First Derivative [42]
sex — math — China — cake speech — virtue — critical theory — foreign intervention — Russia — business strategy
What I'm reading, with a focus on deeper trends and signal insights. Tech, politics, foreign affairs, philosophy, biz/finance, etc.
Please pass along to anyone interested.
Have a good weekend!
sex — math — China — cake speech — virtue — critical theory — foreign intervention — Russia — business strategy
The Warlock Hunt by Claire Berlinski (The American Interest): Powerful, sharp prose from Claire Berlinski. No holds barred. — TK
The Western Elite from a Chinese Perspective by Puzhong Yao (American Affairs): “In Communist China, I was taught that hard work would bring success. In the land of the American dream, I learned that success comes through good luck, the right slogans, and monitoring your own — and others’ — emotions.”
Jim Simons, the Number King by D.T. Max (The New Yorker): “Maybe, Daubechies suggested at the meeting, the foundation should fund not new research but better mechanisms for interpreting existing data.”
Phony Virtue is Ruining American Society by William S. Smith (The American Conservative): “Morality is no longer understood as reforming oneself, thus making oneself a better member of society, but as wishing to reform society”
Baking the Cake, Keeping the Peace by Rod Dreher (The American Conservative): Was torn between this piece and the original Sullivan post. But this has the best excerpts and also parts of Douthat. — TK
“White Women Tears” — Critical Theory on Lindsay Shepherd by Uri Harris (Quillette): “To a large extent this demonstrates that the more extensively one identifies and overthrows ‘systems of oppression’, the more extensively one tears away the structure that makes society function.”
Why the #MeToo Movement Should Be Ready for a Backlash by Emily Yoffe (Politico): “This amazing moment has a chance to be truly transformative. But it could also go off track if all accusations are taken on faith, if due process is seen as an impediment rather than a requirement and an underpinning of justice”
The pundits were wrong about Assad and the Islamic State. As usual, they’re not willing to admit it by Max Abrahms and John Glaser (LA Times): “Let’s hope future analysis of this conflict avoids the kind of anti-empirical ideological advocacy that helped give rise to Al Qaeda in Iraq and then Islamic State in the first place.”
Units of Time are the New Currency by Arjun Sethi (Medium)
Doubting the intelligence, Trump pursues Putin and leaves a Russian
threat unchecked by Greg Miller, Greg Jaffe, and Philip Rucker (The Washington Post): Let’s assume there was no collusion. Still extremely troubling non-response to Russian efforts to interfere with our presidential election — TK