Izabella Kaminska and the Tech Rentiers

With a title like that I feel I should commission a graphic novel.
From Dizzynomics:

Tech rentiers

I was going to start this post by saying I almost never disagree with anything Bloomberg’s Matt Levine writes. But then I realised that would be wrong. I never disagree with him.

Until today that is.

(Although, to be fair, the disagreement is more of a supplementary pedantic comment than a

"Debate: Does Longevity Put a Strain on the Economy?" (GE)

From GE Reports:

Nov 24, 2015 by Daniel Callahan, Co-Founder and President Emeritus of the Hastings Center

The question that’s often overlooked in the debate over longevity is not whether we can — but whether we should — radically extend life expectancies. The clear answer is, no.  

I have spent many of my 85 years thinking about old age, what it means and what we might do about it. There is

Should Pearson Decide to Sell Its Stake, Bertelsmann Seeks Partner to Buy Penguin Random House

From peHUB:

European media giant Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F) is looking for a private equity partner to help it buy the rest of publisher Penguin Random House should co-owner Pearson (PSON.L) want a swift exit from the business, three sources told Reuters.Privately owned Bertelsmann controls 53 percent of the publisher of bestsellers such as the Fifty Shades series and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher

"DARPA seeking novel mathematical frameworks for understanding and representing complexity"

We are still at least a decade away from being able to model systems that are both complex and chaotic. Fortunately you can get a lot done by understanding nonlinear jerk systems.
Now, could I get all the jerks to line up on the outside of the butterfly wings...

From Next Big Future:

Complex interconnected systems are increasingly becoming part of everyday life in both military and civilian

Business Insider's Parent, Axel Springer, Is Suing An Adblocker

From harknesslabs:
Are Adblock companies legal?

Today brought the news that Axel Springer, the media giant that recently bought business insider for 343 million is suing a ad blocker. Many would balk at this action, claiming that ad blocking is inherently legal and that this is just a dinosaur grasping for any method they can to grab any dollars on the ground. 

The thing is though, ad blockers

"Why and how do Munger and Buffett “discount the future cash flows” at the 30-year U.S. Treasury Rate?"

From 25iq:

Buffett and Munger use several methods which are at odds with traditional financial theory. Here is one of those nontraditional approaches:Buffett: “We don’t discount the future cash flows at 9% or 10%; we use the U.S. treasury rate. We try to deal with things about which we are quite certain. You can’t compensate for risk by using a high discount rate.”There is no law of nature

1,111 Carat Diamond Found In Botswana

From Motherboard:



The final resting place for a diamond the size of your fist is not where you’d expect. 

At a whopping 1,111 carats, the largest diamond discovered in over a century was found in Botswana this week. The rock measures 65mm x 56mm x 40mm, about the size of a tennis ball. 

The stone was found in Karowe mine, which is 300 miles north of the country’s capital, Gaborone. Two