Sunday, February 24, 2019

It's ridiculous to ignore progress


Begun "Capitalism Without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy" by Jonathan Haskell & Stian Westlake.
This book has good reviews, I'm looking fwd to learning more about how nations' economies, norms of accounting & capitalism itself has evolved in the past three decades... https://t.co/HsZCoferQt
"Over the years intangible investment steadily increased. Tangible investment as a proportion of the economy grew slower & in some cases decreased. In the US, it looks like intangible investment got the better of tangible investment by the mid 1990s. In the UK, by the late 1990s" https://t.co/5iybc1Njk0
"These differences across countries seem to line up with intuition. Broadly, the Mediterranean countries are at the bottom of the intangible investment pack, with the Nordics, the United States and UK being at the top, & the rest of continental Europe in the middle." https://t.co/5iybc1Njk0
"It also seems intangible investment as a fraction of GDP is higher in more developed countries. Per capita expenditure on brands is 1% of GDP in the US, but only about 0.1% in China." https://t.co/5iybc24UIA
"Smaller markets, eg. countries surrounded by trade barriers, would be less attractive places to make intangible investment. This can be shown by the share of GDP accounted for by intangible investment, plotted against the OECD index of restrictiveness of trade in services." https://t.co/5iybc24UIA
"The objection to treating training as an intangible investment is not that it's not valuable or lasting, but that it is an asset of the employee, not of the firm. {But in some specialised cases, training is specific to the firm (say in proprietary systems) that is not portable}" https://t.co/5iybc24UIA
"A business that is reliant on intangibles will behave differently from a business with mainly tangible assets. Managers and workers will face different incentives and rewards. And an economy made up of many such businesses will perform in distinctive ways." https://t.co/5iybc24UIA
"If we want to incr productive investment in ideas, we shd encourage interdisciplinarity: casual exchanges btwn ppl working in diffrt fields & diverse places. These exchanges happen a lot in large, walkable cities w/plenty of public spaces & opportunities for social interactions" https://t.co/5iybc1Njk0

Begun "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think" by @HansRosling @OlaRosling & @AnnaRRonnlund
Seems to be in the mould of @sapinker's books, and has received high reader reviews. https://t.co/gbrnyDRBkd
"What are people thinking when they say the world is getting worse? They aren't thinking, but feeling. If you feel uncomfortable with data showing world improving, it's bcz thr are still huge problems & it feels ridiculous.
I agree. But it's just as ridiculous to ignore progress" https://t.co/v3IQT7osQW
"Almost every activist i have ever met, either deliberately or unknowingly exaggerates the problem to which they have dedicated their lives. Desperately trying to make people care, they forget about progress." https://t.co/v3IQT7osQW
Outstanding! 1 of the best books I've read in years.
My own outlook resonates with its championing of "a fact based world view," distinguishing facts from opinions & feelings.
Will help you see the good in the world without glossing over the bad or being binary. A must read https://t.co/v3IQT7osQW

USA & China control 85% of AI startups/patents. They will control the new economy while others try to catch up in old economy. Massive unemployment ==> surplus humanity ==> dangerous situation https://t.co/A1mUFNGIFV
https://twitter.com/RajivMessage/status/1097686948930498560?s=19
Sadly, many (not all) in the next-gen cant take criticism, want instant limelight, cut corners & focus on social media fame without the foundation of tapasya. Such a society is hollow inside - like eaten by termites. Soon u will find clashes among them for petty matters. https://t.co/wlx3YOksBv
https://twitter.com/RajivMessage/status/1099529627360419840?s=19
I am merely responding to repeated calls from well wishers to:
1) Prepare successor scholars to continue.
2) Collaborate w other thought leaders.
3) Build institution that outlasts personalities.
In the process I uncovered critical failures in our community. https://t.co/9aTZXBcnDv
https://twitter.com/RajivMessage/status/1099138464665104384?s=19

I think "companies" will become powerful not "government" or "nations". Even US govt will have less control on monopolies of AI, such as Google , Amazon. Examples we can see already, when Google did not cooperate with US govt on face recognition system.
https://twitter.com/vinay6_jay/status/1097696016147537920?s=19

Abolishing the Companies Act might give rise to new forms of ownership with transparency and responsibility. Gambling in the guise of stock trading also needs to be reined in. Seat of power must exercise control upon business and not the other way round, as is the case at present
That's of course a long term approach and it's not easy to implement nor there's any surity as regards the outcome. My proposal is at the conceptual level: whether it's feasible to abolish the Act and whether modern life of a Nation is possible without the existence of Companies?

Companies are already powerful. It's the lobbyists sponsored by companies that influence policy making.
Be it government or company, it's people that are going to take these decisions. What values drive these people is going to shape the future. We must be addressing the education system which is not holistic, just intellect oriented. Thats where India, the vishwaguru, comes in :)
Short answer is no. Economic sustenance is of utmost importance. Humans have achieved this much clarity at least, for now. Economic decisions will shape the immediate future. My point is. The only way I see this working, is if humans approach consciously. Value upgradation.
https://twitter.com/seekingmischief/status/1098165490868994048?s=19
One's own values pushing one towards taking a conscious decision rather than being told what to do is more convincing to any human being.

https://t.co/EQyfdbeAij On the eve of his 10 years as Sarsanghachalak @RSSorg, an assessment & appreciation: no one has been as quietly influential & effective as Mohan Bhagwatji. Mainstreaming the RSS & internationalising Hindutva may be summed up as his greatest achievements.
https://twitter.com/MakrandParanspe/status/1099211574546444289?s=19
“Bhagwat has endeavoured to rescue Hindutva from the narrow straitjacket..dubbed & slandered as a supposedly fascist & chauvinist ideology. Bhagwat has rehabilitated it as the proud identity badge of new age Indians and globalised Hindus.” https://t.co/65RJllm6SK

@davidfrawleyved's 1997 call for intellectual or Bauddhik Kshatriyas still resonates: "An intellectual Kshatriya must not merely be defensive but creative and expansive...based upon deep thought [not] mere rhetoric, character assassination, or slogans." https://t.co/Ge4Niwlt7m
https://twitter.com/MakrandParanspe/status/1098785362724433925?s=19
What is remarkable is that this call was given by @davidfrawleyved some 22 years back, long before today's activists, who mouth this sort of rhetoric without even mentioning this essay of his, let alone reading it. https://t.co/06PzsDGVBp
https://twitter.com/MakrandParanspe/status/1098898294426689536?s=19

Confused "ChaturBania" follower will end up destroying our nation. We want a leader with clear vision like #Netaji and not confused Gujju #Gandhi  bhakts. People should read what #SriAurobindo had to say about Gandhi...his #Ahimsa and #Satyagraha . https://t.co/9UuH50iivY
https://twitter.com/PhoenixIndranil/status/1099585730400051205?s=19

#multilearning On January 1, 1969, Sri Aurobindo’s Integral yoga co-worker and disciple, The Mother (at age 90) announced the "arrival" of the "superman consciousness" – "the intermediary between man and the supramental being".[9] https://t.co/01bL90Nbrz
https://twitter.com/RobDreamrealist/status/1099465311936491520?s=19

47.  With national unity as its goal, Indian nationalism would produce much disunity.
48. It would avow with passion, in Sri Aurobindo’s words as its essence, that ‘the return to ourselves is the cardinal feature of the national movement.
https://twitter.com/Janamejayan/status/1097898627433926656?s=19

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