Tacitus’ famous warning to the Romans: “They made a desert and called it peace.”
Globalisation, economic growth and the division of labour
“Individual economies grow and prosper as their inhabitants learn to specialize and engage in the division of labour. So it is on a global scale. Globalization – the deepening of specialization and the extension of the division of labour beyond national borders – is patently a key to understanding much of our recent economic history. [...]
Hard work vs natural talent
“The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.” The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of [...]
IQ
IQ testing & correlation with success – “People at the bottom of the scale – with an IQ below 70 – are considered mentally disabled. A score of 100 is average; you probably need to be just above that mark to be able to handle college. To get into and succeed in a reasonably competitive [...]
Living a fulfilling life
“Those three things – autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward - are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. It is not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It’s whether our work fulfills us.” Malcolm [...]
Now’s the time to be greedy when others are fearful
“A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.” Warren Buffett 2008
