Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. Wherever possible, free links behind the paywall are used. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at what it’s like to get a colonoscopy.
Quote of the Day
"You can trick yourself into believing that all those texts and direct messages constitute an enduring form of communication, but the rapid rate of digital change suggests that they’ll probably all evaporate into a fog of forgotten code."
(Jeff Gordinier)
Books
- An excerpt from "On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America" by Abrahm Lustgarten. (theatlantic.com)
- A Q&A with Jonathan Haidt author of "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness." (davidepstein.substack.com)
- An excerpt from "Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout" by Cal Newport. (behavioralscientist.org)
Productivity
- The problem with the pursuit of better productivity: it's never enough. (esquire.com)
- The good life can't be spent entirely in building human capital. (hedgehogreview.com)
Finance
- How infrastructure became a big, and growing, asset class. (on.ft.com)
- Why the Carlyle Group ($CG) has underperformed its PE competitors. (bloomberg.com)
Defense
- Anduril leads a pack of startups looking to break into the defense industry. (on.ft.com)
- How drone warfare is playing out in Ukraine. (reuters.com)
Longreads
- How Apple's ($AAPL) app store policies put it at risk from the DoJ. (stratechery.com)
- The case against Medicare Advantage plans. (barrons.com)
- A profile of Jonathan Haidt, author of "The Anxious Generation," on the problems facing smartphone generations. (nytimes.com)
- The UK has stagnated under Conservative leadership. Is there a way forward? (newyorker.com)
- Why did supersonic passenger planes fail commercially? (construction-physics.com)
- Invasive wild pigs need a predator. (bbc.com)
- On the death of effective altruism as a movement. (wired.com)