9.1, Empathy, Focus, Impute
Demons don’t like fresh air - they prefer it if you stay in bed with cold feet. — Ingmar Bergman
Hello, friends!
Welcome to everyone, old and new. This week's link’s are particularly fascinating - from wealth's surprising effects on relationships to Taliban fighters scrolling Twitter. Life continues to be stranger than fiction, doesn't it?
Also, excuse me my tardiness; it was due to reasons…
I've decided to read more of the classics - Wilson's translation of The Odyssey has been completely revelatory, and Maya Angelou's powerful memoir is extremely moving.
Anyways, on with the links.
The Links:
Fortunate Families? The Effects of Wealth on Marriage and Fertility
We estimate the effects of large, positive wealth shocks on marriage and fertility in a sample of Swedish lottery players. For male winners, wealth increases marriage formation and reduces divorce risk, suggesting wealth increases men’s attractiveness as prospective and current partners. Wealth also increases male fertility. The only discernible effect on female winners is that wealth increases their short-run (but not long-run) divorce risk
Apple's marketing philosophy in one page, from 1977.
In case you’re wondering how the Taliban are adapting to city life: wallet-draining rent, social media addiction, traffic nightmares, and cubicle purgatory—welcome to modern life!
In our ministry, there’s little work for me to do. Therefore, I spend most of my time on Twitter. We’re connected to speedy Wi-Fi and internet. Many mujahedin, including me, are addicted to the internet, especially Twitter.
What I dislike about Kabul is its traffic … We have never seen this much congestion, and in comparison to Kabuli drivers, we can hardly make our way through the streets. I don’t know how people live in such a mess.
Listen: Tems, Born in the Wild
Look: A search engine for public domain content, with more than 100k images, illustrations, drawings, etc.
What I’ve Been Reading:
The Odyssey, by Homer (translated by Emily Wilson)
Tell me about a complicated man. Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy, and where he went, and who he met, the pain he suffered on the sea, and how he worked to save his life and bring his men back home. He failed, and for their own mistakes, they died. They ate the Sun God’s cattle, and the god kept them from home. Now goddess, child of Zeus, tell the old story for our modern times. Find the beginning.
Fun. Silly. Sad. Sexy. Infuriating. Complicated. I devoured Wilson's translation of Homer’s Odyssey—at its heart, it’s really a very simple story about someone who is just longing to get home. But it’s also got epic sea adventures with angry gods, one-eyed monsters, cannibals, an enchantress who tells men to go to hell, and history's longest "sorry I'm late" excuse! It’s influenced so much of western art and media and literature — did you know Finding Nemo was based on The Odyssey? This translation is very readable, and it’s definitely worth the journey, even without the sirens calling your name.
Here’s my summary of The Odyssey. And, also 24 life lessons from The Odyssey.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
To be left alone on the tightrope of youthful unknowing is to experience the excruciating beauty of full freedom and the threat of eternal indecision. Few, if any, survive their teens. Most surrender to the vague but murderous pressure of adult conformity. It becomes easier to die and avoid conflicts than to maintain a constant battle with the superior forces of maturity.
Powerful. Raw. Heartbreaking. Necessary. Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", at its core, a raw portrait of a young Black woman finding her voice in a world determined to silence her. It's also a masterclass in resilience through unspeakable trauma, childhood joy despite crushing racism, poverty and neglect, and the quiet revolution of self-love when surrounded by hatred. Written in 1969, this memoir has shaped how we understand identity, trauma, and the human spirit—you can see its DNA in everything from "The Color Purple" to Beyoncé's "Lemonade." An essential American story that manages to be both deeply personal and universally profound.
In Quotes …
“I usually take a walk after breakfast, write for three hours, have lunch and read in the afternoon. Demons don’t like fresh air - they prefer it if you stay in bed with cold feet; for a person who is as chaotic as me, who struggles to be in control, it is an absolute necessity to follow these rules and routines. If I let myself go, nothing will get done”. — Ingmar Bergman