What I Am Reading:

Brain-driven prosthesis marks scientific advance for people with amputations
It’s a scientific advance that allows for a smoother gait and enhanced ability to navigate obstacles.
“This is the first prosthetic study in history that shows a leg prosthesis under full neural modulation, where a biomimetic gait emerges. No one has been able to show this level of brain control that produces a natural gait, where the human’s nervous system is controlling the movement, not a robotic control algorithm,” says Hugh Herr, a professor of media arts and sciences, co-director of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics at MIT.

Why toilet paper keeps getting smaller and smaller
These days, a regular Charmin Ultra Soft roll, if you can find one, has 56 sheets. Even the roll they market as “Double” doesn’t have 170 sheets — it has 154. And the 1992 rolls are hardly the largest — the back of the package includes a note from parent company Procter & Gamble explaining these rolls have fewer sheets than a previous version.

How Will You Measure Your Life? By HBR
One of the theories that gives great insight on the first question—how to be sure we find happiness in our careers—is from Frederick Herzberg, who asserts that the powerful motivator in our lives isn’t money; it’s the opportunity to learn, grow in responsibilities, contribute to others, and be recognized for achievements.

Fill the Bathtub
Despite being awash in information, it seems harder than ever to uncover the truth. This is troubling because when people can’t find the truth, they don’t know where to turn. They don’t know how to respond. They don’t know where to look for guidance. As a result, they wander aimlessly searching for it. Yet, the good news is that when people eventually find the truth, they immediately know it because, as Winston Churchill said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”

What I am Watching:

Marc Rowan at Investment Conference 2024
What characterizes the best investors?
Don’t be defensive, be curious. Change is a constant. Too often investors stick to the status quo and resist change.

Over the last 40 years, we’ve lived in a period of tailwinds, specifically 4 tailwinds. Rates going from high to low, we’ve printed an awful lot of money, we’ve borrowed forward future demand through fiscal borrowing, and we’ve had the benefit of globalization. But in the present, we might be in the absence of tailwinds.

The Man Taking on Tesla in the Race for Humanoid Robots w/ Brett Adcock
In this episode, Brett and Peter discuss Figure’s 2nd generation Humanoid Robot, Figure’s collaboration with OpenAI, how humanoid robots will impact jobs, and more.

The Laws of Physics Are Not Fixed with João Magueijo
We think that the laws of physics are unchanging and cannot be violated. Join pioneering physicist, João Magueijo, as he argues that everything we thought we knew about the laws of physics is wrong. They do change. And they can be violated. What's more, a new understanding of these laws could help solve the mystery of dark matter.

Joe Rogan Experience #2190 - Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded PayPal, made the first outside investment in Facebook, and co-founded Palantir Technologies, where he serves as chairman. Thiel is a partner at Founders Fund and leads the Thiel Foundation, which funds technological progress and long-term thinking. He is also the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Zero to One.

What I am Listening To:

Brad Jacobs: Building a Business Empire
Throughout his tenure, Brad Jacobs has built multiple billion-dollar companies. While there is no "playbook" for growing a business, he focuses on a few factors above all else in every company he operates, and in this conversation, he reveals them all. 

Shane and Jacobs discuss how to read anyone during an interview through a series of intentional questions, the exciting role of AI and technology in the future of business, and where money-making ideas hide in companies. Jacobs also shares how his training in math and music made him a better business operator, the one thing he focuses on to grow his businesses, how to spot big trends before everyone else, and the only thing a company should focus on for success.