Science

  • Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading – January 27th, 2019

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    Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

     

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  • Celebrating a Well Lived Life

    I was in California this week to celebrate my Mother's 79th birthday.   

      
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    She is still very committed to living life to its fullest – and spreading joy and love to those around her. 

    It made me think about how each of us is so different … yet, we are also similar.

    Over time, each of us is insignificant and yet each has altered the course of history. 

    Individually, and collectively, I think it makes sense to leave things better than we found them.

    One of our most important decisions is how we choose to matter. 

    How do you intend to make your mark? 

    What will be your legacy? 

  • The Pale Blue Dot: Life, Mankind, and the Universe

    In 1977, the Voyager 1 launched into space.   Just over a dozen years later, the Voyager 1 spacecraft had traveled farther than any spacecraft/probe/human-made anything had gone before.  It was approximately 6 billion kilometers away from earth.  At that point, the Voyager 1 was "told" by Carl Sagan to turn around and take one last photo of the Earth … a pale blue dot. 

    The resulting photo is impressive precisely because it shows so little in so much.

     

    Pale_Blue_Dot

    "Every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."  – Carl Sagan

    Earth is in the far right sunbeam –  a little below halfway down the image. This image (and the ability to send it back to earth) was the culmination of years of effort, the advancement of technology, and the dreams of mankind.

    The resulting speech from Carl Sagan is still profound, moving, and worth a listen. 

     

    Carl Sagan via YouTube
     

    Here's the transcript:

     

    Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

    The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

    Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

    The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

    It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

     

    Today, we have people living in space, posting videos from the ISS, and high-resolution images of space and galaxies near and far. 

    We take for granted the immense phase shift in technology. You have more computing power in your pocket than we first used to go to the moon. 

    As humans, we're wired to think locally and linearly. We evolved to live our lives in small groups, to fear outsiders, and to stay in a general region until we die. We're not wired to think about the billions and billions of individuals on our planet, or the rate of technological growth – or the minuteness of that all in regard to the expanse of space.  

    However, today's reality necessitates we think about the world, our impact, and what's now possible for us.

    We created better and faster ways to travel, we've created instantaneous communication networks across vast distances, and we've created megacities. Our tribes have gotten much bigger – and with that, our ability to enact massive change has grown as well. 

    Space was the first bastion of today's innovation, but today we can look toward A.I., medicine, epigenetics, and more. 

    It's hard to comprehend the scale of the universe and the scale of our potential … but that's what makes it worth exploring!

    Onwards!

  • Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading – January 20th, 2019

    Most citizens don't have big savings account to buffer them against an unexpected expense or loss of income.

    The Government Shutdown is one of the curveballs most workers haven't planned for adequately.

     

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    Actions have consequences.

    Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

     

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  • How Long Does It Take To Get 50 Million Users?

    Cool tech often gets adopted by porn and gambling before more mainstream uses.

    Porn was the launchpad for video streaming, mobile-enabled sites, VR, and (unfortunately) pop-up ad technologies. 

    With that said, the next chart surprised me.  It shows the number of years it took for various products to gain 50 million users.

     

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    Pornhub tracks data like its business depends on it.  Well, it is the number one site for pornography.  What does that mean? In 2018, over 5,517,700,000 hours of porn was watched on their site. That’s approximately 6,298 centuries of video.

    Moreover, last year, it got  33.5 BILLION visits. That’s 1,064 people a second, or 92 million a day.  To put that in perspective, that's more people than live in the entire country of Germany.

    Here are some additional factoids about its use.

    • 4403 Petabytes of data transferred (574 MB of data for every person on earth)
    • Consumed more bandwidth than the entire internet in 2002
    • Stormy Daniels was the number 1 "trend" search in 2018  (followed by Fortnite …)
    • 4k ultra-hd overtook 1080p in search trends

     

    via Pornhub

    For the full list of stats click here. 

    They are so popular, it is almost obscene.

  • A.I. in Film: A Retrospective

    AI has been around in science fiction for over 1oo years. As it becomes reality, it's amusing to look at different depictions and attempt to connect the dots. 

    AI first broke onto the film scene with Metropolis in 1927. "Maria" the evil robot disguising herself as a human played on many human fears; deception, lack of control, and perhaps most importantly being replaced.

    Maria represented a future that was bleak and set the foundation for AI in cinema. Since then, there have been approximately 100 movies starring AI.

    According to Enlighten Digital,  52% of movies portray AI positively, which means it's about 50/50, and there has been a 144% increase in AI movies since 2010 – so we're becoming more saturated with AI.

    According to a study by Cambridge, seeing more films portraying robots (whether positive or negative) is associated with more positive attitudes toward robots. This is in line with the theory that the more exposure one has with "out-group" members (i.e. robots, or people of other races) the more positive one's attitude toward them. 

     

    Robots-Agglomeration-Infographic_Edit(Click to view Full Size) via NovaStor 

    The depiction of AI has always been a reflection of its time … as our values, ambitions, and technology has changed, so has on-screen AI. 

    So what does today's AI look like?

    On HBO, we have Westworld. In movies, iRobot, Chappie, and Blade Runner 2049 … it's clear the promise and the peril of AI has continued to evolve.

