Throughout life, all people will endure turbulent moments. In these spells of unsteadiness, we often have but two choices:
Let difficulty consume us, or, find humility knowing that at any given moment, there are endless bounties of wonderous things we can appreciate.
Sometimes, being consumed by struggle is not only an understandable thing, but also an appropriate response.
Consider individuals living in extreme poverty, or existing within the confines of armed conflict. Would you always be thinking about all the positive things in your life? I know I wouldn’t.
Yet, there are occasions where wallowing in sadness feels entirely inappropriate, if the source of distress is put in better context.
Maybe you’re having a bad day. You got stuck in much worse than anticipated traffic, which made you late for something important. You’re filled up with stress thinking about how your lateness will be received, even though realistically, you didn’t do anything wrong.
We must practice letting these types of negative feelings wash away with the same swiftness in which they infiltrated our bodies.
A helpful practice for me is consistently reading first hand accounts of truly negative human experiences (perspective is everything), and trying as best I can to appreciate the little things in life.
Seemingly minuscule events like a funny joke from a friend or a good night of sleep is something we have to cherish.
Ideally, your mood over time when plotted out should look like a well performing stock chart. Maybe there are bumps in the road, and sometimes the bumps become troughs we experience for extended periods. But in the long run, we want to be moving up and to the right:
On the Western Front during the First World War, the military employed specialist miners to dig tunnels under No Man's Land. The main objective was to place mines beneath enemy defensive positions. When it was detonated, the explosion would destroy that section of the trench. The infantry would then advance towards the enemy front-line hoping to take advantage of the confusion that followed the explosion of an underground mine.
Soldiers in the trenches developed different strategies to discover enemy [tunneling]. One method was to drive a stick into the ground and hold the other end between the teeth and feel any underground vibrations. Another one involved sinking a water-filled oil drum into the floor of the trench. The soldiers then took it in turns to lower an ear into the water to listen for any noise being made by tunnellers.
It could take as long as a year to dig a tunnel and place a mine. As well as digging their own tunnels, the miners had to listen out for enemy tunnellers. On occasions miners accidentally dug into the opposing side's tunnel and an underground fight took place. When an enemy's tunnel was found it was usually destroyed by placing an explosive charge inside.
Mines became larger and larger. At the beginning of the Somme offensive, the British denoted two mines that contained 24 tons of explosives. Another 91,111 lb. mine at Spanbroekmolen created a hole that afterwards measured 430 ft. from rim to rim. Now known as the Pool of Peace, it is large enough to house a 40 ft. deep lake.
In January, 1917, General Sir Herbert Plumer, gave orders for 20 mines to be placed under German lines at Messines. Over the next five months more than 8,000 metres of tunnel were dug and 600 tons of explosive were placed in position. Simultaneous explosion of the mines took place at 3.10 on 7th June. The blast killed an estimated 10,000 soldiers and was so loud it was heard in London.
This aspect of the war is explored a bit in the popular TV series “Peaky Blinders”. May the tragic nature of conflicts such as these, as well as the associated engineering accomplishments, never be forgotten.
Across many countries that are far along the traditional development curve, there is a hardline resistance to the thought of foreigners crossing the border.
I could write many words about the origins of these anti-immigration beliefs, but instead, I’ll get straight to the point.
There will be a country (or a few) who get smart about the benefits of immigration quickly. They will understand that this moment presents an incredible opportunity for them to enjoy the positive effects of immigration.
Then, they will figure out how to rally their country in support of it.
Population aging is the dominant demographic trend of the twenty-first century—a reflection of increasing longevity, declining fertility, and the progression of large cohorts to older ages. Never before have such large numbers of people reached ages 65+ (the conventional old-age threshold). We expect to add 1 billion older individuals in the next three to four decades, atop the more than 700 million older people we have today. Among the older population, the group aged 85+ is growing especially fast and is projected to surpass half a billion in the next 80 years. This trend is significant because the needs and capacities of the 85+ crowd tend to differ significantly from those of 65-to-84-year-olds.
