The Best Paragraph I've Read:

The printing press had fooled the world with too many books especially of ancient and scholastic learning that were either obsolete, irrelevant, or misleading for the pursuit of true knowledge.  He compared  the proliferation of books to the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel.

This paragraph comes from the Marginal Revolution blog.  You can read the full post here:

https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2023/02/who-was-the-most-important-critic-of-the-printing-press-in-the-17th-century.html#:~:text=Bacon's%20critique%20of%20the%20printing%20press%20was%20influential%20and%20controversial,of%20knowledge%20production%20and%20dissemination.

Zac and Don discuss Sir Francis Bacon's critique of the printing press.  They talk about the similar issues and feelings that humans are facing today when it comes to so many words being constantly produced today.  They also discuss whether Bacon's idea of having a small group of people decide what should be published is a good idea.

The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"The ways we socialize and date, commute and work are nearly unrecognizable from what they were three years ago. We’ve enjoyed a global pandemic, open employer-employee warfare, a multifront culture war, and social upheavals both great and small. The old conventions are out (we don’t whisper the word cancer or let women off the elevator first anymore, for starters). The venues in which we can make fools of ourselves (group chats, Grindr messages, Slack rooms public and private) are multiplying, and each has its own rules of conduct. And everyone’s just kind of rusty. Our social graces have atrophied. We wanted to help."

This paragraph comes from an article in New York Magazine titled: "Do You Know How to Behave? Are You Sure? How to text, tip, ghost, host, and generally exist in polite society today.  You can read the full article here:

https://www.thecut.com/article/tipping-rules-etiquette-rules.html  

Zac and Don discuss some of the new social rules that people should follow.  They agree on some - don't wake up your spouse.  But disagree on others - do you need to be ready when you step up to order food?

The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"But fairness matters. The U.S. economy is the envy of the world because of its core tenets of free markets, robust legal frameworks, and capitalism. The protections against arbitrary seizure attract investment and enable risk-taking. And vigorous open competition between companies drive innovation forward.

Banning a company based on hypotheticals—preying on fear and paranoia without compelling evidence—would be a terrible precedent. It would feed the perception that the U.S. can retroactively change the rules when a foreign competitor wins in the marketplace, chilling future investment. And it opens the door for other countries to ban U.S. apps unilaterally to advance their own domestic agendas."

This paragraph comes from Barrons.com in an opinion essay titled: "Don't Ban TikTok. Here's a Plan to Fix It."  The author is Tae Kim.  You can read the full essay here:

https://www.barrons.com/articles/tiktok-ban-how-to-fix-db5c0928 

Zac and Don discuss whether America should ban TikTic.  Will this help teenagers? Does a ban keep the nation safe from China? Or is banning the social media app a sign of a loser mentality that will have little to no impact?

The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"Underpinning Bed Bath & Beyond's success was an innovative way of doing business. In addition to deliberate clutter, stores were designed with a "racetrack" floor plan that looped around the store so customers would walk by all the merchandise. Instead of grouping shopping baskets at the entrance, they placed them throughout the store. Messrs. Eisenberg and Feinstein ordered goods and set prices, but gave store managers the autonomy to reorder whatever they wanted, which allowed them to stock their stores according to local tastes. the company operated on a shoestring budget. It used cardboard boxes as waste baskets. Post-it Notes were considered too expensive. Both men still use scrap paper."

This paragraph comes from the Wall Street Journal.  The article is titled: "The Bed Bath & Beyond Founders Let Go." The article is written by Suzanne Kapner. You can read the full article here:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bed-bath-beyond-bankruptcy-stock-founders-11674778627

Zac and Don talk about the slow death of Bed Bath and Beyond.  They talk about what made the stores unique and reflect upon their shopping experiences as young adults.  They also wonder which box stores are next to go out of business.

The follow article is also referenced in the podcast:

Nearly 2,000 CEOs Think Their Companies Won't Be Able To Make Money In 10 Years Survey Says

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/04/pwc-ceo-survey-their-firms-will-struggle-to-make-money-in-10-years.html

The Best Paragraph I've Read:

How important is luck?  Few questions more reliable divide conservatives and liberals.  As conservatives correctly observe people who amass great fortunes are almost always extremely talented and hard-working.  But as liberals also rightly note countless others have those same qualities yet never earned much.  In recently years social scientists have discovered that chance events play a much larger role in important life outcomes than most people once imagine.

This paragraph comes from the book Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy.  The author is Robert H. Frank.  You can find the book here:

https://www.amazon.com/Success-Luck-Good-Fortune-Meritocracy/dp/0691167400/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1674661150&sr=8-1

Zac and Don discuss the book and it's ideas surrounding the controversial topic of individual success.  Is one person solely responsible for their success or should factors such as luck and collective infrastructure also be taken into account?  They also wonder if all of the book's ideas totally fit together into a cohesive book.

