Month: December 2024

The sea squirt is a marine invertebrate that starts out with a primitive brain and nervous system. When young, the animal swims freely around the ocean, but eventually it finds a suitable rock, attaches itself, and stays there for the rest of its life.

Once it is settled, the sea squirt ingests its brain and nervous system. It does so because it is inefficient to maintain a brain and nervous system now that it is completely sedentary.

Columbia University neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert uses this example to drive home a simple point – directing movement is the most important function of the brain.

In other words, we are built to move.

(H/T: Built to Move by Kelly Starrett and Juliet Starrett – also H/T Hassan for the recommendation)

“Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es” / “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.” | Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

One of the biggest themes from 2024 has been a heightened focus on health. It started with a focus on exercise inspired by Peter Attia’s Outlive. It is ending with a focus on diet and metabolism inspired by Casey Means’ Good Energy.

I hope to have a better answer to Monsieur Brillat-Savarin in 2025.

I’ve heard Sir David Attenborough describe many wondrous places in documentaries over the years. But if I had to pick the place I’ve heard him describe most often, it would undoubtedly be Serengeti National Park. As I entered the park, I could almost hear his soothing voice describe “a hot day in the Serengeti” or a pride of lions waiting for the Great Migration.

Let’s first start with the awe-inspiring size of this park. At 15000 sq km or 5700 sq miles, it is 19 times the size of New York or 11 times the size of Los Angeles. It is massive. The Serengeti extends into Kenya for another 1500 sq km – this section of the park is called The Maasai Mara.

The Serengeti has a diverse set of landscapes – from savannahs to woodlands to wetlands. All of this supports an impressive array of wildlife – including over 4000 lions, over 1000 leopards, 500+ bird species. In one word – it is legendary.

These two parks play host to The Great Migration – the largest overland mammal migration in the world. Between 1.5 to 2 million wildebeest and zebras take an 800km round trip around these parks. This is often described as “the greatest show on earth” as it involves some spectacular interactions between predator and prey.

When you encounter the migration, they take over entire hills…

…and roads.

These passing herds are a special treat for all the predators.. and the incredible clean up crew.

This was a mom watching over her cubs…

.. who stayed still as a poisonous Green Mamba went on her and then slithered away.

Lion prides are formidable. Very few animals can survive an attack – here’s a hippo that did.

Tree-climbing lions are a rare sight.

Predators aren’t just big cats. Here’s a large owl.

A typical sighting of a leopard – as solitary cats, they spend a lot of time on trees.

Cheetah brothers figuring out where to go next. Cheetah tend to love the tall grasses of the savannah – they’re perfect camouflage.

To me, time spent in the Serengeti was a reminder that we were in the kingdom of the big cats. We spent many hours driving through rugged territory. But we forgot all those hours of driving when we finally caught a glimpse of a majestic cat. Time stood still.

It also reminded me of the magic of ecosystems. Every part of the ecosystem matters. The prey eat the grass and create space for new grass. The predators eat the prey. The scavengers clean up the caracasses and ensure no diseases are spread. And so on.

As Mufasa beautifully put it in the Lion King, “when we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so, we are all connected in the great Circle of Life.“

We are indeed.

(“Our World is Awesome” series: Ngorongoro Crater, Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone NP, Grand Canyon NP, Lauterbrunnen Valley, Tarangire NP)

Chef Marco Pierre White was one of London’s top chefs through the 1980s and 1990s. He was an intense and controversial character – known for his hot temper and high standards.

As is often the case with folks with maniacal intensity, there are many sides to his story. He was one of the first celebrity chefs – the youngest chef to be awarded the coveted three Michelin stars. He also created an intense and unpredictable work environment for his staff. And he also trained a collection of chefs – including Gordon Ramsay – who went onto earn multiple Michelin stars.

