No. 17 - Feeling feelings, AI eats the world, Seeking excellence and meaning, Making meritocracy more meritocratic, and more
Gustavo S. Carvalhal Ribas, CFA
Venture Partner and Head of LatAm at K Fund
FEELING FEELINGS
In general, people are more distant not only from others but also from themselves. The difficulty of dealing with our feelings has been increasing and this is a very important theme, since one of life's purposes and main sources of joy is our endless search for empathy and connection in interpersonal relationships.
This podcast is a fantastic conversation on this topic, going about the importance of each of us understanding the reasons we do what we do, of looking within ourselves (data show women are better than men in this), of avoid jumping to conclusions?and, ironically, of how talking about problems not only not necessarily help in solving them but can actually be an obstacle for that.
Also, this quote is a great food for thought on this as well:
Finally, while we are talking about feelings, this is an old video about empathy that I think is pretty good as well:
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AI EATS THE WORLD
For the past decade, Benedict Evans has given an annual presentation on the state of technology which have become sort of a must-read. This year, as it had to be, it revolves around artificial intelligence. Starting with a famous Bill Gates' quote from 18 months ago, when he said that in his entire career he had only seen two things that were revolutionary: the GUI and ChatGPT, Evans brilliantly frames our current situation with AI and, from there, addresses questions such as how far will it go, which uses cases should it tackle and how will it be deployed. As I said, a must-read.
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SEEKING EXCELLENCE AND MEANING
Richard Hamming was an American mathematician famous for his work at the Manhattan Project and Bell Labs, which eventually got him the Turing Award (the highest prize in the field of computer science) in 1968. In 1986, he gave a lecture to graduate students called “You and your research”, going about his observations and experiences around the question “why do so few scientists make significant contributions and so many are forgotten in the long run?”. The lecture became very famous for his points on excellence, purposeful work, success, and career development. With advice such as “life is short, so it's better to do significant things than to merely get along”, “work on important problems in your field, not just what's convenient”, “drive and consistent effort compound over time” and “keep your door open - closed-door workers are more productive but work on less important problems”, Hamming’s words are timeless and invaluable for those seeking excellence in their professional lives.
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MAKING MERITOCRACY MORE MERITOCRATIC
This is an article about how the American meritocracy, very much centered around elite universities, needs a reform. Originally conceived to replace the old aristocracy based on breeding with one based on academic merit and intelligence using standardized tests and academic achievement as key metrics, the current system has been taken by the wealthy, with students from top 1% of income being 77 times more likely to attend elite colleges than those from bottom incomes.
Personally, I have several reservations on the article, but there is a part about how society has evolved to attend this that I found particularly interesting. According to the author, America developed two entirely different approaches to parenting, with working-class letting kids be kids, allowing them to wander and explore, while college-educated parents, in contrast, ferrying their kids from one supervised skill-building, résumé-enhancing activity to another.
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BREAKUPS AND BREAKTHROUGHS
Another one of those pieces where we learn about new things. After a breakup, the author of this New Yorker piece discovered a booming industry of heartbreak recovery services. From specialized retreats costing thousands of dollars to apps promising to "turn your breakup into a breakthrough," she finds a vast marketplace catering to the brokenhearted. Going from a yoga retreat in Massachusetts to a heartbreak counselor in Berlin, she discovers how approaches to heartbreak have evolved from ancient Roman poet Ovid's advice of getting yourself distracted to modern therapeutic techniques. Very interesting.
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YOUNG BANKERS AND DRUGS
This article from The Wall Street Journal reports on the widespread use of prescription stimulants and other drugs among young investment bankers to cope with extreme work hours and pressure. Apparently, many junior bankers are using prescription ADHD medications like Adderall and Vyvanse, often obtained through quick consultations at health clinics or telehealth services, to work 90-100+ hour weeks, with the drugs being viewed as performance tools rather than recreational substances (according to a user, they’d allow bankers to stay focused during long hours of formatting PowerPoint slides and Excel spreadsheets).
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ADULT LITERACY
According to the OECD’s “Survey of Adult Skills” released on December 10th, roughly one-fifth of adults aged 16-65 perform at or below primary school level in reading and math tests, with adults in many places having grown less literate over the past ten years. These findings are so concerning that researchers fear a possible end to the "Flynn effect" - the historical trend of rising IQ scores throughout the 20th century - with some countries now showing stagnation or decline in cognitive skills.
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NO GRANPAS AND GRANDMAS
We’ve been talking about declining fertility rates, its reasons and effects and this New York Times piece brings a different perspective, that of the parents who end up not having grandchildren. The percentage of adults 50+ with grandchildren dropped from nearly 60% in 2014 to just over 50% in 2021 and a part of them struggle with feelings of loss regarding their expected future role as grandparents, feeling left out when their peers are actively involved in grandparenting. While a large part of families avoid discussing the topic to prevent tension, expert advice goes all the way to finding alternative ways to spend time with young children (like volunteering).
Around the same topic, I came across this graph this month which is impressive:
CHRISTMAS ADVERTS
I just love Christmas adverts. Here are two to warm your hearts this season.
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Hope you liked it! Let me know your thoughts.
Best,
Gustavo