    These movies all have different tones but there's a trope that remains common from that initial film in 1927 to films in 2018. 

    We're always imagining that next step. What's going to happen as AI becomes (in some ways) smarter than us? What's going to happen when our creations surpass our control? What's going to happen if the line between human and robot blurs?

    There are a lot of advancements in real-life, in respect to AI. As such, there is a lot of movement on AI ethics, and how to best limit or best enable AI. 

    In film, we gravitate toward two extremes – utopias and dystopias. In real life, we can recognize those extremes are unlikely … but the effect of AI is still profound. 

    We're expanding a technology with the ability to radically change our world – for better or worse – so it's important to keep a purpose-driven approach. We can't lose track of humanity in the pursuit of AI. 

    Metropolis's final title card (that first AI movie from 1927)  still rings true … "The Mediator Between the Head and the Hands Must Be the Heart"

     

    The Heartbeat of AI is Still Human_GapingVoid

    Onwards!

  • Gil Brandt and the Innovation of Modern Football

    I'm regularly surprised by the levels of innovation and strategic thinking that I see in football.

    I've written posts about how much regular businesses could learn from watching football teams. That post talks about how even high school teams have a position-by-position depth chart. They have a game plan for their next opponent. They practice plays on both offense and defense. They watch game film of their past games and future opponents. And, they coach the team as a team, and the players individually. 

    Often, simple ideas, applied consistently, are enough to win.

    Last night I was at a Dallas Cowboys playoff game (note that is not an oxymoron) … and I took a picture with this guy.

     

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    I see him at every game … and every game he wears a different creative and well-thought-out costume. He sits on the 50-yard line, He wears Ferragamo shoes and a nice watch. Yet, something about this game captures his imagination.

    Yesterday, I also had the honor of meeting Gil Brandt at the game. For those of you not familiar with him, he was the vice president of player personnel (or Chief Scout) of the Dallas from 1960 to 1989.  He helped Dallas grow into one of the most powerful and popular sports franchises in America. His innovative management and personnel systems are standard operating procedure today for many teams at the professional and collegiate levels nationwide. 

      

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    Many consider him the architect of the Dallas Cowboys. I'm not talking about the stadium or headquarters, I'm talking about their teams and ideas that were the catalyst to "America's Team".  I took this from his Wikipedia page.

    He helped pioneer many of the scouting techniques used by NFL clubs today,[2] such as:

     

    Gil Brandt is one step closer to joining the NFL's ultimate pantheon – The Pro Football Hall of Fame.  He has been nominated as a contributor finalist for the Class of 2019. The contributor category recognizes "individuals who made outstanding contributions to professional football in capacities other than playing or coaching."

    He's an inspiration. Not only did he innovate how teams draft and measure talent … he's the guy who figured out how to make cheerleaders an iconic symbol of a team and the game itself.

  • Setting Yourself Up For Success

    We're about to usher in a new year – along with its promise and pressure.

    We get a fresh start.  We look forward to what we will achieve – but history says we rarely achieve everything we hope (it is also true that we rarely achieve things we don’t hope for).

    So, dream big dreams!

    Personally, I’m excited about 2019. Despite the volatile market and uncertain political climate, Capitalogix has spent almost 20 years preparing for where we are today. 

    Regardless of the outcome, we are doing things that seemed like science fiction even a few years ago.  

    I commissioned this image to remind our team to keep shooting higher.

     

    How Can It Be Impossible If We're Already Doing It_GapingVoid

     

    Resilience, resourcefulness, and a worthy goal are the keys to many entrepreneurial success stories.

    In the spirit of New Year's Resolutions – I’ll add that a deliberate approach to goals is important too.

    Commit to your bigger, directional compass, goals. 

    Once you know what your long-term goal is, it is relatively easy to plan out the steps you need to achieve that goal.  Achieving smaller goals reinforces success, builds momentum, and makes continued progress feel more likely.

    Extra points if you make them SMARTs (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Sensitive).

    It's not "I want to lose weight this year" it's "I want to exercise at least three times a week and track my calories daily so I lose at least 1 pound each month."

    Actions speak louder than words, and your words can distract you. 

    If your goal is to win first place at a competition, focus on the metrics of a first-place finish instead of the medal. This makes the goal concrete and sets an internal locus of control on your victory.  This also means that you don't need to tell others your goal too soon. Studies show that when you announce your intention to a goal in public, you decrease the likelihood of you succeeding. 

    Ask yourself: 

    Are the people around you the right people? Are you putting your money where your mouth is? Are you taking ownership of your actions, even when you can find excuses not to?

    It's okay to misstep, it's okay to get stuck – but recognize what you've done and move forward. 

    Often the most frustrating thing that any of us feel on a regular basis is to want something really bad, and not be able to get it right away.

    It's getting so that it's increasingly rare to find people who are truly willing to put in the requisite time necessary to get the traits or items they want.  Our world today is trying to teach us that we must get what we want immediately; that it's our right.  And that's why so many of us are jealous, smoke or drink, are overweight, use drugs, etc. …

    Life is NOT like school.

