In the world of business, where numbers often guide decisions, there's a fascinating principle called Goodhart's Law. Coined by British economist Charles Goodhart, this law states:

"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."

Key Takeaways

• Goodhart's Law warns of distorted metrics when tied to goals: It states, "When a measure…

"When Odysseus finally returns, he reminds everyone in Ithaca of a simple truth: a man’s home is not truly his unless he is willing to fight for it."

A powerful scene in the Odyssey happens when Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca after twenty years of war and wandering. You would expect the story to end with celebration, with the hero coming home, the family reunited, and order restored. Homer does something…

Jevon's Paradox is the counterintuitive idea that improvements in efficiency (in this case fuel) tend to increase, rather than decrease, overall use of that resource (in this case fuel).

In 1865, William Stanley Jevons, a British economist, observed that despite significant improvements in coal efficiency in steam engines, total coal consumption actually rose. Rather than saving fuel, efficiency made…

When you’re 5 years old, a year is 20% of your life. And when you’re 50 years old, a year is 2% of your life. This is an explanation given why time speeds up as you age. It's called Janet's law...

Source: ArchaeoHistories

During WWII, Hanns Scharff served as the Luftwaffe's master interrogator at Ausburg, responsible for questioning captured Allied fighter pilots. While his colleagues employed harsh physical and psychological torture, Scharff developed an entirely different method. He treated prisoners as guests rather than enemies, taking…

The Rise of Dopamine Culture - Ted Gioia

The Final Dictum: Friedman famously quotes his own book, Capitalism and Freedom:

"There is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud."

1. Core Thesis: Only People Have Responsibilities…

• Source: Gemini AI

The razor and blade model is a pricing strategy where a durable, high-utility product is sold at a low cost—or even a loss—to drive high-margin, recurring sales of a necessary, proprietary, and consumable component. Popularized by Gillette, this model locks in customers, ensuring long-term profitability through, for…

Odd Lots Books #Joe Weisenthal