Weekend Briefing No. 606
Fear of Downward Mobility -- Engineering vs. Legal Mindsets -- Swimming Lake Powell
Welcome to the weekend.
Prime Numbers
4 — Only 4% of Americans think people should be allowed to hunt bald eagles, making the national bird the least supported hunting target in a YouGov survey, even lower than dolphins (5%) and whales (7%).
81 — The Big Four meatpacking corporations process an estimated 81% of U.S. cattle, creating an hourglass power dynamic where millions of ranchers and consumers are squeezed by just four companies that control the vast majority of beef production.
$300,000,000 — North American theaters exceeded $300 million in weekly ticket sales only twice this summer compared to nine weeks in 2019, marking the worst summer box office performance since 1981 after adjusting for inflation.
Fear of Downward Mobility
The most anxious parents today often had the most relaxed college searches themselves. A generation that casually applied to four schools and chose based on practical factors like location and financial aid now obsesses over ultra-selective admissions for their own children. These "panicking class" parents living in affluent suburbs believe their kids need elite college credentials to maintain the family's lifestyle, despite their own success often stemming from less prestigious institutions. The irony reveals how college anxiety has become a luxury problem of the privileged, where fear of downward mobility drives increasingly frantic pursuit of brand-name universities. WSJ (3 minutes)
Engineering vs. Legal Mindsets
Swimming above a submerged Chinese city reveals how entire civilizations can be rebuilt when unconstrained state power meets engineering ambition. Dan Wang's concept of China as an "engineering state" versus America as a "lawyerly society" captures real differences in how nations approach development and problem-solving. While China's leaders predominantly study engineering and focus on physical transformation from high-speed rail networks to massive infrastructure projects. American governance remains dominated by lawyers trained in procedural thinking and risk mitigation. The data shows China produces nearly 7 million engineering undergraduates annually compared to America's 120,000 law students, reflecting fundamentally different national priorities about whether to build first or regulate first. However, Wang's framework may be too simplistic; China's system is better understood as a "Leninist developmental state" that combines engineering capacity with unconstrained political power, while America's "vetocracy" of checks and balances makes any large-scale building. Whether bridges or social programs are extraordinarily difficult regardless of professional backgrounds. Cogitations (15 minutes)
New Tax Law Changes Everything
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act brings sweeping tax reforms that could dramatically impact finances. New deductions, credits, and brackets create both opportunities and pitfalls that are nearly impossible to navigate alone. Taxpayers risk costly mistakes or missed savings without professional guidance. The complexity of these changes demands expert assistance to maximize benefits and avoid compliance errors. TaxFrame decodes these new regulations for clients, identifying every applicable tax-saving opportunity and crafting strategic plans tailored to unique situations. Their proactive approach ensures clients are positioned to thrive under the new tax landscape, not just survive it. The legislation is already in effect—waiting means losing money. Partnering with TaxFrame transforms these complex changes into a competitive advantage. Financial futures depend on getting this right. TaxFrame (Sponsored)
Swimming Lake Powell
Dragging 215 pounds of survival gear while swimming 140 miles transforms endurance athletics into an exercise in radical self-reliance. Shane Schieffer's 10-day Lake Powell crossing requires consuming 8,000 calories daily and executing 200,000 shoulder rotations while managing water filtration, solar power systems, and waste disposal from a floating paddle board rig. The attempt represents a shift from traditional supported ultra-endurance events toward completely unassisted challenges that test both physical limits and logistical planning capabilities. His solar-powered, zero-trace approach demonstrates how modern technology can enable previously impossible solo expeditions while maintaining environmental responsibility. This type of extreme self-supported adventure requires the participant to master navigation, nutrition timing, equipment maintenance, and risk management simultaneously. Skills that translate directly to emergency preparedness and autonomous problem solving in any high stakes environment. Kottke (5 minutes)
Mental Code-Switching Mastery
Your brain is already fluent in multiple "thinking languages", you just don't realize you're switching between them every day. When you move from explaining internet memes to your parents to discussing quarterly reports at work, you're not just changing topics but activating entirely different cognitive operating systems. This mental flexibility, called cognitive multiculturalism, can be deliberately strengthened by diversifying three key areas: your information inputs, your social circles, and the identities you explore. The payoff is remarkable – enhanced creativity, better problem-solving abilities, and the social agility to connect authentically across any context you encounter. Ness Labs (4 minutes)
Trust Beats Intelligence Daily
Your future AI assistant's trustworthiness will matter more than its raw intelligence – imagine needing to know if your AI can reliably book life-saving medical appointments rather than just solve complex equations. As AI agents begin making autonomous decisions and interacting with other AIs behind the scenes, a comprehensive trust system becomes essential, measuring reliability, accountability, and error-correction abilities. Companies will advertise Trust Quotients (TQ) like they currently market processing speeds, and you'll need to maintain your personal AI agent's trust score much like a credit rating. The highest-performing AIs won't just be the smartest ones, but those that can consistently deliver on their promises and fix their inevitable mistakes. KK (7 minutes)
On Loving
The modern definition of love has it completely backwards. We've turned love into a transaction where we seek to feel good about ourselves rather than genuinely caring for another person. Today's popular understanding focuses on being "seen" and understood, but true love is actually about self-abnegation and active service to someone else's flourishing. Our therapeutic culture has replaced the ideal of pouring yourself out for another with protecting yourself from others, producing a generation of people too self-focused to experience real intimacy. The paradox is profound: you don't learn to love yourself first and then love others. You discover your own lovability by observing yourself in the act of genuinely loving someone else. NYT (7 minutes)
Should We Work Together?
Hi! I’m Kyle. This newsletter is my passion project. When I’m not writing, I run a law firm that helps startups move fast without breaking things. Most founders want a trusted legal partner, but they hate surprise legal bills. At Westaway, we take care of your startup’s legal needs for a flat, monthly fee so you can control your costs and focus on scaling your business. If you’re interested, let’s jump on a call to see if you’re a good fit for the firm. Click here to schedule a one-on-one call with me.
Weekend Wisdom
Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do. -Benjamin Spock
Very insightful, engaging and uplifting with a thank you!