Capitalogix

A Little Hanukkah Fun

Tonight marks the first night of Chanukah - the Jewish festival of lights. 

We light the Menorah (Chanukah candles), eat latkas (potato pancakes), we exchange gifts, we spin the Dreidel (a gambling toy), and we enjoy a sense of family togetherness for 8 days and nights.

One of my friends sent me this funny video of a Chanukah parody of Bohemian Rhapsody ... it's better than you would expect.

 

 Six13Sings via YouTube

It's not too different from Christmas (though my kids were jealous Santa didn't come down our chimney). 

The cynic in me beleives the gift part of the holiday was invented by merchants.

In our office,  we have an "Elf on the shelf", the magical elf who reports who has been naughty and who has been nice to Santa, perching in a new spot each day. 

 

 

And, we also have "Mensch on a Bench", who watches your Menorah to make sure you don't run out of oil. 

 

 

Happy Chanukah ... or at least an early start to your holiday season!

Is Biohacking the New Key to Trading?

Last week, I was in Alaska at Steamboat Bay for a CEO retreat. 

One of the other attendees was Dave Asprey - CEO of Bulletproof, author of Headstrong, and a biohacking thought-leader.

Very few people understand what we do at Capitalogix; even fewer understand it well enough to paint a vivid picture ... yet, that's exactly what Dave did ... almost instantly.

I asked him to retell it on video - to try and capture his take.   To set your expectations,  his take is different than you might imagine ... It's got ancient bacteria, futuristic algorithms, and a little genius.

Kind of cool ... Check it out.  

"It takes a lot of computer power, and it takes a lot of algorithms, and it takes a lot of environmental sensors ... that's why we can walk around, breathe, and think." 
    ~    Dave Asprey

Markets are an environment just like the environment we live in. Our algorithms can learn and evolve based on markets in a similar way to how humans evolved and adapted to their environments.

To summarize:  In the beginning, there was an algorithm ... and it was good.  

And, it's just the beginning.

Onwards!

The Future According to Elon Musk

Abraham Lincoln said, "The Best Way To Predict The Future Is To Create It."

It is tough when your vision's bounded by awesome potential ... and potential horrors.

That is the challenge when you are going after MoonShots (or a Mission to Mars).

Perhaps that is why Elon Musk (who is an amazing entrepreneur) sometimes sounds more like a dystopian futurologist (like Ray Bradbury or George Orwell).

Here is a look at some of Musk's predictions. Click the image to see the full infographic. 

 

via RS Components

What do you think? Will his predictions for the future become a reality in our lifetime (or our kids' lifetime?)

As technology growth and innovation quicken, humanity faces serious challenges to our health and quality of life.

For a look at some of those issues, take a look at the Hastings Center. 

Hyper-Reality: The Future of Augmented Reality?

Our physical and virtual realities are beginning to blend.  Animation is becoming more realistic.  Virtual and augmented reality are becoming more affordable. Wearables are becoming pervasive.  And, the internet of things will soon overtake the Internet.

We're moving towards a world where technology envelops every aspect of our lives ... figuratively and literally. 

The following (still fictional) video is thought-provoking.  What happens when these new technologies are used to influence behavior, decision-making, and even your identity?  

 

Keiichi Matsuda via Vimeo

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are not new fields - but, they are evolving quickly. Technology and infrastructure are getting to the point that AR and VR will become common for us.

You have already started to see it (from Google Glass, to the NBA, and of course, to porn). 

"Not too far in the future you will begin to see the integration of AR and VR together eventually leading to having your favorite performer on your lap, in your bedroom doing a custom performance for you and responding to your verbal and physical cues."

- Anna Lee, HoloFilm Productions

Your doctor or nutritionist could help you make better choices for you.  Your therapist or coach could help you perceive and respond differently to the challenges life presents you.  Marketers could better influence your purchases.  Employers could better monitor and measure your performance and productivity. And governments will not be far behind ... doing what they do.

