinced, I requested elaboration. Back came a passionate mix of how crypto might be used, why governments were inept, and a variant of “imagine living like a king” thanks to newfound wealth à la bitcoin. This exchange being on text, after a few unsuccessful volleys I opted to simply offer my gratitude for his willingness to engage, and wished him happy new year and fine fettle.L...2021-01-1113 min
ion driveISSUE 3: The Case for SpaceGood evening.I began developing editorial ideas for this newsletter at the end of 2020. As I reflected on the fallout of the pandemic and what it takes for humanity to build a more resilient, more abundant future, I couldn’t help thinking about space.That’s because if nothing else, the pandemic has reminded us that we under-appreciate tail risk. While climate change activists often implore the world to reduce carbon emissions or consume earthly resources more frugally, the pace of population growth will eventually catch up. The likelihood of an asteroid striking the Earth seems minu...2021-01-0804 min
ion driveUpcoming in January 2021Good evening.Thanks for all the support on yesterday’s issue, Portugal is the New West Coast. Based on the feedback I’ve received, especially from readers based in Portugal, I will be writing a few follow-ups and diving deeper into Portugal’s bureaucratic, tax, and nearshoring state of affairs.I also wanted to welcome all the new subscribers this week. I expect to publish every week initially. There will be a longer read of readings, podcasts, or videos I recommend, but it will not be in the style of hot takes but rather an essay. Additi...2021-01-0501 min