Why humanity is on the move again and the contingent challenges. Why the labour force has frequently missed out on the spoils of economic growth. Why a hybrid formula between remote and in situ (but not necessarily the office) working could be the ideal solution. Why rationality doesn’t matter anymore, and why this matters. Why the ‘liking gap’ can impede our power to make connections – and how to bridge it.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Whatever the next normal is, it will not adapt to us—we will have to adapt to it” Parag Khanna in the article of the week
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Parag Khanna, In the face of unprecedented challenges, humanity is on the move
(National Geographic, 29 September 2021)
Our ancestors migrated to survive, and now – in the face of climate change and conflict – we moderns are becoming a migratory species again. In the decades ahead, billions of people may relocate from coastal to inland regions, from low-lying to higher elevation areas, from overpriced to affordable locales, and from failing to stable societies. But where will we go? The short answer is: from south to north, and that won’t be easy: managing migration remains one of the most sensitive areas of national sovereignty (metered paywall – reads in about 10 min).
Click here to read the full article
Brigitte Granville, Behind the Modern Malaise
(Project Syndicate, 1 October 2021)
This is a review of three important books and reports written by economists to explain why workers have been missing out on many of the gains of economic growth through wage stagnation and inequalities (hence the malaise). Some salient points and commonalities: (1) “Superstar” firms have succeeded in suppressing competition and depressing wages, often through means of “legalized corruption”; (2) There is a “dualism [of] islands of productive, high-wage activities in a sea of poor jobs and pockets of unemployment.” An important point: declining labor-force participation is “the elephant in the room” (metered paywall – reads in 7-8 min).
Click here to read the full article
Cal Newport, Is Going to the Office a Broken Way of Working?
(The New Yorker, 26 September 2021)
This is a conversation with Chris Herd, a 31-y old tech entrepreneur who foresees a future in which most companies are remote-first. He believes that the current “office-as-factory” model is dead, but he’s against the idea of “remote-only”, emphasizing the importance of spending time together. His vision: a remote-first strategy in which relevant teams gather less frequently in varying locations that suit the work that’s being done. The two main advantages: (1) decreased overheads and (2) increased access to talent (metered paywall – reads in 10min+).
Click here to read the full article
Steven Pinker, Why doesn’t rationality seem to matter anymore?
(The Harvard Gazette, 23 September 2021)
This is an extract from Pinker’s new book: “Rationality: Why It Seems Scarce and Why It Matters”. In it the academic Rockstar argues that rationality ought to be the lodestar for everything we think and do. Yet in an era blessed with unprecedented resources for reasoning, the public sphere is infested with fake news, quack cures, conspiracy theories, and “post-truth” rhetoric. Our fiercest problem today is convincing people to accept the solutions when we do find them (free access -reads in 4-5 min).
Click here to read the full article
David Robson, Why you make better first impressions than you think
(BBC, 1 October 2021)
Multiple studies show the average person takes a rather low opinion of their conversational abilities, and the social impressions they leave, but on the other hand, research says we may be more likeable than we think. This mismatch between our perceptions of our social performance, and others’ opinions of us (the “liking gap”) may limit our ability to form connections in our personal and professional lives, but there are ways to overcome this common form of social anxiety (free access – reads in 7-8 min).
Click here to read the full article
