This is a visual story of where stuff is made, moved and consumed. From production to export, import to consumption, we'll explore the flows of the world's most crucial commodities and products. In Part 1 we covered $2.2T of agricultural products. Then in Part 2, we went over $6.6T of minerals, metals, and industrial materials. [...]
This is a visual story of where stuff is made, moved and consumed. From production to export, import to consumption, we'll explore the flows of the world's most crucial commodities and products. In Where Stuff Is Made Part 1 we covered $2.2T of agricultural products. Here in Part 2, we'll dig into $6.6T of minerals, [...]
This is a visual story of where stuff is made, moved and consumed. From production to export, import to consumption, we'll explore the flows of the world's most crucial commodities and products. Below is $21 trillion of global trade. Box size represents exports by dollar value. We'll dive into a hand-picked selection of the big [...]
No doubt 2022 was one of my most challenging years. I was consumed by work in ways I never thought was possible. I think I even lost myself for a while. One good thing (of many) that came out this experience was that it crystalized several career lessons that had long been on my mind. [...]
So in recent years I've become a bit of a history fanatic. Weekday meals? 30 minutes of Youtube documentaries for lunch. 1 hour for dinner. Reading list? At least half are history books. Odd few minutes here and there? I'll be exhausting the question library on another history quiz app. We'll come back to this [...]
Fifty years ago today, one of the most momentous events of the 20th century unfolded. But unlike the well-known events frequently told in schools - fall of Berlin wall, Deng Xiaoping opening China, NASA moon landing, the pill, Hiroshima, the Great Depression, Bolshevik revolution, Ferdinand assassination, Wright brothers flight etc - what happened on 15th [...]
I've always been fascinated by the history of money. Not only as it's a key driver of human behaviour and geopolitics. But as major force that shapes the trajectory of human endeavor. Put simply, it's an integral part to understanding how the world works. "If you want to understand how the world works, follow the [...]
So I went through this unusual mental health 'complication' in recent weeks. And I wouldn't be surprised if there's many out there sharing a similar experience. I wrote this post mostly as a guide for my own use. Maybe it worked as I think I'm back on track now. If you're going through something similar, [...]
It was mid 2014. We were sipping cold beers on a rooftop bar on a humid Saigon evening. Let's call my friend Ryan. We were talking geopolitics. Or rather, he was raving on while I was just asking questions. Ryan: "Yeah, basically Russia called the West's bluff. They annexed Crimea to get access to another [...]
If you liked Nassim Taleb's books - Antifragile, Black Swan etc - then you'll love Mandelbrot's Misbehaviour of Markets. Benoit Mandelbrot is one of the greatest mathematicians of our time. Most renowned for his work on fractals (including the famous Mandelbrot set), he applies a complexity science lens to financial markets. As with most transdisciplinary [...]
