Great points. It depends on how confident you are in the claim that the primary purpose was “artificially boost quarterly profits.” No particular evidence presented in the excerpt.
> For example, Gryta and Mann report that GE would sometimes artificially boost quarterly profits by selling an asset (e.g., a diesel train) to a friendly bank, knowing that it could then buy back the asset at a time of GE’s choosing.
Interesting point. There are obvious connections from
the Yamas to the eight-fold path of Buddhism: Right View, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
I’m not aware of an explicit ordering. But the other seven steps complement and deepen the meditation.
> As for upper bounds, de Bruijn showed back in 1950 that {\Lambda \leq 1/2}. The only progress since then has been the work of Ki, Kim and Lee in 2009, who improved this slightly to {\Lambda < 1/2}. The primary proposed aim of this Polymath project is to obtain further explicit improvements to the upper bound of {\Lambda}. Of course, if we could lower the upper bound all the way to zero, this would solve the Riemann hypothesis, but I do not view this as a realistic outcome of this project
To your point, there was some excitement and progress in the beginning, but it remains an unusual approach to mathematics.
I agree coding is a great discipline for both deep work and deliberate practice.
I would draw a distinction between the two. Deep work is about achieving the focus and attention to do serious work. Deliberate practice is about the motivation and effort to focus on improving your skill set.
You probably know this from Cal Newport’s excellent book, but for others. Two great but distinct mental tools to add to your kit.
The article points out they were previously hit a few privacy issues. There was an FTC order in 2012 which the FTC claimed Facebook violated with in months. So they got a 2019 order encouraging them to follow the 2012 order. Now this order encourages them to follow the 2019 and 2012 orders.
My personal view is these enforcements would be more effective if they hit the management of the corporations rather than the shareholders.
The article disagrees. But my sense is you are right in relative terms. Much more failing than acquiring.
Article:
> Startup M&A bounced back: The number of venture-backed companies that were acquired or merged with another company increased by 20% in Q1 compared to Q4 2022, with 57% of those M&A deals valued at $10 million or less.