Becoming Eden

Author: Will

  • Mutual Understanding – A New Podcast From Divia!

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    We have an announcement! Divia has started a podcast, along with Ben Goldhaber, called Mutual Understanding. In their own words: mutual: a person you follow and who follows you back on twitter This is a podcast dedicated to mutual understanding. Divia and Ben have a bunch of fascinating mutuals who they’d like to actually understand.…

  • How To Invest in Startups with No Experience (Don’t)

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    As I have continued to get older, and watched my age cohort becoming more successful, I occasionally encounter people who have made a lot of money in an unrelated field, and now want to become an investor. Naturally they ask me for my advice on investing like a venture capitalist. (A prominent subset of these…

  • How to Become a Venture Capitalist (Don’t)

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    One of the most frequent questions I get asked is “how do I break into venture capital?” The short answer is: you shouldn’t. The longer answer is: there’s no set path to do so.

  • The Quickstart Guide to Fasting

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    It is no secret that I am a huge proponent of fasting, which has been well documented across most cultures throughout history. My belief in its benefits come from a convergence of anthropology, biochemistry, complex systems theory, medical case studies, (low quality) scientific studies, and personal experience. This post is meant to be a practical…

  • The Heritability of Everything

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    The gold standard in heritability estimates is the twin study, which involves looking at identical and fraternal twins, raised together or apart. This allows the cleanest test of decomposing the variance in observed traits into genetics, shared environment (factors equally affecting all children raised together), and non-shared environment (everything else, including random noise) contributions. Generally…

  • What Has Changed my Political Beliefs

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    I think it’s safe to say that political beliefs are one of the most sticky types of beliefs we commonly hold. By some measures partisan polarization is at record highs for the modern era (though these figures are also debated). Politics are also beliefs that provoke some of the strongest arguments between differing viewpoints, and…

  • Summary of How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Can Talk

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    How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Can Talk is a parenting / communication book written by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. While this book is specifically intended for parents to have better relationships with their children, the vast majority of the advice contained within applies universally to all interactions, and…

  • A Theory of Economic Development

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    If I had to give the Most Underrated Professor Award to anyone I studied under, it would easily have to be Professor Meir Kohn. His work falls squarely outside the paradigm of mainstream economics, which (coming from me anyway) could not be a higher compliment – yet also makes it difficult to get traction inside…

  • (Partial) Summary of A Theory of Moral Sentiments

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    Adam Smith is best known for being the father of modern economics with the publishing of his magnum opus The Wealth of Nations. Far fewer people know about his second most famous book A Theory of Moral Sentiments (which, incidentally, is where the term “invisible hand” actually comes from). While the book is nominally about moral philosophy,…

  • Understanding Body Language, Touch, and Appearance

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    When it came to understanding body language, fashion, all of that kind of stuff, I used to be a typical clueless nerd. I didn’t perceive it, and I didn’t think it really mattered. I know better now. It matters. A lot. Over the years I have seen a lot of objections to learning to perceive…