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Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #438

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, Pandemonio, and ResolveTO, Author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see”.

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:

The U.S. Needs a New Constitution—Here’s How to Write It – The Atlantic. “I’m not posting about politics. I am, however, okay with posting interesting histories. This is a fascinating look at the structure of democratic nations, and why the US, in particular, gets stuck. Two branches of government (Congress and the Presidency) are both, apparently, in charge. That isn’t the norm — and it isn’t how the US helps other countries build their own constitutions. Also, did you know that there have been 700 constitutions written since World War 2? Amazing to digest this in the context of current events worldwide.” (Alistair for Hugh).
2018-11-09 Interview with OneTeamGov podcast. “I’m lucky enough to spend a lot of my time meeting smart people, and running events that puts them on stage. But last week, at FWD50, I had a very different feeling. Like I was talking to someone from the future. Audrey Tang taught herself to program at 8, with a paper and pencil, literally drawing screens and running code in her head. By 15 she’d left school and was learning voraciously from the Internet. At 15 she’d also started her first software company; by 34, she’d retired. Today, she is the digital minister of Taiwan. When you speak with her, you feel as I imagine people would have felt around Da Vinci. Things that seem like breakthroughs, glimpses of wonder, are just normal for her. And there’s no condescension, just optimism. It’s amazing. She delivered a phenomenal talk on rethinking government—so obvious in hindsight. Every interview she gives is transcribed and open to the public; here’s one with Kylie Havelock and Kamala Hamilton Brown from OneTeamGov.” (Alistair for Mitch).
Ray Dalio Discusses Major Financial Crises – Bloomberg. “Ray Dalio, founder (in 1975) of Bridgewater, one of the most successful hedge funds in history. Here he talks about his new book on debt crises, lauded by central bankers the world over, and draws scary parallels between 1937 and now.” (Hugh for Alistair).
Enlightenment without end – New Statesman America. “Is our current moment the obvious outcome of the Enlightenment? In antiquity, David Wootton argues, humans were driven by salvation, or virtue. But the Enlightenment upended that structure, and the works of Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Adam Smith became the fundamental underpinnings of society, with the highest values shifting from salvation and virtue to power, pleasure, and profit.” (Hugh for Mitch).
The Fascinating, Creepy New Research in Human Hibernation for Space Travel – SingularityHub. “How would you feel about synthetic hibernation? The movies don’t portray this in a positive light. Not by a long shot. Could doctors and scientists get this right? If we want to truly be multi-planetary, this may be the path. Are you ready to volunteer? I’m a hard ’no’ ;)” (Mitch for Alistair).
Pretentious, impenetrable, hard work … better? Why we need difficult books – The Guardian. ”If you’re willing to take on a physical challenge (climbing a mountain, doing an obstacle course, taking a MMA class), why would you never want to take on the mental challenge of a difficult book? Some of the best books are long, hard and tough to get through. Sure, we all need the popcorn literature too, but why not push and challenge yourself. It’s important… for you… for society… for culture…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.