One of Charlie Munger’s famous speeches is “How to Live a Life of Misery.” Rather than tell graduates how to live happily, he delivered the opposite message. Because if you avoid life’s surefire miseries, what’s left but happiness? Right!? Munger was famous for quoting famous mathematician Carl Gustav Jacobi (as in, “Jacobians” in vector calculus) […]

If you told and asked the average American, “The former President and current presidential candidate was shot in the ear on Saturday in an attempt on his life. What will the stock market do on Monday?“ Doug Mills, The New York Times I doubt many people would answer, “Ehhh – basically nothing. The market won’t care.”  […]

It’s breakfast time, you’re hungry, and I’m offering you two options: A healthy, adult hen Two dozen eggs Your first thought is probably: “Seriously? It’s just breakfast. I don’t want a live chicken running around my house.” Forget that thought for now. If you’re like me, your mind next asks, “If I do choose the […]

I was recently listening to Michael Kitces and Carl Richards on their podcast, and they posed an amazing question: “What’s one thing that you do regularly that you’d like to stop doing?” What would you stop doing? Each of our answers will vary. It could be a destructive habit, a bad behavior, or the simple […]

My friend Rocco works for a high-end tailor. A big part of their business model is the idea that a nice-fitting shirt, perfectly tailored pants, or an Italian silk suit will not only look good, but will objectively improve your life. But how? The engineer and humanist in me would balk at the idea. I […]

I don’t watch many live sports these days. Life is busy. But I’ve caught a few quarters of NBA playoff basketball, and I’ll watch game replays while sipping morning coffee.  If you’re unaware, the NBA has been revolutionized by “Moneyball” ideas over the past decade. The main “new idea” affects 3-point shots. The ratio of […]

As workers age, poor health or disabling physical conditions can interfere with holding down a job. Sometimes people are forced to quit working if things get really rough, whether they’re ready to retire or not. But race also figures into this predicament, because workers of color are already in poorer health and tend to have […]

The remote work necessitated by COVID may be here to stay in five English-speaking countries from Australia to the United States. That’s the conclusion from a study of 250 million online job ads – nearly half of them in this country. The number of postings in January that offered remote work for one or more […]

COVID has moved from a central place in our lives to a risk that, while still important to heed, has moved out of the foreground. One thing we will not forget, however, is COVID’s toll on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, where the virus has killed more than 200,000 older Americans and staff. […]

During the pandemic, calls to mental health hotlines soared. People in emotional distress learned that psychologists were booked months in advance or were completely unavailable. While COVID dramatized the need for mental health treatment generally, new research reveals how important being treated is to people with disabilities. Isaac Swensen and Carly Urban at Montana State […]