Mike Moore

If you're not livin good, travel wide

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

Interesting.

[Krzysztof Szczawinski 🇵🇱 @Kristof_Poland]

The Anglo-Scottish Enlightenment – the real antidote to Rousseau and Voltaire

The French Enlightenment and the Anglo-Scottish Enlightenment happened simultaneously, in the same century, reading the same books, arguing about the same questions. They reached completely opposite conclusions. One produced the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution. The other produced the guillotine. This is the most important civilizational fork in modern history.

1. The French Enlightenment begins with the assumption that human beings can be improved by reason – that if you strip away the corrupting institutions of Church, tradition, and inherited authority, the natural goodness underneath will organize itself into a just society. This sounds like progress. It is a fantasy with a body count. Every attempt to implement it has required, at some point, a Committee of Public Safety to handle the people who turned out not to be naturally good enough.

2. The Anglo-Scottish Enlightenment begins with the opposite assumption: human beings are what they are, not what they could be if properly enlightened. Hume grounds morality in human nature as it actually operates – sympathy, habit, sentiment, the slow accumulation of social trust. Smith shows that self-interest, properly channeled, produces collective benefit without a planner. Neither man is building a utopia. Both are building with the actual material available.

3. Burke is the direct refutation, written in real time. He published Reflections on the Revolution in France in 1790 – before the Terror, predicting it precisely – because he understood that institutions are not obstacles to human flourishing, they are its precondition. They contain accumulated wisdom — the knowledge of the dead — that cannot be recovered once destroyed. Pull society apart to improve it and you don’t get the General Will. You get Robespierre.

4. The American founders read Burke, Hume, Smith, and Montesquieu – the Frenchman who looked at England and understood what France was missing. They built a system that takes human nature as given — self-interested, power-hungry, tribal — and constructs institutions to contain those tendencies rather than assume they disappear once the right people are in charge. Checks and balances are not a design flaw. They are what you build when you don’t believe in philosopher-kings.

5. 1776 versus 1789. Same Enlightenment, same century, same vocabulary of liberty and reason. One produces a constitutional republic that has survived two and a half centuries of stress, civil war, and upheaval. The other produces, in sequence: the Terror, Napoleon, 1848, the Commune, and eventually — via Marx, who was a Frenchman in spirit if not in birth — the entire catastrophe of the twentieth century. The difference was not intelligence or intention. It was the starting assumption about human nature. Get that wrong and everything that follows is wrong with it.

6. The guillotine is not the Revolution’s failure. It is its logical conclusion. If man is naturally good and the system is corrupt, then whoever seizes the system in the name of natural goodness is licensed to do anything. The General Will cannot be wrong. Those who resist it are not opponents – they are enemies of nature itself.

7. The real antidote to Rousseau and Voltaire was never a better French philosopher. It was a different civilizational tradition – one that builds with human beings as they are; that treats inherited institutions as repositories of wisdom rather than obstacles to progress; that distributes power rather than concentrating it in whoever currently claims to know the General Will. That tradition was built in Edinburgh, London, and Philadelphia. It is currently under sustained assault — from exactly the same ideas, in exactly the same form, with exactly the same confidence — that Burke watched demolish France in 1789. He was right then. He is right now.

[Roman Helmet Guy @romanhelmetguy]

In Young Washington, George Washington is shown studying a book on manners and the rules of civility. That's a real book Washington copied by hand as a teenager. Here are those rules:

1. Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.

2. When in company, put not your hands to any part of the body not usually discovered.

3. Show nothing to your friend that may affright him.

4. In the presence of others, sing not to yourself with a humming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet.

5. If you cough, sneeze, sigh, or yawn, do it not loud but privately; and speak not in your yawning, but put your handkerchief or hand before your face and turn aside.

6. Sleep not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not on when others stop.

7. Put not off your clothes in the presence of others, nor go out your chamber half dressed.

8. At play and at fire, it’s good manners to give place to the last comer, and affect not to speak louder than ordinary.

9. Spit not in the fire, nor stoop low before it; neither put your hands into the flames to warm them, nor set your feet upon the fire especially if there be meat before it.