The Best Paragraph I've Read:

MEDIEVAL MONKS WERE, in many ways, the original LinkedIn power users. Earnest and with a knack for self-promotion, they loved to read and share inspiring stories of other early Christians who had shown remarkable commitment to their work. There was Sarah, who lived next to a river without ever once looking in its direction, such was her dedication to her faith. James prayed so intently during a snowstorm that he was buried in snow and had to be dug out by his neighbors.

But none of these early devotees could ward off distraction like Pachomius. The 4th-century monk weathered a parade of demons that transformed into naked women, rumbled the walls of his dwelling, and tried to make him laugh with elaborate comedy routines. Pachomius didn’t even glance in their direction. For early Christian writers, Pachomius and his ilk set a high bar for concentration that other monks aspired to match. These super-concentrators were the first millennium embodiment of #workgoals, #hustle, and #selfimprovement.

This paragraph comes from Wired.com.  The article is titled: "Easily Distracted? You Need to Think Like a Medieval Monk."  The article is written by Matt Reynolds.  You can read the full article here:

https://www.wired.com/story/medieval-monks-distraction/

Zac and Don consider the plight of Medieval Monks trying to avoid distraction.  They wonder if our world today is any different than their world when it comes to distractions and how to avoid them.  They discuss whether the monks can serve as an inspiration for us today.  They also wonder if being distracted is a bad thing.

The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"When I heard that you could 3-D-print a building, I imagined something akin to a “Star Trek” replicator—a machine that would whir briefly and then spit out a fully formed house. The actual process is messier and more laborious, and, at the moment, it is largely used to construct walls, while conventional methods are used for foundations, floors, roofs, and finishes. But walls are among the most costly and labor-intensive aspects of home-building, and, in the majority of newly built U.S. homes, they’re likely to be made out of drywall panels mounted on wooden frames. Though drywall is easy to produce and relatively inexpensive, it takes a while to install, is not particularly sturdy, and is susceptible to mold. 3-D-printing advocates argue that rethinking our walls is a step toward building cheaper, more resilient houses."

This paragraph comes from an article in the New Yorker.  The article title is: "Can 3-D Printing Help Solve the Housing Crisis?"  The article is written by Rachel Monroe.  You can read the full article here:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/23/can-3-d-printing-help-solve-the-housing-crisis

Zac and Don are joined by expert builders Chad, AJ, and Bud Swett.  The group discusses their opinion of 3-D printing and if it can actually make a difference in building houses.  They also discuss the building trades and if America is emphasizing these career opportunities enough to students.

The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"The world is closer to catastrophe than ever: the Doomsday Clock, the metaphorical measure of challenges to humanity, was reset to 90 seconds before midnight on Tuesday.

The science and security board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said the move — the closest to widespread calamity humanity has ever been judged to be — was "largely, though not exclusively" due to the war in Ukraine."

This paragraph comes from NPR.org in an article titled: "The Doomsday Clock moves to 90 seconds to midnight, signaling more peril than ever."  The article is written by Bill Chappell.  You can read the full article here:

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/24/1150982819/doomsday-clock-90-seconds-to-midnight

A Second Best Paragraph I've Read:

"Even with challenges facing current and future generations, Gates says anyone born in the next few decades will be better off than people born at any previous point in history.

I’m still very optimistic that it’d be much better to be born 20 years from now, 40 years from now, 60 years from now than any time in the past,” Gates said Monday in an interview at the Lowy Institute, a think tank in Sydney, Australia."

This paragraph comes from CNBC.com in an article titled: "Bill Gates is 'very optimistic' about the future: 'Better to be born 20 years from now than any time in the past.'  You can read the full article here:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/24/bill-gates-is-very-optimistic-about-future-of-earth-humanity.html

Zac and Don talk about the recent change to the Doomsday Clock and Bill Gate's prediction.  They wonder which source is more accurate.  They also discuss whether there is anything an individual can do when they hear of such large and dramatic predictions.

The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"There’s just so many institutions that connect us. whether It’s the university of California. weather it’s the us government. whether it’s having served in a military branch. And our institutions have been under attack. Without strong institutions, without believing that we are all working in the agency of something bigger than ourselves, we all Turn very individualistic and start believing that were exceptional and that our belief supersedes are need to reinvest back in these institutions."

This paragraph comes from a monologue given by Professor Scott Galloway on his podcast The Prof G Pod.  The specific podcast episode is November 17th.  The monologue begins at the 40:29 mark.  You can listen to the podcast episode here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/my/podcast/money-and-power-in-the-world-of-soccer-with-rory-smith/id1498802610?i=1000586546961

Zac and Don talk about the importance of institutions in America.  They comment on Professor Galloway's comments.  They wonder why many are so distrustful of their institutions.  They also talk about individuals and wonder if America has grown tired of specific people who seem desperate to remain in the spotlight.

Zac and Don reference the following article from Politico.com:

2022 Is the Year We All Finally Got Tired of Narcissists 

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/26/is-2022-the-year-we-all-finally-got-over-narcissists-00075270