Hey there 👋
We’re back at it. If it’s your first time hearing from me, you can expect a weekly digest of the best links I stumble upon within data, growth, startups, and thinking in general. I hope you really enjoy it.
2020 Year in Review
It's the time of the year again when people take to their blogging or social media platform of choice and share accomplishments from the previous 365 days. This is my version of that.
Coolest Things I Learned in 2020
I have a soft spot for posts like this. If you aren’t familiar with David Perrell’s weekly newsletter, it’s is a good one. You’ll learn something in here that will make you want to dig deeper.
Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition
“We take delight in gardens, true, but fundamentally we desire only a particular sort of garden. We want to be able to, to some degree, “engineer” the enchantment they provide.” I really enjoyed all the interesting quotes in here. I’ve got plenty to think more about.
The Human Performance Lab
“You thought you were starting a SaaS business. Once you find product-market fit — surprise! – you’re actually running another business, and it’s called the Human Performance Lab.” This framing is a bit out there, but I actually like it for thinking about the role of management.
Out of the Matrix
Daniel Kehoe recalls the early days of the web in this post. Some of these email screenshots are wild. Things really have changed…
The Weight of Thought
This sculpture by Thomas Lerooy is something else. Warning: Don’t read too many substacks or you might end up like this guy.
Movie Plot Recommender
Next time you’re stuck sifting through Netflix options, try this out instead of using their new half-baked “Shuffle” feature. You type in the plot that you want, filter by streaming services or rating, wait a sec, and get back really solid choices.
“For I have a single definition of success: you look in the mirror every evening, and wonder if you disappoint the person you were at 18, right before the age when people start getting corrupted by life. Let him or her be the only judge; not your reputation, not your wealth, not your standing in the community, not the decorations on your lapel.” — Nassim Taleb
Thanks for reading Oversimplified this week! Did anything stand out? I’d love to hear about it. Reply to this email or tweet at me and let’s chat 😁
Until next time,
Conor