Another correct prediction: the S&P 500 closes above 4,000 for the first time ever, and as of writing this post it is up another 1.5%, at 4080-. The S&P 500 closed above 4000 for the first time to kick off the second quarter, buoyed by a continuing rebound in technology stocks. The broad stock gauge… Continue reading Convergence to the global hegemon
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Random Thoughts April 4th
A question I have pondered is, how does one come up with interesting insights/thoughts? I would suspect there is a reading involved and also necessary to gauge the interests of the prospective audience, but what makes something ‘click? or viral” From what I have observed, content that is introspective and personal that tells the author’s… Continue reading Random Thoughts April 4th
Pre-Employment IQ Testing is Very Common
It is a common misconception online that pre-employment IQ testing is proscribed due to Griggs vs. Duke. This is false, as I epxlain in more detial here. AFIK, no employer administers an actual IQ test, such as the Stanford-Binet or Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale tests, as those are expensive and time-consuming to administer and typically must… Continue reading Pre-Employment IQ Testing is Very Common
Taleb Gets Called Out for Spreading BS Again
Scott calls out Taleb’s claim in Antifragile that “before the thirteenth century no more than five persons in the whole of Europe knew how to perform a division,” linking to a related Stack Exchange discussion from 8 years ago, which soundly debunks Taleb’s claim as “an outright misrepresentation of history.” Antifragile, published in 2012, is… Continue reading Taleb Gets Called Out for Spreading BS Again
The Covid Stimulus Inflation Debate, Continued
With 127 million $1,400 checks having been disbursed, pundits are predictably debating, yet again, about inflation. Will the checks be inflationary? My answer, again, is an empathic ‘no’. Similar to the first and second round of Covid stimulus payments, CPI will not budge much, if any. the US dollar will not fall, and treasury yields… Continue reading The Covid Stimulus Inflation Debate, Continued
Paul Graham on Writing: What Went Wrong
Paul Graham essays are usually highly acclaimed. But his latest, “Write Simply,” (http://paulgraham.com/simply.html) got a lot of criticism in the comments compared to the typical column. So what went wrong. There are several problems: Some readers noted in the comments that using only simple, short words and short sentences can come across as jarring by… Continue reading Paul Graham on Writing: What Went Wrong
More theories of liberalism
Expounding on my earlier post http://greyenlightenment.com/on-the-grand-unified-theory-of-social-justice-liberalism/ Likening social justice to a religion, although by now hardly an original observation, is uncanningly accurate. Social justice has many of the same attributes of an organized religion, as it provides its adherents a sense of belonging, purpose, and an outgroup to oppose and to give the religion justification… Continue reading More theories of liberalism
The NEET-demic
Why is the left so concerned about NEETs? For liberalism to work requires that people submit to the system, such as by attending diversity training at work, by being indoctrinated at school, and by pledging one’s allegiance to the ‘state religion’ that is social justice. NEETs, by dropping out of society, refuse to have any… Continue reading The NEET-demic
Death of a Client, Analysis
I have been thinking the post “Death of a Client” and why it went so viral. The common assumption is that smart people are persuaded by ‘facts and data’ whereas less intelligent people are persuaded by rhetoric, appeals to emotion, sentimentalism, etc. This reductionist categorization/dichotomy fails to agree with reality, in that among the intellectual-web… Continue reading Death of a Client, Analysis
MicroStrategy’s Bad Strategy
In 2020, business intelligence firm MicroStrategy (ticker: MSTR), for reasons that are not really understood or clear, made a major pivot to acquiring Bitcoin. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who expects a single Bitcoin to be worth millions, initiated the purchases, with MicroStrategy’s total holdings as of March 2021 standing at 90,859 Bitcoin funded with $1.7… Continue reading MicroStrategy’s Bad Strategy