Weekend Reads #426
A collection of cross-disciplinary thoughts, perspectives, and opinions
News
Introducing Gemma 3n: The developer guide - Google Developers Blog - Link
What happens to the internet if LLMs become the new browser? - Link and Browser Wars - Link
The Model Hierarchy: Not All AI Is Created Equal. We tested and ranked six state-of-the-art models: Google’s Gemini Advanced 2.5 (Deep Research mode) — The clear winner - Link
Which AIs to use, and how to use them - Link
The writing is getting better. The ideas are getting worse. There is a difference between intelligence and knowledge. The core concept of intelligence is that it makes additional information useful. - Link
No Starbucks executive is going to suggest a new line of “fat enhanced” cold foam or iced tea with extra carbs. But extra protein—sure. - Link
Only time will tell as to how the mix of private credit, CLOs and offshore reinsurance delivers for PE-linked insurers the next time there is a downturn in the credit cycle, or some exogenous event that causes a jump in policy cancellations — and in the process testing the assumption that illiquidity is fine and dandy. - Link
Insuring climate events. “This type of climate risk is not cyclical. It’s heading in one direction,” says economist Ben Keys“So you don’t necessarily need as big a shock, if it’s a permanent shock, to have a serious, long-term effect on house prices and other asset values.” - Link
Perspectives
Kevin Kelly’s Flounder mode - Don’t pursue a destination, pursue a direction. “Greatness is overrated,” he said, and I perked up. “It’s a form of extremism, and it comes with extreme vices that I have no interest in. - Link
The desire to create remarkable outcomes in your creative work, relationships or community – or even just in your bank balance – might just be an authentic part of who you are, once the clouds of insecurity begin to clear. - Link
The Baumol effect means that repair is rising in price relative to buying new. Appliance durability hasn’t collapsed—it’s evolved to meet consumer demand. - Link
When people don't see abundance they stop sharing. And Americans have stopped sharing. - Link
The first is that building a better future depends as much on learning how to say “no” as learning how to say “yes.” The second is that learning how to say “no” is often more difficult in a commercial society than learning how to say “yes.” The Case for an ‘Anti-Abundance’ Agenda - Link
The single most important decision I made was to not work all day on something I hate - Link
Perhaps the most expensive mistake in business is using linear math to evaluate geometric systems. - Link
An open exchange of ideas, no matter how controversial or unpopular, is the best way to get closer to the truth - Link
'I was the frontman of the band, but he was the frontman of my life.' 'a gun-toting, fun-loving outlaw with plenty of charm and no fears.'we all need a Paul English in our lives. We need a co-conspirator, a coach, and a critic. - Link
Ron Chernow talk about how Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, John D. Rockefeller, and most recently, Mark Twain’s deepest personal struggles and their ability to manage emotion became the defining factor in their lives and legacies. - Podcast
Godfather of Synthetic Bio on De-Aging, De-Extinction, & Weaponized Mirror Life — George Church - Podcast
Toby Ord, Senior Researcher at Oxford University’s AI Governance Initiative and author of The Precipice, argues that the odds of a civilization-ending catastrophe this century are roughly one in six. - Podcast
Poker. Blackjack. Chess. What role does traditional game theory play in the markets? And how are successful traders using it? - Podcast
STEM
Rerum Novarum, a moral and intellectual framework that addressed the growing inequality, materialism, and exploitation ushered in by the Industrial Revolution. - Link
Experiences are encounters with reality that lead us, as Rosen puts it, to become acquainted with the world as it is. The most fundamental of these—making friends, enjoying art, eating, having sex—characterize our way of being in the world and make us who we are. - Link
“Maybe the moral and experiential poverty of AI will bring the most vitally human dimensions of our native intelligence back to the center of our attention and foster a cultural reclamation and restoration of their long-depreciated value.” - Link
Inside the most advanced sky-mapping instrument ever built - The Vera Rubin Telescope - Link
The mathematical universe, like our physical one, may be made up mostly of dark matter. The existence of a much, much larger cardinal — an infinity larger than anything mathematicians had imagined - Link
Miscellaneous