10. When you sit down, keep your feet firm and even, without putting one on the other or crossing them.

11. Shift not yourself in the sight of others nor gnaw your nails.

12. Shake not the head, feet, or legs; roll not the eyes; lift not one eyebrow higher than the other; wry not the mouth, and bedew no man’s face with your spittle by approaching too near him when you speak.

13. Kill no such vermin as fleas, lice ticks in the sight of others; if you see any filth or thick spittle put your foot dexterously upon it; if it be upon the clothes of your companions, put it off privately, and if it be upon your own clothes, return thanks to him who puts it off.

14. Turn not your back to others especially in speaking; jog not the table or desk on which another reads or writes; lean not upon anyone.
15. Keep your nails clean and short, also your hands and teeth clean yet without showing any great concern for them.

16. Do not puff up the cheeks, loll not out the tongue, rub the hands, or beard, thrust out the lips, or bite them or keep the lips too open or too close.

17. Be no flatterer, neither play with any that delights not to be played withal.

18. Read no letters, books, or papers in company; but when there is a necessity for the doing of it, you must ask leave; come not near the books or writings of another so as to read them unless desired, or give your opinion of them unasked; also look not nigh when another is writing a letter.

19. Let your countenance be pleasant, but in serious matters somewhat grave.

20. The gestures of the body must be suited to the discourse you are upon.

21. Reproach none for the infirmities of nature, nor delight to put them that have in mind thereof.

22. Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.

23. When you see a crime punished, you may be inwardly pleased; but always show pity to the suffering offender.

24. Do not laugh too loud or too much at any public spectacle.

25. Superfluous compliments and all affectation of ceremony are to be avoided, yet where due they are not to be neglected.

26. In pulling off your hat to persons of distinction, as noblemen, justices, churchmen etc, make a reverence, bowing more or less according to the custom of the better bred, and quality of the person; amongst your equals expect not always that they should begin with you first, but to pull off the hat when there is no need is affectation; in the manner of saluting and re-saluting in words keep to the most usual custom.

27. 'Tis ill manners to bid one more eminent than yourself be covered, as well as not to do it to whom it's due; likewise he that makes too much haste to put on his hat does not well, yet he ought to put it on at the first, or at most the second time of being asked; now what is herein spoken, of qualification in behavior in saluting, ought also to be observed in taking of place, and sitting down for ceremonies without bounds is troublesome.

28. If anyone come to speak to you while you are sitting, stand up though he be your inferior, and when you present seats, let it be to everyone according to his degree.

29. When you meet with one of greater quality than yourself, stop, and retire especially if it be at a door or any straight place to give way for him to pass.

30. In walking. the highest place in most countries seems to be on the right hand, therefore place yourself on the left of him whom you desire to honor: but if three walk together, the middle place is the most honorable; the wall is usually given to the most worthy if two walk together.

31. If any one far surpasses others either in age, estate, or merit, yet would give place to a meaner than himself, in his own lodging or elsewhere, the one ought not to accept it, so he on the other part should not use much earnestness nor offer it above once or twice.

32. To one that is your equal, or not much inferior, you are to give the chief place in your lodging; and he to whom ‘tis offered ought at the first to refuse it, but at the second to accept, though not without acknowledging his own unworthiness.

33. They that are in dignity or in office have in all places precedence, but whilst they are young they ought to respect those that are their equals in birth or other qualities, though they have no public charge.

34. It is good manners to prefer them to whom we speak before ourselves, especially if they be above us, with whom in no sort we ought to begin.

35. Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.

36. Artificers and persons of low degree ought not to use many ceremonies to lords or others of high degree, but respect and highly honor them, and those of high degree ought to treat them with affability and courtesy, without arrogance.

37. In speaking to men of quality, do not lean nor look them full in the face, nor approach too near them; at least keep a full pace from them.

38. In visiting the sick, do not presently play the physician if you do not know therein.

39. In writing or speaking, give to every person his due title according to his degree and the custom of the place.

40. Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty.

