Hey there!

Michael has been happy about finally being finished with all of this classes, and is getting back into the groove of working on his thesis. And then also is preparing to meet Lina in Athens later this week. Excited to do 2 more escape rooms from the top 100 escape rooms list.

Juan just got back from Naples, Italy. He is certain that he can no longer live in a cold country with crap food like the Netherlands.

WEALTH

Never Enough

Recently, I've been thinking about a topic I mentioned a few newsletters ago: the belief that billionaires are inherently 'evil.' This idea doesn’t quite sit right with me, so I wanted to put some of my thoughts down, along with some book notes.

I just finished Andrew Wilkinson's book: Never Enough. It details his journey from growing up with financial struggles to becoming a billionaire. He started as a coffee barista, then became a web developer, started an agency, and eventually invested in other companies. His story offers some interesting perspectives on wealth and success.

The Bad Catch-Up Chat

After Andrew became a billionaire, a former employee from his first business wanted to meet up. Andrew expected a friendly catch-up but was met with anger. The ex-employee felt underpaid, especially after seeing Andrew’s immense success. He believed he had only received 'leftover crusts' while Andrew pocketed millions.

Andrew explained that he had offered this employee stock options or raises multiple times. The employee always chose the raise, which, although substantial at $150k/year, was nothing compared to what the stock options could have earned him. Andrew also pointed out that even when the business struggled, the employee’s salary remained consistent. This highlights the risk-reward tradeoff between employer and employee—high risk for potentially high reward versus low risk for steady reward.

Who's Right Here?

This situation raises a crucial question: who’s right? It's clear that CEOs earning 10,000 times more than their lowest-paid employees seems excessive. But does that make them evil?

A recent conversation made me realize that many view the ultra-wealthy as villains because they have the power to do immense good but often fall short. It’s like Superman ignoring his potential to save lives. But think about it: you could become a firefighter and save lives, but if you don’t, does that make you evil? Life’s complexities go beyond simple labels of 'good' and 'bad.'

The Great Comparison Trap

One key takeaway from Never Enough is that humans constantly compare their status to those above them. We rarely feel content and always seek more. Even billionaires envy those with more extravagant yachts.

To us non-billionaires, this comparison seems absurd. We believe that with such wealth, they should focus on philanthropy. But remember, there's always someone looking at your life with the same envy and thinking you have more than enough.

Wrapping It Up

So, are billionaires evil? Not necessarily. The issue is more about perspective and the human tendency to never feel we have enough. Instead of labeling the wealthy as evil, perhaps we should focus on finding balance and understanding that life’s complexities don't fit into neat categories of good and bad.

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— Michael

HEALTH

Are headphones destroying our hearing?

Over a billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable, hearing loss. Many of us use headphones all the time and might be at risk of causing damage.

Our hearing is composed of tiny hair cells in our ears, as shown below.

When your hair cells are healthy, they stand up like a field of wheat. When a loud sound comes through, these hair cells look like a tornado passed through them and they get twisted up.

If you’re lucky, these hair cells can straighten out again. But if you are exposed to loud sounds often enough, or the sound is loud enough, the damage is permanent and the hair cells are bent out of shape forever. Once your hearing is damaged, we don’t have any treatment to bring it back.

This damage is caused by duration and loudness, measured in decibels (dB) and plotted on a logarithmic scale. If you listen to something at 85dB and then raise the volume to 88dB, you’ve doubled the loudness even though it is such a small shift. It gets dangerous because we often listen to music louder than we realize, especially for our favorite songs.

This is especially dangerous if you are trying to overpower the sound of a loud train, coffee shop, or any external sound.

What about noise cancellation?

It seems to add a layer of protection to your hearing. There are two types of noise cancellation: Passive and Active.

Passive is when something is physically blocking the sound, like some big headphones. Active is when you electronically cancel out the sound of the external world with software. If your noise-cancellation headphones work properly, they should provide no noise for your ears and provide protection.

It is important to note that noise-cancelling headphones don’t work on everything. They work great for low-frequency hums, but occasionally higher-pitched sounds tend to pass through to your ears.

The key takeaway is that we should make a conscious effort to take care of our ears, just like we do when we put on sunscreen.

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— Juan

TAKING ACTION

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