This blog is effectively dead, but after seeing how much has changed since my previous information diet post from 2017, I wanted to document how much my information diet has changed for comparison. Perhaps I’ll look back in another four years to see a similarly large change.
“Intellectual” Blogs
Marginal Revolution - Interesting articles from around the web on all topics. Has a slight economic bent due to the background of the blog authors.
Scott Alexander’s Star Slate Codex and Astral Codex - While Scott’s writing is more longform than many modern blogs, the pieces are thought provoking.
Less Wrong - The quality of the posts on this site varies because anyone can post to it, but the highly rated posts are decent reading. Additionally, there are a number of “classics” (such as the original sequences) that are highly recommended.
YCombinator Hacker News - Interesting news items and blog posts taken from around the web. There is a strong bias toward tech and startup topics.
Astute readers may notice some of the above sources are from so-called popular intellectuals as highlighted in this list. Going forward, I’d like to explore more authors in this space.
Thoughtful Tweeters
Balaji - While frequently focused on cryptocurrency topics at this point, Balaji has spent a lot of time thinking about the big picture and the future.
Naval - Naval has so many witty quips that the term “Navalisms” has been coined to refer to them. Worth reading.
Economics
After feeling like I had exhausted the possibilities of the personal finance blogs I used to read often, I switch to reading more about macroeconomics.
Lyn Alden – I learn something new from many of Lyn’s articles, and the articles provide interesting macro perspectives I usually haven’t spent time considering.
Raul Pal – Similar to Lyn, Raul’s experience in the macro world allow him to connect dots that I wouldn’t have seen as being correlated.
Podcasts
Conversations with Tyler - The host, Tyler Cowen, has a broad array of interests and often has interesting discussions with the guests he invites.
Tim Ferriss – I still listen to Tim’s podcasts on occassion, but I’m selective about which guests I listen to.
Bankless - This podcast is invaluable as I attempt to learn more about the crypto space and DeFi. Not relevant for those who aren’t interested in the topic.
Weekly Extreme Exception
This week’s clip is more of a stunt than anything, but it’s certainly creative. Although humans have been using gliders for over a hundred years (since well before powered flight), paragliding has only been around for several decades. Additionally, thanks to new wing materials and improved design techniques, paragliders continue to improve in weight reduction and aerodynamic performance. While the sport of paragliding continues to grow in new directions due to these performance improvements, there’s still new ideas to be tested. More serious examples of new territory include flying along and over the large mountain ranges, but one silly example is bringing a couch on your flight. With much discussion around air taxis and drones, I am impressed that there remains many novel possibilities even with unpowered flight!