Like many things, these technologies make possible awesome new capabilities (if used well) and horrific consequences (if abused or used in authoritarian ways).

Similar issues are being dealt with in the fields of BioEthics and AI Ethics. In addition, there is a growing discussion of the impact these technologies will have on society. 

We live in interesting times! 

Related articles

What Effect Will VR and AR Have on B2B Customer Service?

Rumors of the demise of augmented reality developers have been greatly exaggerated

Get ready for augmented reality *everything*

Remember Google Glass? It just got its first update in 3 years. Seriously.

Chinese police are using facial-recognition glasses to scan travelers

23 concepts that show what Apple's futuristic smart glasses might look like (AAPL)

Here is to Spring, Re-Birth, and Spring Cleaning. Let My People Go!

Happy Easter!

Hope you had a great weekend.

This week also was Passover, a holiday that recounts the story of Exodus. This happens during the ritual meal featured in DaVinci's Last Supper.

 

 

So, today, lots of people are celebrating.

For my Christian friends, this is a holy time ... and a family time.  

For my Jewish friends, it is Passover.  

One of the memorable phrases from Exodus is when Moses says "Let my people go!"  For generations, people assumed he was talking to the Pharoh about his people's freedom.  But after a week of eating clogging matzoh, matzoh balls, and even fried matzoh ... for many Jews "Let my people go" takes on a different meaning.

 

via BudgetBytes

Here is to Spring, Re-Birth, and Spring Cleaning.

Hope you had a great weekend.

 

Related articles

This is why Easter lands on a different date every year

Da Vinci's iconic depiction of Easter's beginnings has a violent history it barely survived

Passover 101

A Guide to the Passover Seder

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - March 11th, 2018

 

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

Lighter Links:

• Google Teaches AI to Fool Humans So It Can Learn from Our Mistakes. (TheNextWeb)
• Bill Gates and Warren Buffett Explain a Simple Way to Build an Inner Circle that Helps You Be Great. (Inc)
• The Moon is Getting a Reliable 4G Connection before Certain Parts of the UK. (Alphr)
• Ce*sored! China Bans Letter N (Briefly) from Internet as Xi Jinping Extends Grip on Power. (TheGuardian)
• Here's the One Thing that Would Make Oprah Run for President. (Huffington Post)

 

Trading Links:

• Does Anne Hathaway News Drive Berkshire Hathaway's Stock? (The Atlantic)
• Billionaires Warren Buffett and Ray Dalio Agree on What to Do in a Volatile Market. (USAToday)
• Who is a Better Insider Trader, Gary Cohn, Carl Icahn, or the Folks at the SEC? (ComplianceX)
• Opening a Bank is a Genius Move for Amazon. (TheNextWeb)
• S&P Global Buys Startup in Artificial-Intelligence Push. (Wall Street Journal)

Scientists Have Just Cloned Monkeys

Do you remember Dolly the Sheep?

She was the first mammal cloned "from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer."

Dolly was cloned from a mammary gland and was named after Dolly Parton ... for obvious reasons.

Since then, many other large mammals were cloned, including pigs and horses. 

 

TIME via Youtube

It was just announced that Chinese scientists have cloned two long-trailed macaques using the same technique that produced Dolly. 

Since humans are primates as well, this is an exciting, and mildly terrifying, step towards cloning humans. 

Pragmatically, this bolsters medical research by making it possible to study diseases on uniform subjects, but it also raises tough questions on human cloning. 

As A.I. and cloning advance, some tough bio-ethic issues will take front stage.  It is time to start thinking about what defines a person (or even a living creature) and what rights they have.

Innovation stops for no one ... and Nature finds a way.

Onwards!