Although every country in the world will experience population aging, differences in the progression of this phenomenon will be considerable. Japan is currently the world leader, with 28 percent of its population 65 and over, triple the world average. By 2050, 29 countries and territories will have larger elder shares than Japan has today. In fact, the Republic of Korea’s elder share will eventually overtake Japan’s, reaching the historically unprecedented level of 38.1 percent. Japan’s median age (48.4) is also currently the highest of any country and more than twice that of Africa (19.7). But by 2050, Korea (median age 56.5 in 2050) is also expected to overtake Japan on that metric (54.7).
You may be wondering, what’s the problem with having more old people than young people?
Economists continue to express concerns. These relate to downward pressure on economic growth due to labor and capital shortages and falling asset prices in the future as a growing and more aged cohort of older people seeks to support itself by liquidating investments. Another major issue has to do with fiscal stress. Government coffers will be strained by rising pension liabilities and the cost of health and long-term care associated with the expected growth in the incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer, among others. These challenges will, however, be partially offset by the increasing, but typically neglected, value older people create through productive nonmarket activities like volunteer work and caregiving.
…for the coming years and decades of the 21st century, the demographic transition in China will constitute a major constraint on the growth of Chinese power. A working-age population that peaked in 2011 at more than 900 million will have declined by nearly a quarter, to some 700 million, by mid-century. These workers will have to provide by then for nearly 500 million Chinese aged 60 and over, compared with 200 million today. America’s social security challenges seem like a policy picnic by comparison.
For countries with stalling or already shrinking populations, the need for an influx of young, working class citizens is paramount.
Paraphrasing something I once heard from Peter Zeihan, there is no precedent in our economic model for population in drastic decline.
I hope sincerely that my country once again becomes a willing host for the vast amounts of people seeking to live there. As for right now, we certainly have barriers to achieving that.
Demographic instability could be a trend that has profound consequences for the countries who fall victim to anti-immigration nonsense. It could also have profound benefits for the countries willing to seize the opportunity.
I haven’t even mentioned the cultural and humanitarian benefits of paving a way towards mass amounts of legal immigration…
NBA Roundup: LeBron Is Insane, Booker Drops 40, and No Nights Off
Just as “there is no precedent in our economic model for population in drastic decline”, there is no precedent for what LeBron is doing in year 21.
We can start by saying only 5 other players have even reached a 21st NBA season. But what’s more ridiculous to me is that he’s still producing at an all-star level, whereas those other players who enjoyed tremendous longevity in their own right, were complete and utter afterthoughts by this point in their careers.
Here he is, just the other night, becoming the first player to score 35+ points in their 21st season:
Just ridiculous.
Next, I want to highlight Devin Booker’s recent performance. It was truly a shot-making masterclass:
The thing about Booker is that he’s not amongst the very best athletes in the NBA, but he has such mastery over the craft of scoring the ball that it doesn’t matter. In this 40 point outburst you can see his skills on display in all facets of scoring: three-pointers, mid range, at the rim, in transition and in the half-court via post-up touches and much more. Incredible performance.
Lastly, just checking in quickly on the current standings, we can see a lot of parity throughout both conferences.
In addition, the few lesser teams (which actually still have a ton of talent) are getting obliterated on a nightly basis. I can’t reiterate enough how unprecedented the level of talent is in the league today. I’ve never seen it before.
Here’s the Eastern Conference standings. Notice the Pistons and Wizards losing an incredible 22 games in a row!
Here’s the Western Conference. Notice how the vast majority of teams are on no more than a 1 or 2 game win/loss streak. It’s mind blowing how competitive it is.
That’s it for me! I hope my fellow Americans enjoyed a lovely holiday, and I can’t wait to have more for you all soon. Until then, here’s some songs I’ve been enjoying lately:
WWI tunneling is fascinating!