Circle of Competence Issue #107

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken." - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Signal vs. Noise

During COVID times, from bosses to employees, mothers to children, we've all had more time to think and reflect on what matters most in life.

My wife and I are expecting our first kid in 3 weeks (or less), so I've certainly been taking the time to reflect on focusing on more 'signal' and canceling out more 'noise' in my life. With a kid on the way, my signal is about to change, and my margin for noise is about to decrease significantly. It happens to all parents, and I'm excited to tackle the challenge of starting a family.

For me, more signal looks like:

- more family time

- more long-form, foundational literature

- more time with my closest friends

And less noise looks like:

- less texting

- less twitter

- less news

- less screentime

- less 'networking'

What does more signal look like in your life?

LINKS

Investing

Jeff Bezos' 2019 letter to shareholders (Amazon)

Knowledge of the future (Howard Marks)

The great influenza of 1918 (Rational Walk)

Interview with Harris Kupperman on oil tanker storage (Classic Value Investors)

Scott Galloway on how big tech will emerge stronger after COVID-19 (No Mercy, No Malice)

Learning from Hunter Harrison on railroads (Masters Invest)

Ryan Reeves' medical device industry breakdown (Investing City)

Technology

NASA doesn't want to postpone its human flight with SpaceX launch next month (The Atlantic)

NASA unveils plan for Artemis 'base camp' on the moon beyond 2024 (Space.com)

We need a new science of progress (The Atlantic)

Policy & Economics

Coronavirus pushes higher education to the brink (Bloomberg, h/t Beth F.)

COVID-19 global impacts in charts (Luke Wroblewski)

Federal Reserve has encouraged moral hazard on a grand scale (Jonathan Tepper)

Chart of US job losses vs. past recessions (Visual Capitalist)