A question I get quite frequently is “What makes a good leader?” One of the most important aspects of a good leader is that they have values. This may at first sound noncontroversial, but we are surrounded today by leaders who do not have values or whose only values are to get rich personally or to be powerful (or both). Tech investors have been especially guilty of enabling charismatic leaders, and sometimes even non-charismatic but wildly successful ones, who are fundamentally hollow and wi...

A question I get quite frequently is “What makes a good leader?” One of the most important aspects of a good leader is that they have values. This may at first sound noncontroversial, but we are surrounded today by leaders who do not have values or whose only values are to get rich personally or to be powerful (or both). Tech investors have been especially guilty of enabling charismatic leaders, and sometimes even non-charismatic but wildly successful ones, who are fundamentally hollow and wi...

Yesterday Google’s paper announcing a first instance of “quantum supremacy” was published in Nature. Not surprisingly for those who have followed the topic there is now a healthy debate around what that actually means. Google was celebrating in a big way including tweets by Sundar Pichai. IBM was quick with a blog post suggesting it’s not as big a deal. If you want to form an opinion for yourself, I recommend two posts. First, John Preskill explains why he coined the term “quantum supremacy” ...

Yesterday Google’s paper announcing a first instance of “quantum supremacy” was published in Nature. Not surprisingly for those who have followed the topic there is now a healthy debate around what that actually means. Google was celebrating in a big way including tweets by Sundar Pichai. IBM was quick with a blog post suggesting it’s not as big a deal. If you want to form an opinion for yourself, I recommend two posts. First, John Preskill explains why he coined the term “quantum supremacy” ...

In yesterday’s election New York City voters passed Ranked Choice Voting as a ballot measure. This means that in future elections such as those for mayor of the city, independent candidates will have a much better shot at getting elected. In Ranked Choice Voting, also known as Instant Runoff Voting, a voter can indicate their preference across multiple candidates instead of selecting just one candidate. So let’s say there is an independent whom I really like but who is a long shot. Historical...

In yesterday’s election New York City voters passed Ranked Choice Voting as a ballot measure. This means that in future elections such as those for mayor of the city, independent candidates will have a much better shot at getting elected. In Ranked Choice Voting, also known as Instant Runoff Voting, a voter can indicate their preference across multiple candidates instead of selecting just one candidate. So let’s say there is an independent whom I really like but who is a long shot. Historical...

It is fascinating to see at the moment how much China is flexing its power. And maybe as importantly how little the world is pushing back. Certainly on the commercial side we are finding that companies such as Apple which are beholden to China for their supply chain and others, such as the NBA, which see China as a big market have rolled over. Now the House has passed a bill supporting the Hong Kong protestors and China has threatened retaliation should the bill make it into law via the Senat...

It is fascinating to see at the moment how much China is flexing its power. And maybe as importantly how little the world is pushing back. Certainly on the commercial side we are finding that companies such as Apple which are beholden to China for their supply chain and others, such as the NBA, which see China as a big market have rolled over. Now the House has passed a bill supporting the Hong Kong protestors and China has threatened retaliation should the bill make it into law via the Senat...

This morning I will be on a panel at Columbia University about Universal Basic Income (UBI) and the climate crisis as part of a conference on the Green New Deal. In my view UBI should be a central component of a Green New Deal instead of the jobs guarantee. Here are my reasons: 1. UBI frees up people’s time and attention to really focus on solutions to the Climate Crisis. Not everyone can come up with a breakthrough invention but everyone can be active in solving climate crisis problems in th...

This morning I will be on a panel at Columbia University about Universal Basic Income (UBI) and the climate crisis as part of a conference on the Green New Deal. In my view UBI should be a central component of a Green New Deal instead of the jobs guarantee. Here are my reasons: 1. UBI frees up people’s time and attention to really focus on solutions to the Climate Crisis. Not everyone can come up with a breakthrough invention but everyone can be active in solving climate crisis problems in th...

