The following list of things I found, pregnancy people I met or discovered and projects I worked on in 2014 is in no specific order of importance. It’s been a good year, this site mostly spend with Square, my family & my side projects. I managed to loose 20kgs and will be loosing 15kg more to get down to my optimal weight.
Quick Facts
Business ideas. 24
Side projects started. 6
Side projects finished. 1
Side projects still going 3
Number of advisory boards I joined. 5
Speeches I gave 0
Interviews I did 1
Domains I bought 5
Domains I sold 0
Domains I lost 1
Great articles I Read
Stop Trying to Save the World
An NGO insider lays out a compelling case about what is wrong with the way the west tries to solve the problems of the developing countries.
For Example
Phd. Mike Bostock makes some of New York Times many great inforgraphics. In this essay he takes you through some of his thinking.
How to Think
My oldest son started Kindergarten this year at Success Academy. Part of their curriculum is learning chess. This great essay explains why thats not a bad idea.
The Economics of StarTrek – The Proto-Post Scarcity Society
I read a lot about technology and it’s impacts on society. I think 2014 will known as the year before the year where unconditional basic income became a wider accepted solution to the rise of the robots. This essay takes a constructive approach.
Bootstrapping A Decentralized Autonomous Corporation
With bitcoin it’s possible to create an organisation build on smart contracts and potentially without a human owner.
Great books I read
Creativity Inc
I am normally not a big fan of books about creativity. This book written by Ed Catmull is a welcome exception. Probably one of the best books I have read on the subject.
Light in the end of the tunnel – Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future
I have been studying the subject of technology and it’s tendency to create structural unemployment. Martin Ford lays out a very convincing case for why we should worry about our future.
Zero to One – Notes on Startups & How to Build The Future.
“What important truth about the world do almost no-one agree with you on?” With this contrarian question Peter Thiel kicks of his very interesting book. It has some great perspectives but also some very sloppy thinking. If you are lukewarm about that kind of review you can just read the lecture notes the book is was based on.
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
The Origin of Consciousness by Julian Jaynes is one of those books that will forever change your view of the world. It’s a challenging read but whether it’s theory holds up or not it’s going to make for one hell of ride.
Interesting People I Discovered
Thinkers
Martin Ford
The author of “The Lights In The Tunnel” a great book about automation and it’s impact on society.
Tyler Cowen
One of the few economists who seem to be taking technology progress seriously. Written several books amongst others. Average Is Over
Michael Bhaskar
I found out about Michael Bashkar when I heard a lecture he did about the future of publishing. He is also running a very extensive list of digital publishing startups
Artists
Jonathan Ball, Chaotic Atmosphere, Ariel Belinco,
Interesting graphs I discovered
Decoupling Productivity and Employment
Producitivy and Employment are increasingly decoupled. This means that the average household income is stagnant and structural unemployment is increasing while corporate profits (due to higher productivity) is increasing.
This is going to be the single most important discussion the coming decade. What to do with technology.
Job Growth by Decade in the US
Job growth per decade has been dropping since 2nd world war. I am still trying to process what this means but it does show that despite an increase in population and advanced technology it does not add more jobs. Question is will it continue to decline.
Trends in US GDP, Profits, Investments and Employment, 1995-2011
By now I assume you get the point. These are showing an alarming trend I think it will continue in 2015.
Teachers in 1960 & 2010
This isn’t a graph but it’s still pretty precisely described worrying trend about our kids education.
Some fun things I build
Ghostnote
My new Mac app. A contextual notes and to-do app that allow you to attach notes to folders, documents, application and urls. Going to launch it in January. Watch this site for further updates www.ghostnoteapp.com
Hula Books
Been wanting to get into digital publishing for a while. Hula Books allow you to create your own book club or find people who want to study the same book as you and discuss it’s content. It’s currently under development but here are a few static pages.
These people made my life great
My wife, my kids, The old 80/20 crowd, Robert Andersen, Tobias Golodnoff & family , Bob Lund, Jackob Langemark, Stefan Bech, Umar Akram, Francois Mazudier, Søren Kenner, my friends in the Vets channel, the Weekendhacker community, Jimmy Hough and many many more.
Happy New Years see you in 2015!