However, he decided to retire at the age of 38. Although he worked with incredible intensity to achieve what he wanted in his career, he found it to be less fulfilling than he’d hoped. In his words –

“I was being judged by people who had less knowledge than me, so what was it truly worth? I gave Michelin inspectors too much respect, and I belittled myself. I had three options: I could be a prisoner of my world and continue to work six days a week, I could live a lie and charge high prices and not be behind the stove or I could give my stars back, spend time with my children and re-invent myself.“

No amount of external validation can solve a lack of internal validation.

It is why the relationship between extreme success and happiness is so fascinating. The more we understand extreme success, the more we realize how often it is caused by an absence of satisfaction, peace, or happiness.

Azeem, on his Exponential View blog, had an insightful post about how energy is transitioning from a commodity to a technology. This table summarizes the difference between the two.

We see these play out in commodity prices over time. Even as supply has gone up (more extraction), oil is concentrated in the hands of a few who set prices.

On the flip side, the cost curves of batteries and solar continue to head downward.

This is happening because both these technologies have learning rates of 20%. This means every doubling of production reduces costs by 20%.

And while we started with rare-earth metal, we’re increasingly seeing more mainstream materials being used to develop batteries.

This movement from energy as commodity to energy as technology has profound consequences. A few examples –

• Electricity replaces oil as the currency. Dollars per megawatt hour instead of Dollars per barrel. We already see this begin to play out as investments in datacenter technology continue to go up. No one is powering new datacenters with oil.
• 14% of countries control all the oil. With renewable sources, over 90% of countries will have the energy they need. Consider this – all our energy needs can be met if we simply used all the solar power we get from the sun for 3 minutes.
• Seasons could dictate consumption patterns. With the amount of excess solar in summer, for example, energy intensive processes could become viable.

These are just a few examples. Financing and regulation will both need to adapt as renewables have an upfront investment need that pays off for the next decades.

The implications of all of these changes will be profound. It is an exciting time for humanity.

I started using a Logitech M720 Triathlon mouse a year or so ago. It is a good mouse – a keeper. My favorite feature of the mouse is a small piece of elegant design.

A Bluetooth device like this typically requires a small USB pairing device. And it is easy to lose track of where you last kept that device.

The Logitech team had a simple solve – they designed a spot for the USB pairing device right next to the battery.

This means you always have it with you. Once you use it, you just put it back in.

An elegant solution. Well played.

The Sit-and-Rise test is a simple test of our ability get down to the floor and up again. You start by crossing one foot in front of the other and sit down in a cross-legged position without holding onto anything.

Now, from the same cross-legged position, you rise up – if possible, without using support.

A group of Brazilian and American researchers thought this might provide insight into longevity. So they tested 2002 men and women between ages 51 to 80.

6 years later, 179 (or 8%) of the study subjects had died. It turned out that the higher the subject scored in the test, the greater the improvement in their statistical likelihood of survival.

The likely cause is that this test is a measure of a person’s mobility. People with better mobility are less likely to fall and are more likely to be in better all-round health.

It is a useful test to understand our current state. More importantly, it is a skill worth improving.

(H/T: Built to Move by Kelly Starrett and Juliet Starrett)

The 10 question annual reflection is a longstanding ALearningaDay tradition. I recommend doing it in 3 steps:

i) Carve out an hour in the next week to “look back and look forward.” It helps to do this in a quiet place with no distractions or interruptions.

ii) Work with a list of 10 questions that make you think. For a starter list, I’ve shared the 10 questions I ask myself below (here’s the Google doc – you can just make a copy onto your Google Drive). I prioritize keeping my list simple – some years, I get done in an hour and in other years, I spend a few hours diving deep into a question or two. The important thing is not the length/depth, it is simply carving out the time to zoom out.

iii) Archive your questions and notes for next year. Check in with them over the course of the year and read them before you start next year’s reflection. Looking at what was top-of-mind a few years later is also guaranteed to make you smile. :-)

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1. What are the top 2 themes/memories/moments I will remember 2024 for? 