    In school, you can trick yourself into thinking you're doing great if you cram for exams and get decent scores. It is possible to get fairly good grades for a while that way.

    But you don't learn it.  You're likely to just remember it until the exam is over… maybe.

    In school, you can fool the system and yourself.  In the rest of the world, success leaves clues (and an imprint on you and your behavior patterns).

    Real life is like a farm.

    On the farm, you must choose what to plant.  Then, you must move the rocks, buy the seeds, till the soil, plant the seeds, buy and maintain the equipment, pull weeds, keep the pests away, water the crops, fertilize, etc.  And, for the most part, it’s not one and done … you need to keep up with what’s needed every day!

     

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    Follow the plan, and with some luck, you’ll harvest a decent crop at the end of the season.

    Life is like this, too.  You can't "cram" in life. 

    Don't be fooled.  Overnight successes often take a lot longer than you’d think to gestate.

    Luck often takes a lot work.  

    Put the effort in today and you'll get luckier and luckier.  Will it be immediate?  Probably not.  Beat this into your head… Anything truly worth having is worth the time, the effort, and the sacrifice you need to invest in order to get it.

    My grandkids one day will look back and say "Wow, our grandpa sure was in the right place at the right time." And to a certain degree, they're right … but it took a lot of work to be this lucky. 

    It's also important (once you've accomplished your goal) to set new goals. Capitalogix has a 20-year plan from today, and that's because I never got comfortable with what we'd accomplished.

    If you're standing still, you're moving backward. 

    Here's to a successful 2019 and an even more successful 2040.  

    Onwards!

  • The Psychology Behind Gambling (and Everyday Traders)

    Vegas and Wall Street share a lot in common. 

    Over Time … The House Wins

    Casinos only offer to play games that they expect to win.  In contrast, gambling customers play even though they know the odds are against them.

    Why does this happen?  The rush of a win, the chance of a big win, and random reinforcement are common factors that incent people to play lotto, go to a casino, or try to trade.

    Chemicals like adrenaline and dopamine play a part as well.  Even in a sea of losses, your body can't help but crave the chemical reward of even a small win, 

    The "House" knows this and engineers an experience that takes advantage of it.  

    In the case of casinos, every detail is meticulously crafted to extract you from your money – from carpet patterns to the labyrinthian layouts, the music, the lights and even the games themselves. 

    Here is an infographic that lays it out for you. 

    Casino-psychology-infographicBojoko via DailyInfographic

    Most people aren't gamblers … the fear of losing big inhibits them.  However, when people were instructed to "think like a trader," they showed considerably less risk-aversion when gambling. 

     

    The illusion of control convinces us we can overcome the statistics. 

     

    When you almost get it right – when you miss the jackpot by one slot on a slot machine, when you just mistime a trade to get a big win – you're more likely to play longer, and place bigger bets … because you're "so close". 

    It's human nature to want to feel in control. 

    This is why you find a lot of superstitious traders & gamblers. If you wear this lucky item of clothing … if you throw the dice in this particular way … if you check your holdings at this time every day … you have control. 

    There is a big difference between causation and correlation. 

    It is not hard to imagine that the majority of a trader's activities do little to create a real and lasting edge.  

     

    Skill vs. Luck

    There are games of skill, and there are games of chance.

    In a casino, poker and blackjack are considered games of skill.  In contrast, slot machines are considered a game of chance.

    In trading, predicting markets is much different than using math and statistics to measure the performance of a technique.

    Much of what we do is to figure out how to eliminate the fear, greed, and discretionary mistakes humans bring to trading.

    In trading, "Alpha" is the measure of excess return attributed to manager skill, rather than luck or taking on more risk.

    We believe in Alpha-by-Avoidance … Meaning much of what we do is figure out what to ignore or avoid so that the majority of the games we play are games of skill rather than games of chance.

    Are you playing the right game?

     

  • A Look Back At The Future, Part 2

    As the holiday season begins, I was thinking about my father.

    I love him and miss him … but, truth be told, I teased him mercilessly about being technologically challenged (especially around the holidays, when I'd buy him a new gadget –  only to roll on the floor laughing while watching him try to figure it out).

    Karma is a bitch!  My Dad used to say "whatever you make fun of me for … will happen to you." 

    I didn't yet realize how fast the world was changing … or how quickly I'd find it hard to keep up. 

    In 2015 I wrote an article about this titled "A Look Back at The Future". 

    It's only four years later … and somehow my realizations seem out-dated.

    It's not just me, it's everyone! 

    Realize that human perception is linear, but technological growth isn't.

    As technology progression evolves and quickens, it is going to get harder to keep up.

    Check out this video from 1974 … It shows Arthur C. Clarke making some impressive guesses about the future of technology.

     

     

    Now that we're here, it may not seem like an impressive prediction … but how cool was it that Arthur C. Clarke believed a computer would fit on a desk in 1974?   

    Do you think that you can predict what a computer will look like in 2034? 

    Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, augmented reality, neuro-interfaces, etc. are all going to change the face and nature of computing and perhaps life itself. 

    We live in exciting times!

    Onwards.