Weekend Reading
Writing worth reading - 04th/05th November 2023
The Moral Bucket List by David Brooks
“So a few years ago I set out to discover how those deeply good people got that way. I didn’t know if I could follow their road to character (I’m a pundit, more or less paid to appear smarter and better than I really am). But I at least wanted to know what the road looked like.…”
The Internet Could Be So Good. Really By Deb Roy
“To understand what we ought to build, you must first consider how social media went sideways. In the early days of Facebook and Twitter, we called them “social networks.” But when you look at how these sites are run now, their primary goal has not been social connection for some time. Once these platforms introduced advertising, their primary purpose shifted to keeping people engaged with content for as long as possible so they could be served as many ads as possible. Now powerful AI algorithms deliver personally tailored content and ads most likely to keep people consuming and clicking, leading to these platforms becoming highly addictive.…”
A Few Laws of Getting Rich by Morgan Housel
“Of course you can be poor and miserable or rich and happy. But only the rich are aware of how tenuous that relationship can be. Gaining money probably didn’t fix your marriage, it didn’t make your friends like you more, it didn’t make you more fulfilled. So what used to be comforting optimism about what money could do for you is replaced by the stark reality of what it can’t…”
Lord Bethell discusses being in DHSC during Covid, the importance of experts in government and 'hating' leaving office by EMMA NORRIS
“But health is a really broad subject and [then Lords health minister] Nicola Blackwood was doing quite a lot of work on the EU as well as travelling the world to cement some of our international relationships, so there was more stuff coming up there.…”
Upcoming meals with 9others
Thursday 23rd November — Beirut — details and signup here.
Winter Party with more than 9others
Thursday 30th November — London — details and signup here.
Please book in & share with good people you know in the above cities