My late August morning reads:
• What’s Cool in High School? Personal Finance: Thirty-nine states now require a personal-finance course to graduate — up four since 2024 — while economics requirements are shrinking. (Wall Street Journal) see also Could You Beat a High-Schooler on the New AP Personal-Finance Test?: The College Board rolls out AP Business with Personal Finance this fall. (Wall Street Journal)
• How Universities Should Prepare Founders: Paul Graham on what the YC partners actually look for after 20 years of refining the model — “We’re like grad school. We get them next.” (Paul Graham)
• Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada: Paper products among hardest-hit sectors after trade negotiations broke down, with 25-50% tariffs estimated. (The Guardian)
• Getting Ahead Has Never Been Easy: Ben Carlson on the minor miracles we take for granted — electricity, clean water, indoor plumbing, music on demand — and why not celebrating them is itself a sign of progress. (A Wealth of Common Sense) see also Ordinary Abundance: Edward Bellamy once imagined music on demand would be “the limit of human felicity.” (Ordinary Abundance)
• One Hundred Percent AI: Ted Merz on the dustup after Stanley Druckenmiller used AI to write a WSJ op-ed criticizing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. When readers spotted the linguistic patterns, Druckenmiller copped to it: “there’s a reason I moved from an English major to an economics major.” (Ted Merz)
• ‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen’: Cargo Thefts Have Turned Violent in Pursuit of AI Hardware: Paresh Dave on two recent California incidents that show how far criminal organizations will go to steal servers and other data-center gear. Experts allege that two recent incidents in California show the extreme lengths that criminal organizations are willing to go to to steal servers and other gear meant for data centers. (Wired)
• The Catskills Were Once Considered a Hidden Gem. Now the Secret’s Out: Priced out of the Hudson Valley, wealthy New Yorkers are heading north, pouring millions into home renovations and new builds. Pandemic lockdowns sent a Long Island couple looking for a second home in Sullivan County; they paid $1.65 million on the Toronto Reservoir in 2021. Plenty of people had the same idea. Now the Secret’s Out. Priced out of the Hudson Valley, wealthy New Yorkers are heading north, pouring millions into home renovations and new builds (Wall Street Journal)
• Diabetes can now be easily reversed. Here’s how: With the right steps, it’s possible to put type 2 diabetes into remission and restore healthy blood glucose levels. Ling Thomas on research showing type 2 diabetes doesn’t have to be a lifelong chronic condition — the secret is taking the pressure off our organs. (BBC Science Focus) see alsoIs Expensive Bottled Water Actually Better for You?Megan Tomos on the industry that turned the simplest thing we consume into glacial, iceberg, volcanic, and alkaline varieties — complete with water sommeliers and restaurant water menus. Luxury water can contain different minerals and taste noticeably different. But a remote source, alkaline pH, and high price do not necessarily mean better hydration. (Wired)
• Near-total lunar eclipse is coming up with the Americas in prime position: After being shut out of this month’s total solar eclipse, the Americas will have the best seats in the celestial house when Earth’s shadow briefly envelops the moon. Almost the entire lunar surface will be masked Thursday night into Friday — a whopping 96% — making this an especially deep partial eclipse. Marcia Dunn: after missing this month’s total solar eclipse, the Americas get the best seats Thursday night into Friday as 96% of the moon goes dark. (AP)
• Dolly Parton: Photos From an Extraordinary Life and Career: Alan Taylor’s photo retrospective of the singer, songwriter, actor, and philanthropist, who died this week at 80. (The Atlantic) see also What We Loved Most About Dolly Parton: Is there anyone with a fan base as deep and wide — Christians, union organizers, drag queens, cowboys, Jane Fonda and Donald Trump? (Washington Post)
Video of the day: The rise and fall of Ticketmaster
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with David Booth, Founder, Chairman, and former CEO of Dimensional Funds Advisors. DFA just crossed $1 trillion dollars, and has become the largest active equity ETF manager. Booth’s new book is “Stay Calm: Learn to Embrace Uncertainty in Investing and Life.”
Text got cheap. Judgment didn’t.
Source: Grasping Reality
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