What if we take things like value politics and impact business seriously for the first time since the industrial revolution, teach our kids to be tolerant and take care of our elders?

Hate the title, love the advice. So much of what Jade is saying in this video resonates with me. I don’t subscribe to the idea that there is such a thing as an ‘unfair advantage’ nor do I think it can be ‘built’. Nevertheless, the advice Jade put forward in this video is things that have had a huge positive impact on my fulfillment and relationships in life I had to share it with you here.

There is entertainment and then there is entertainment. If you are searching for 80% accurate information and somewhat funny humor this is the right blend of both.

One of these opportunities was the series of debates called The Mystery of Existence, spreading across three evenings on the topic of the existence of God and much more. I was struck by the lineup, which included Slavoj Žižek, Alex O'Connor, Jack Symes, William Lane Craig, and Jonny Thomson.

Today, you and I are facing a multibillion-dollar company that has breached almost every safety commitment it has ever made and just signed a contract to be used for literal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. The safety switch broke and we have to do something.

I promise I won’t start posting TED Talks here regularly. But this one really caught my attention. It answered several questions I’ve been asking myself over the past few weeks

Lately I’ve been enjoying the light film-analysis videos by Patrick (H) Willems who’s both nerdy and funny as well as original, and to the point. If you’re interested in cinema, his channel is both entertaining and insightful.

An eye-opening video about the environmental bias of trade policy was recommended to me by one of my professors for Economic Development and the Environment. Enjoy.

An interesting talk with William Easterly about the problem of paternalism in international development. I was glad to see how one of the greatest development economists of the last 100 years doesn’t hesitate to admit he changed his mind on certain issues and explain why.

I am already very excited for the winter term at the LSE, as I will be taking the course on Growth Diagnostics in Development: Theory and Practice, taught by Frank Muci Lander. I have been following Muci’s work for some time now and find it exceptionally insightful.

"Although I’m not really into poetry much, I read or listen to this poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti every now and then since I was 16. Especially because I study international development, I often feel a slight anxiety about the state of the world. When I do, it is as if Ferlinghetti was telling me, “No, it is not good; it is never going to be good. It’s bad, but we can try to do something about it and smile while doing it.”

A short video explaining the problem of the ‘value extraction’ mindset with reading and why we might finally be shifting to a more ‘healthy’ relationship with literature.

No answer but stance,

no solving but moving

sideways, and

showing.

Not finishing

ministering.

Maintenance not construction.

Unwinding, bewildering

the day’s tightness,

the overfilled hours.

If you’re looking for some hacks, recommendations, and motivation to read, this is it.

If your answer is “yes,” I have a few resources that could help you.

A few months ago, I realized that I, along with many people around me, felt a disturbing lack of freedom of the way we use our time when it came to social media. It no longer seemed like it was our decision whether to spend time on Instagram or not. These platforms are built on systems designed to generate massive amounts  of money, and they do so by stealing as much of your attention as possible.(Giraldo-Luque et al., 2020)

Do you ever feel like the latest stage of capitalism makes you lose money every time you want to stand, walk, or sit outside? Systemic issue? Sure. But before you try to take down the current economic and political systems, you might wanna try watching this video that will hopefully help you retain more of your income, and in this money-hungry world:).

After watching hours of productivity content online, I came to realize that around 80% of it is unrealistic, unnecessary, or pure BS by someone trying to game the algorithm - more likely to give you anxiety than to get rid of it.

One of the rare exceptions, however, is a video explaining the Trident Method of time management by Ali Abdaal. I watched it two years ago, set up the system for myself right after, and, with a few tweaks here and there, have been using it ever since.

You’ve probably heard the cliché that “economics isn’t a science but a state of mind,” or something along those lines. As much as I dislike how pretentious that sounds, I’ve come to realize that once economics gets into your head, it changes how you see everything, whether you like it or not.

I stumbled across the idea of street epistemology during the course Searching for Sustainable Livelihoods, and it has changed the way I talk with people about important issues. David McRaney’s core idea is: don’t approach someone with the goal of proving them wrong. Instead, stand shoulder to shoulder with them, look at the issue you're discussing, and try to find where you disagree and why.

After around three years, I got back into reading sections of Jaspers' “The Question of German Guilt.”