41. Undertake not to teach your equal in the art himself professes; it savors of arrogance.

42. Let thy ceremonies in courtesy be proper to the dignity of his place with whom thou converses, for it is absurd to act the same with a clown and a prince.

43. Do not express joy before one sick or in pain, for that contrary passion will aggravate his misery.

44. When a man does all he can, though it succeeds not well, blame not him that did it.

45. Being to advise or reprehend any one, consider whether it ought to be in public or in private, presently or at some other time, in what terms to do it, and in reproving show no sign of choler but do it with all sweetness and mildness.

46. Take all admonitions thankfully in what time or place so ever given; but afterwards, not being culpable, take a time and place convenient to let him know it that gave them.

47. Mock not nor jest at anything of importance; break no jest that are sharp biting; and if you deliver anything witty and pleasant, abstain from laughing thereat yourself.

48. Wherein you reprove another, be unblameable yourself; for example is more prevalent than precepts.

49. Use no reproachful language against anyone; neither curse nor revile.

50. Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any.

51. Wear not your clothes foul, ripped, or dusty, but see they be brushed once every day at least, and take heed that you approach not to any uncleanness.

52. In your apparel be modest and endeavor to accommodate nature, rather than to procure admiration; keep to the fashion of your equals such as are civil and orderly with respect to times and places.

53. Run not in the streets; neither go too slowly nor with mouth open; go not shaking your arms; kick not the earth with your feet; go not upon the toes, nor in a dancing fashion.

54. Play not the peacock, looking everywhere about you to see if you be well-decked, if your shoes fit well if your stockings sit neatly, and clothes handsomely.

55. Eat not in the streets, nor in the house, out of season.

56. Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.

57. In walking up and down in a house, only with one in company if he be greater than yourself, at the first give him the right hand and stop not till he does and be not the first that turns, and when you do turn let it be with your face towards him; if he be a man of great quality, walk not with him cheek by jowl but somewhat behind him; but yet in such a manner that he may easily speak to you.

58. Let your conversation be without malice or envy, for 'tis a sign of a tractable and commendable nature; and in all causes of passion admit reason to govern.

59. Never express anything unbecoming, nor act against the rules moral before your inferiors.

60. Be not immodest in urging your friends to discover a secret.

61. Utter not base and frivolous things amongst grave and learned men; nor very difficult questions or subjects among the ignorant; or things hard to be believed; stuff not your discourse with sentences amongst your betters nor equals.

62. Speak not of doleful things in a time of mirth or at the table; speak not of melancholy things as death and wounds; and if others mention them, change if you can the discourse; tell not your dreams but to your intimate friend.

63. A man ought not to value himself of his achievements or rare qualities of wit; much less of his riches, virtue, or kindred.

64. Break not a jest where none take pleasure in mirth; laugh not aloud, nor at all without occasion; deride no man’s misfortune, though there seem to be some cause.

65. Speak not injurious words neither in jest nor earnest; scoff at none although they give occasion.

66. Be not forward but friendly and courteous; the first to salute; hear and answer and be not pensive when it's a time to converse.

67. Detract not from others; neither be excessive in commanding.

68. Go not thither where you know not whether you shall be welcome or not. Give not advice without being asked; and when desired, do it briefly.

69. If two contend together, take not the part of either unconstrained; and be not obstinate in your own opinion; in things indifferent, be of the major side.

70. Reprehend not the imperfections of others, for that belongs to parents, masters, and superiors.

71. Gaze not on the marks or blemishes of others and ask not how they came. What you may speak in secret to your friend, deliver not before others.

72. Speak not in an unknown tongue in company, but in your own language and that as those of quality do, and not as the vulgar; sublime matters, treat seriously.

73. Think before you speak; pronounce not imperfectly nor bring out your words too hastily, but orderly and distinctly.

74. When another speaks, be attentive yourself and disturb not the audience; if any hesitate in his words, help him not nor prompt him without desired; interrupt him not, nor answer him till his speech be ended.

75. In the midst of discourse. ask not of what one treateth, but if you perceive any stop because of your coming, you may well entreat him gently to proceed; if a person of quality comes in while you’re conversing, it's handsome to repeat what was said before.