2. What were the 2 biggest lessons I learnt in 2024?

3. We learn from a mix of 3 sources – i) taking action and reflecting on our experiences, ii) people, and iii) books/courses or synthesized information. What did my mix look like in 2024? What would I do differently in 2025? 

i) Action + reflection:

ii) People:

iii) Books/synthesized info:

4. Looking back at how I spent my time in 2024, what were the top 2-3 themes/buckets x processes/outcomes I prioritized (Examples: Career – prioritized ABC project or getting a raise, Health – prioritized more outdoor exercise or losing 10 pounds)? Did what I prioritize align with what I intended to prioritize/were there any surprises? 

5. What are the top 2 themes/buckets x processes/outcomes I intend to prioritize in 2025? 

6. What do I most need to learn in 2025 and how do I plan to do this? 

7. What are habits/checkpoints I have in place to recommit to my priorities? (E.g. weekly/monthly check in)

8. What have I got planned in 2025 to prioritize renewal and memorable experiences (e.g. holiday plans, weekend activities, hobbies)?

9. Health, close relationships, and money are foundational to the quality of our lives on this planet. What are my guiding principles or habits as I think of these dimensions in 2025?

Health:

Close relationships:

Money:

10. Do I have a personal philosophy – a set of principles and/or virtues that I want to live my life by? (If not, would I consider putting together a first version?) What have I learnt about them in my attempts to live them? Do I plan to evolve them in 2025?

 [Note: Virtues are values we actually embody. Inspired by the code of the Samurais, the difference is what we believe (values) vs. what we do (virtues). Our values become virtues when living them costs us money, time, or something valuable]

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I look forward to doing mine in the next 10 days. More to follow.

The next stop in our African National Park journey takes us to Ngorongoro. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a Unesco World Heritage Centre. This area includes the Olduvai Gorge (Oldupai is the actual name – the name was misspelled as Olduvai) – also known as the cradle of humanity. Excavations in this gorge unearthed the remains of Homo Habilis from 1.9 million years ago and helped us understand the kinds of tools we evolved to be able to use.

I didn’t take a good picture while I was there. This picture (source) of the gorge shows the various colors of the rocks from millions of years.

The small museum at the gorge features a beautiful exhibition showcasing our evolution from our chimp cousins to humans – featuring tools and skeletons unearthed at the gorge.

This area is known for the famous Ngorongoro crater. It is the world’s largest inactive, inactive, and unfilled volcanic caldera or cauldron. You descend via a steep one-way route and reach the covering roughly 100 square miles. This is half-way into the descent.

Once you get down, the crater is teeming with wildlife.

The setting is surreal. Over to a few pictures.

This is the elusive caracal – one of the smallest African cats.

The static water is alkaline – contributing to the pink colors of these Flamingos.

A gazelle close-up – the bigger ones are Grant gazelles and the smaller ones are Thompson gazelles.

The superb starling has stunning colors.

A hyena eating the remains of a buffalo. The Ngorongoro crater is home to one of the longest running hyena studies. As the crater is flat, hyena packs have, over the years, become so dominant that they’ve chased the Cheetahs out of the crater. The only cats that can keep their prey from them once they kill are lions.

Lions spend their days resting and hunt at night.

This was a family of lions with 3 eager youngsters who were getting a lesson in patience from their mother.

The Ngorongoro crater is typically the first stop on a route featuring two iconic National Parks – The Serengeti and The Maasai Mara. While it is only a day trip for most people enroute to the Serengeti, it makes for an awe-inspiring setting – a reminder of just how amazing our planet is.

(“Our World is Awesome” series: Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone NP, Grand Canyon NP, Lauterbrunnen Valley, Tarangire NP)

One of the things you learn to do as a leader is to let fires burn. Every problem can’t be dealt with immediately.

The challenge here, however, isn’t in understanding you have to let fires burn.

It is in improving our judgment on which fires we need to let burn and which fires we need to tend to.