One unexpected pattern when studying the lives of geniuses is that many were completely unremarkable in their 20s. The breakthroughs came much later.
Dyson was 46 when his first vacuum came out, Henry Ford was 40 when he started Ford Motors, and Sam Walton was 44 when he opened the first Walmart.
The average age of a unicorn founder in the US at incorporation is 42.
By the standards of today’s “30-under-30” culture, most of these late bloomers would have been written off long before they did the thing that made them famous.
The unremarkable years waiting for the breakthrough were spent building the relevant technical skills and pattern recognition. You cannot compress the ordinary years required to birth genius..
Ben Sasse has always been honest, but facing a terminal diagnosis he has been unplugged. Last night, in exactly 13 seconds, he explained the real reason compulsory education ever started in America.
Catholics, consider this when making choices about education for your children.
there is a singular reason why lingerie is back & if you had figured out the connection here by mapping tech to culture, then you would’ve made a lot of money.
anyone want to guess why victoria secret & the broader lingerie market is back??
In the 1960s, doctors married nurses. Today doctors marry doctors. Economists ran the counterfactual and found that if Americans married randomly, the income Gini would drop from 0.43 to 0.34, exactly where it was in 1960. Who pairs with whom is now a top driver of national inequality.
Jordan Peterson had a pretty blunt take on marriage and timing:
“You only get about five chances in your life.”
He pointed out that it especially applies to women because of biology. It takes roughly a year to truly know someone, then there’s recovery time after a breakup, then time to meet someone new. Before you know it, years have slipped by.
His advice? When you find someone solid who checks the boxes, don’t overthink it, get on with it.
This one really stuck with me. In today’s world of endless swiping and “there’s always someone better,” it’s a sobering reminder that time isn’t infinite, especially if you want kids.
A lot of people are delaying serious relationships, only to realize later that the options have narrowed. Peterson’s point cuts through the romantic daydreaming with cold realism.
What do you think, is the “five chances” idea too harsh, or does it feel realistic?
I've noticed a lot of farmers in the soil health space grow gardens and they seem to use it as a "lab" of sorts for continuous learning and experimentation.
Great thoughts. I'm all for critiquing the elite, but one thing I keep thinking about is, do they actually have any idea of what they could build through philanthropy? I sense that they are smart in some ways (hence why they are rich), but not all that bright or creative in other ways. While I think, yes, they are rober barons, are they so out of true greed, or because they lack creative vision?
My vote for a large scale philanthropic project would be some version of a 21st century Homestead Act.
It is notable how the Pope is the only religious authority in the world that wields intellectual authority even among secular people.
No one secular cares what the Bishop of Canterbury or the Grand Ayatollah have to say.
Every civilization in history treated mate selection as something the community helped with. Parents, matchmakers, religious leaders, friends, family. The modern American assumption that you should figure out who to marry alone, with no intermediary or input from anyone who knows you, is a historical anomaly.