A while back I recorded an interview with Jason Jacobs for his podcast series My Climate Journey. Jason did a great job pushing me on a number of different issues which helped clarify my thinkings (thanks, Jason). Today Jason launched the episode and I suggest you go and check it out. I love the Jason publishes a transcript also, so if you prefer reading you can do that also. Here’s a brief excerpt:Jason Jacobs: Well, that’s what’s been happening to me is that I was always concerned about it,...

A while back I recorded an interview with Jason Jacobs for his podcast series My Climate Journey. Jason did a great job pushing me on a number of different issues which helped clarify my thinkings (thanks, Jason). Today Jason launched the episode and I suggest you go and check it out. I love the Jason publishes a transcript also, so if you prefer reading you can do that also. Here’s a brief excerpt:Jason Jacobs: Well, that’s what’s been happening to me is that I was always concerned about it,...

Last Monday in my series about the climate crisis, I posted about the potential of reversing the carbon cycle: grow plants to remove carbon from the atmosphere and put it back into the ground. Here now are some numbers that show the viability of this approach. Let’s start with a bit more data on greenhouse gases. I will focus here on CO2 because it stays around in the atmosphere the longest and accounts by far for the largest percentage of warming. First, how does the carbon cycle relate to t...

Last Monday in my series about the climate crisis, I posted about the potential of reversing the carbon cycle: grow plants to remove carbon from the atmosphere and put it back into the ground. Here now are some numbers that show the viability of this approach. Let’s start with a bit more data on greenhouse gases. I will focus here on CO2 because it stays around in the atmosphere the longest and accounts by far for the largest percentage of warming. First, how does the carbon cycle relate to t...

Twitter is banning political ads. This is Jack sticking it to Mark while the latter is on the ropes in a one-two punch including a jab against Libra. This mast feel like sweet revenge for the many ways Facebook has messed with Twitter over the years including snatching Instagram. But is it the right thing to do? Not running paid political adds is a self-imposed behavioral remedy, the way traditional antitrust regulators would impose on monopolies. A behavioral remedy requires or forbids some ...

Twitter is banning political ads. This is Jack sticking it to Mark while the latter is on the ropes in a one-two punch including a jab against Libra. This mast feel like sweet revenge for the many ways Facebook has messed with Twitter over the years including snatching Instagram. But is it the right thing to do? Not running paid political adds is a self-imposed behavioral remedy, the way traditional antitrust regulators would impose on monopolies. A behavioral remedy requires or forbids some ...

Here we are again in 2019 debating speech online and specifically the case of Facebook. Zuckerberg speaks at Georgetown trying to invoke the civil rights movement and to draw a sharp distinction to China. Warren quickly fires back on Twitter. Pundits everywhere weigh in. And yet hardly anyone gets to the heart of the matter: power. And those who are mostly stuck in industrial age thinking recommending a traditional antitrust approach to limiting power. Here are the two big traps people appear...

Here we are again in 2019 debating speech online and specifically the case of Facebook. Zuckerberg speaks at Georgetown trying to invoke the civil rights movement and to draw a sharp distinction to China. Warren quickly fires back on Twitter. Pundits everywhere weigh in. And yet hardly anyone gets to the heart of the matter: power. And those who are mostly stuck in industrial age thinking recommending a traditional antitrust approach to limiting power. Here are the two big traps people appear...

The discussion around taxing wealth, and in particular billionaires, has been illuminating. Not in the sense of learning something new but rather seeing who is willing to make or defend bad takes instead of engaging in any level of critical thinking. To make it clear on where I am on this issue, I am in support of a wealth tax, although I think there is a lot of room for discussion on how to best accomplish this. There are a few takes out there though that particularly bother me. The first is...

The discussion around taxing wealth, and in particular billionaires, has been illuminating. Not in the sense of learning something new but rather seeing who is willing to make or defend bad takes instead of engaging in any level of critical thinking. To make it clear on where I am on this issue, I am in support of a wealth tax, although I think there is a lot of room for discussion on how to best accomplish this. There are a few takes out there though that particularly bother me. The first is...