Recent Readings, 13
One of the best future scenarios of the next decade — 2020s — by @fredwilson. It is hard to be not obvious and not implausible at the same time, but Fred is neither. It helps he is optimistic. “What Will Happen In The 2020s.”
This is true: “To a degree still difficult for outsiders to absorb, China is preparing to shape the twenty-first century, much as the U.S. shaped the twentieth.” From the must read article:
The question “why do the Chinese people like their current government?” is answered here with great intelligence, insight and empathy. I think this article is 100% correct from my personal experience of my extensive time in China. Link.
Deep fakes are getting better each day. Here is a holiday melody of one actor doing a series of impressions speaking, while the AI does an impression visually. Link.
It is a thing: Mukbang (mook bong) are live streaming videos of the host eating, often over-eating huge meals. It started in Korea and is now a sizable global phenom. Link.
Quibi is a $1 billion experiment in video streaming. Some if its ideas will work, many won’t. We won’t know which until it launches. Link.
New trend: naming boys with action-words, like Charger, Trooper, Stryker. Great article about new styles in naming children. Link.
The case for a 100-year bond. Link.
Using state-of-the-art technology to add a glowing trace of a hockey puck on TV was a brilliant innovation that did not stick. Perhaps it was too early to be accepted, but it did change sports viewing. And perhaps the time is right to bring it, or something like it, back. The history of the glowing puck:
In response to highly overworked urban lives, some young Chinese are dropping out, almost becoming Chinese hippies. Here is a short video on early hippy pioneers.
Major change brewing: “Before long, most of our food will come neither from animals nor plants, but from unicellular life.” Good summary anticipation. Link.
