I used to think <person> was smart. Then I discovered that he disagrees with me about <political issue>, and I realized he couldn't be, because no one who disagrees with me about <political issue> could be smart.

Paul Graham As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted."

For whatever it’s worth to Zach or other students, I’ve sat on Rhodes Scholarship committees & reviewed many elite apps. This essay: (1) lapsed into hubris by the end of para #1, & (2) didn’t explain *why* Zach wants to learn from other humans, let alone at a particular uni.🧵

🌅 Day 92 of 2025: 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 25.2% 🌄 #2025ProgressTracker #MakeItCount

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lispEnlightmentTrap redd.it/1js75t8

🌅 Day 97 of 2025: 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 26.6% 🌄 #2025ProgressTracker #MakeItCount

Trump!

🌅 Day 98 of 2025: 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 26.8% 🌄 #2025ProgressTracker #MakeItCount

Someone asked me if now is a good time to start a startup, with all the uncertainty in the world. The answer is yes, because the dominant factor in the outcome of a startup is whether the founders can discover a great product, not the political or economic environment.

The container ships are still all going around.

Have you been conditioned to see failure as negative and fatal?

“Camina como si supieras a dónde…”

When a clown moves into a palace he doesn’t become a king, the palace instead becomes a circus. — Turkish proverb

Pope?... that was quick!!!