 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - January 14th, 2018

 

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

Lighter Links:

• Tesla Model 3: the First Serious Review. (The Drive)
• How Religion Made a Global Comeback in 2017. (The Atlantic)
• New Year's Fitness Resolutions: the Smartest Way to Keep Them. (WSJ)
• How Kaspersky's Software Fell under Suspicion of Spying on America. (Wall Street Journal)
• Could Your Apple Watch Save Your Life?: How Smartwatch Sensors Could Help Tackle a Dangerous Heart Condition. (ZDNet)

Trading Links:

• Kodak Announces Blockchain Plan, Share Price Soars. (FinExtra)
• Here's Why Spotify is Bypassing the Normal IPO Process and Why More Companies Don't Do It. (BI)
• As Dow Tops 25000, Individual Investors Sit It Out. (Wall Street Journal)
• Amazon Has a Master Plan to Turn Alexa into a Full-fledged Economy All on Its Own. (Insider)
• A Crypto Expert Explains the Difference between the Two Largest Cryptocurrencies in the World: Bitcoin and Ethereum. (BusinessInsider)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - December 22nd, 2017

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

Lighter Links:

• How One Connection Could Change Your Life (In Less Than 90 Days). (Forbes)
• Why Facts Don't Change Our Minds. (NewYorker)
• Long Island Iced Tea Soars after Changing Its Name to Long Blockchain. (Bloomberg)
• How Quantum Computing Will Change the World. (NewStatesman)
• Cracking the World Famous Enigma Machine with Artificial Intelligence in Just 13 Minutes. (7WData)

Trading Links:

• Here's How the Tax Bill Will Affect the Richest 1% in All 50 States. (CNBC)
• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Just Sold $1.1 Billion Worth of His Stock. (Money)
• This Animation Shows the Explosion in ICO Funding over the Last Four Years. (Insider)
• The First $100 Billion Dollar Blockchain Company Could Be the next SAP. (Forbes)
• Worldwide Cognitive Systems and Artificial Intelligence Revenues Forecast to Surge past $47 Billion in 2020, According to New IDC Spending Guide. (IDC)

Can You Afford To Think Linearly in this Exponential Age?

Human's can't do a lot of things. Honestly, the fact that we're top of the food-chain is pretty miraculous. 

We're slow, we're weak, and we're famously bad at understanding large numbers and exponential growth. 

Our brains are hardwired to think locally and linearly.

It's a monumental task for us to fathom exponential growth ... let alone its implications. 

Think how many companies have failed due to that inability ... Radioshack couldn't understand a future where shopping was done online and Kodak didn't think digital cameras would replace good ol' film. Blockbuster couldn't foresee a future where people would want movies in their mailboxes, because "part of the joy is seeing all your options!" They didn't even make it long enough to see "Netflix and Chill" become a thing. 

   

via Diamandis

Human perception is linear. Technological growth is exponential.

There are many examples.  Here is one Diamandis calls "The Kodak Moment."

In 1996, Kodak was at the top of its game, with a market cap of over $28 billion and 140,000 employees.

Few people know that 20 years earlier, in 1976, Kodak had invented the digital camera. It had the patents and the first-mover advantage.

But that first digital camera was a baby that only its inventor could love and appreciate.

That first camera took .01 megapixel photos, took 23 seconds to record the image to a tape drive, and only shot in black and white.

Not surprisingly, Kodak ignored the technology and its implications.

Fast forward to 2012, when Kodak filed for bankruptcy – disrupted by the very technology that they invented and subsequently ignored.

 

via Diamandis

Innovation is a reminder that you can't be medium-obsessed. Kodak's goal was to preserve memories. It wasn't to sell film. Blockbuster's goal wasn't to get people in their stores, it was to get movies in homes.  

Henry Ford famously said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Steve Jobs was famous for spending all his time with customers, but never asking them what they wanted.

Two of our greatest innovators realized something that many never do. Being conscientious of your consumers doesn't necessarily mean listening to them. It means thinking about and anticipating their wants and future needs.

Tech and A.I. are creating tectonic forces throughout industry and the world.  It is time to embrace and leverage what that makes possible.  History has many prior examples of Creative Destruction (and what gets left in the dust).

Opportunity or Chaos ...  You get to decide.

Onward!