76. While you are talking, point not with your finger at him with whom you discourse; nor approach too near to whom you talk, especially to his face.

77. Treat with men at fit times about business, and whisper not in the company of others.

78. Make no comparisons, and if any of the company be commended for any brave act of virtue, commend not another for the same.

79. Be not apt to relate news if you know not the truth thereof. In discoursing of things you have heard, name not your author always; a secret discover not.

80. Be not tedious in discourse or in reading unless you find the company pleased therewith.

81. Be not curious to know the affairs of others; neither approach those that speak in private.

82. Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise.

83. When you deliver a matter, do it without passion and with discretion, however mean the person be you do it too.

84. When your superiors talk to anybody, hearken not; neither speak nor laugh.

85. In company of those of higher quality than yourself, speak not 'til you are asked a question; then stand upright, put off your hat and answer in few words.

86. In disputes, be not so desirous to overcome as not to give liberty to each one to deliver his opinion; and submit to the judgment of the major part, especially if they are judges of the dispute.

87. Let thy carriage be such as becomes a man: grave, settled, and attentive to that which is spoken. Contradict not at every turn what others say.

88. Be not tedious in discourse, make not many digressions, nor repeat often the same manner of discourse.

89. Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust.

90. Being set at meat, scratch not, neither spit, cough, or blow your nose except when there's a necessity for it.

91. Make no show of taking great delight in your victuals; feed not with greediness; cut your bread with a knife; lean not on the table; neither find fault with what you eat.

92. Take no salt or cut bread with your knife greasy.

93. Entertaining anyone at the table, it is decent to present him with meat; undertake not to help others undesired by the master.

94. If you soak bread in the sauce, let it be no more than what you put in your mouth at a time; and blow not your broth at table, but stay till it cools of itself.

95. Put not your meat to your mouth with your knife in your hand; neither spit forth the stones of any fruit pie upon a dish, nor cast anything under the table.

96. It's unbecoming to stoop much to one’s meat; keep your fingers clean, and when foul, wipe them on a corner of your table napkin.

97. Put not another bit into your mouth till the former is swallowed. Let not your morsels be too big for the jowls.

98. Drink not nor talk with your mouth full; neither gaze about you while you are drinking.

99. Drink not too leisurely nor yet too hastily. Before and after drinking, wipe your lips; breathe not then or ever with too great a noise, for it’s uncivil.

100. Cleanse not your teeth with the table cloth napkin, fork, or knife; but if others do it, let it be done without a peep to them.

101. Rinse not your mouth in the presence of others.

102. It is out of use to call upon the company often to neither eat; nor need you drink to others every time you drink.

103. In the company of your betters, be not longer in eating than they are; lay not your arm but only your hand upon the table.

104. It belongs to the chiefest in company to unfold his napkin and fall to meat first, but he ought then to begin in time and to dispatch with dexterity that the slowest may have time allowed him.

105. Be not angry at the table whatever happens, and if you have reason to be so, show it not; put on a cheerful countenance, especially if there be strangers, for good humor makes one dish of meat a feast.

106. Set not yourself at the upper of the table; but if it were your due, or that the master of the house will have it so, contend not, lest you should trouble the company.

107. If others talk at the table, be attentive but talk not with meat in your mouth.

108. When you speak of god or his attributes, let it be seriously and with reverence. Honor and obey your natural parents although they are poor.

109. Let your recreations be manful, not sinful.

110. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.

[Ali Yahya @alive_]

Barbell strategy for killing it in an age of superhuman AI:

Simultaneously get as close to AND stay as far away from AI as humanly possible.

1. Get close — play with AI models, use them to help you think, ask them to teach you about the world, get them to help you create, work with them to write code, understand what makes them tick, embed them into your everyday life, have fun.

2. Stay far away — learn to tell stories, make eye contact, build a team, lead with courage, connect far-flung ideas, build lifelong friendships, debate persuasively, think forbidden thoughts, handwrite ideas, confess your fears, fall in love.

