WIBTAL

I spoke with a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee who said they discovered significant benefits were being paid to dead people. He quipped that assuming “someone must be checking this” was always wrong. This makes sense as the U.S. is ~250 years old. Government employees inherit most problems from the people before them. I wouldn't want to clean up others’ messes either. In most jobs, identifying problems adds value. In government, it can make you a pariah. Exposing waste jus...

There’s a gym in New York quietly reinventing the fitness industry. It’s called The Athletic Clubs, and its core innovation is simple: “squads.” Squads are fixed groups of about 20 people who train together at the same time twice a week, then grab coffee afterward. Show up consistently and your squad becomes a group of close friends. It adds a team-like dynamic to your workouts that makes the routine feel more meaningful. This flips the traditional gym model, where the best customers are the ...

Socrates once walked through a busy market and said, “I see so many things I do not need—and am made richer for knowing it.” The more you need, the less free you are. I understand this, but wanting things feels so natural, so human. Ironically, I find myself wanting to not want things, which contradicts the whole idea of not wanting. But not wanting anything also feels extreme, like being a monk, and I don't want to be a monk. Instead of shaving my head and wearing robes, here's what I tell m...

Most of the successful people I know don’t wake up early and workout. I used to think the opposite. The motivational YouTube videos I watched told me that success required a 5 a.m. wake-up, a perfectly made bed, and workouts like a Navy SEAL. How you do one thing is how you do everything, they said. I bought in and lived it for over a decade. But the more I got to know people doing meaningful, high-leverage work, the more obvious it became that many of them weren’t following those “rules.” Th...

Incentives shape belief more than evidence does. Most people like to think their opinions are grounded in objective truth. But more often, we believe things because they serve us. They help us fit in, feel good, or get paid.

"Dry January" is upon us, where people attempt to go a month without drinking. I think it's a good thing for people to try as it's a reminder of how prevalent booze is. Alcohol holds a contradictory place in society. We celebrate it at our happiest moments while acknowledging its role in ruining lives. It stars in ads showing glamorous lifestyles, yet presents many examples to the contrary. Society presents a 'booze goldilocks zone' where moderate drinking is expected, while abstinence and ex...