Some wisdom from St. Augustine
Author Archives: Mike
Favorite Books of 2015
A dozen book recommendations
Verisimilitude
The following motion picture is based on first hand accounts of actual events. In the opening scene to Zero Dark Thirty, the quote listed above fades, and recordings of actual 911 calls from September 11th play to a black screen. It’s unsettling—some might say unethical—and it sets the stage to say: this is how history …
The Ancien Régime and the Revolution
With all the hubbub about China as of late, I thought it might be worth reading Alexis De Tocqueville’s The Ancien Régime and the Revolution (Penguin: 2008). A number of China Hands say the Party has used this book to inform their approach to domestic stability and harmony.1 I have no idea whether these assertions …
A Quick Take on Farhad Manjoo’s Piece About the Public / Private Market Conundrum
Farhad Manjoo has a thought-provoking piece on tech companies staying private. This is a dynamic that Benedict Anderson recently highlighted in an Andreessen Horowitz presentation on the state of U.S. Venture Capital / Tech Funding that deservedly generated a lot of buzz (see: US Tech Funding). Both are worth reading if you’re into these sorts …
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Light Blogging
In the space of 10 minutes this morning, while trying to get out the door for our child’s first pediatrician appointment: Baby decided he was hungry again so had to nurse Baby blew out his diaper Baby peed all over himself whilst being changed Dog barfed on floor All on a couple hours’ sleep. Light …
Reflections on a Winding Road to EM Private Equity
In late 2005, I would arrive at the office early and catch up on the latest news of sectarian violence in Iraq. It made for gruesome reading—bodies discovered in vacant houses, tied to chairs with clear evidence of torture. A favorite tool seemed to be power drills, which were used on knees, ankles, heads. There …
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Opinions
‘Intelligence differs from one man to the next, And yet each is happy with his own insight— Each thinks himself much brighter than the rest, Each values and praises himself to the height. All think their own understanding the best— Forever lauding their superior intellect, Forever denigrating all the rest. ‘Men who make common cause …
Technological Acceleration and the Wet Noodle of Monetary Policy
The American boy of 1854 stood nearer the year 1 than to the year 1900. The education he had received bore little relation to the education he needed. Speaking as an American of 1900, he had as yet no education at all. He knew not even where or how to begin.1 If science were to …
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Life To Come
Sometime within the next three months I shall become a father. So begins the last big adventure, a maelstrom of unequal parts agency and cupidity. On the one hand lies the opportunity to help mold a decent human being, showering him1 with love, and equipping him with the values, traits, tenacity and moral fiber required to …
Mike Casey 