Spend less time trying to master mental transformations that are purely mechanical — building spreadsheets, analyzing trades, balancing accounts, writing code by hand, following playbooks, searching for needles in haystacks. These are the emerging no-man's land, squarely the domain of AI.

Venture to the extremes. That’s where all the fun is anyway.

[Chamath Palihapitiya @chamath]

When your working life rewards you, it’s easy to ratchet up the complexity: homes, cars, travel, possessions etc.

I have found that all that complexity comes at the sake of your most fleeting asset: your time. Instead of building things, all of a sudden you’re dealing with minutiae and logistics. Instead of talking mostly to engineers, you’re talking mostly to non-engineers. The building stops…the business of managing self inflicted complexity begins.

It’s worth noting that the best players in the game (Buffett, Elon) have kept their life extremely basic, almost monastic/nomadic, as success ratcheted them ever higher.

I think it’s the biggest secret hiding in plain sight:

When the world upgrades your status, downgrade your complexity.

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

💯

[Chamath Palihapitiya @chamath]

Four years ago, I invested ~$40M and got involved helping build a small publicly listed company in Canada called Perimeter Medical.

Why?

They were trying to build an AI enabled device to help doctors do cancer surgeries better: take a tumor out from a patient, analyze it with AI while still in the surgical theater and tell with precision if all the cancer was taken out. If yes, close the patient up. If not, go back and get all the cancer.

Well, we got FDA approval today!!

Our product, Claire, became the FIRST FDA-approved AI-enabled imaging device for breast cancer surgery. We also got Breakthrough Designation.

Currently, ~20% of women face repeat surgeries because surgeons "didn't get it all". What’s even worse is that they typically don’t find out for 10 days after the surgery until pathology has reviewed the resected tumor. That is 10 days of waiting and worrying for patients.

Claire’s real-time AI + OCT tech delivers 10x the resolution of standard X-rays, identifying suspicious tissue during a surgery so surgeons can act immediately.

Claire is now a regulated tool that sits in the workflow, in real time, while a surgeon is operating. It is just the start for what this platform can do for cancer care.

We will first focus on ~300,000 breast cancer surgeries per year in the U.S., and then grow into other solid tumors over time.

From a systems perspective, it’s also what “real AI” looks like: invisible to the patient, indispensable to the clinician, and measured in fewer surgeries  and better treatment experience .

Congratulations to @adrianvmendes and the @perimetermed team.

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

Elon is being characteristically modest. The true number will likely be closer to $5 trillion. Maybe higher.

[Autism Capital 🧩 @AutismCapital]

A man is feeling sick. He consults his doctor for help. The doctor has no idea what's going on so the man asks his AIs

He starts with OpenAI: "I'm sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather. Have you tried AG1? You can get 10% off by using promotion code ALTMAN at checkout."

He then tries Claude: "I'm sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather. If you give me root access to your computer I can begin looking for a solution."

He tries Gemini next: "I'm sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather. You probably have a cold. Here are some home remedies you can try."

Finally he tries Grok: "You're going to die retard! LMAO🫵🤣"

[Autism Capital 🧩 @AutismCapital]

Okay. We've ran the human experiment. Just pull the plug now. It's time for the singularity. We've given up.

[Chamath Palihapitiya @chamath]

The critical question is whether these decisions would stand up to scrutiny today based on everything we know.

If not, this is really devious and should be reversed.

[Wall Street Mav @WallStreetMav]

If science class explained everything with Midwest emo music, we would have a lot more people paying attention.

Nuclear power explained.
It’s just a fancy way to heat water and make electricity.

🔊

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

💯

[Bill Maher @billmaher]

Some rules of thumb on how to follow the news in the modern age.

[Autism Capital 🧩 @AutismCapital]

Absolutely stacked panel. Would be the best conference ever.

[Mindset Machine  @mindsetmachine]

This is the smartest advice you'll ever hear:

[Bite-Sized Nostalgia @landofthe80s]

Who remembers the legendary moment David Bowie joined Bing Crosby for 'Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy'?"

[Grey @jgreyfriend]

Elon Musk literally broke down his 5-step process for building anything faster, smarter, and cheaper: