NYTimes: “Wordle is a simple game in many respects. The vast majority of users play using the default settings, where you can guess any letter on any turn. But a smaller slice of players (you may be one) choose to play in “hard mode,” which adds a major constraint: Any revealed hints must be used in subsequent guesses. If letters turn yellow and green, you are forced to use them in your next guess. So you might think that hard mode is harder — it says so in the name…An analysis of 730 million games from the last year says the opposite: Players in hard mode solve in fewer turns on average.”
WSJ: “Science suggests you don’t need a long vacation to recharge. A 24-hour break that interrupts your routine—and puts you into a flow state—can be hugely restorative.”
Arnold Kling: “It could turn out that today’s tech stock darlings are also like chain letters. They transfer wealth from the broader public to the initial owners. When the supply of suckers runs out, the share prices will collapse. Even the early owners will not do well unless they cash out in time. The alternative view is that stock prices are high because the companies are creating real wealth. That could be true. It is impossible to prove it false. The very term “real wealth” is undefined. So much of the economy is intangible. We have more stuff, but mostly we are better off because of innovation, specialization, and trade. We are telling ourselves that we are wealthy. The government has borrowed money from us, and we expect to get paid. We own shares of stock, and we think that we can always sell them for a good price. It will all turn out fine in the end. Unless it doesn’t.”
Acquired (via WSJ): “The medium of animation itself is a structural reason why other film studios haven’t achieved Disney’s success: it is uniquely well-suited to form the core of such a flywheel. Mickey Mouse doesn’t age, doesn’t have bad hair days, and never asks for a raise on sequels. Animated characters happily lend the company their name, image and likeness (forever) at zero cost for commercial exploitation. They’re always available to show up at theme parks or on set, and have no problem being in two places at once. Of course, the voice actors and theme park “cast members,” as Disney calls the employees who play the characters, do share in the economics. But it’s quite a different picture than say, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.”
