Restaurant Mortality, Civilisational Crisis, And More
5 amazing ideas I learned last month
Hello,
Hope you enjoyed last week’s read on motivation and got motivated to do something about your motivation levels.
It’s time for a monthly roundup (it should’ve been posted last week but hey, anytime’s a good time for learning new shit).
Here are 5 interesting ideas from last month that’ll make you think:
Why Restaurants Fail: Everybody dreams of starting a restaurant someday, but >90% fold very soon. Why is this such a high-mortality biz? Flashy new restaurants that offer something ‘unique’ end up being booked out for the initial months, but once the initial hype dies down, we don’t want to go there again, because we’ve ticked them off our checklists. We go to these places for the novelty, but we fundamentally want to keep trying new things, which means those flashy new ideas aren’t set up for repeat visits. So the remaining 10% that thrive are the simple Udupis & Sri Krishnas, designed to keep costs low and ensure that patrons visit them regularly (2-3x/week) instead of being flashy one-time visits.
Destined to fold Civilizational Collapse: Statistically studying the rhythms of history, authors like Peter Turchin have come up with 3 variables that, when out of whack, have always led to major civilizational crises. Those three variables are high levels of inequality, a decline in average wages, and high competition for elite jobs. The scary part? All 3 indicators are flashing red in the West today. But hey, as history has also shown, unsustainable things can go on for much longer than our minds can fathom.
Q-Commerce Vs Kiranas: After first laughing at the idea of 10-minute deliveries and cracking hilarious jokes on LinkedIn, Indians have now become addicted to them. But this is a major threat to Kiranas (mom-and-pop stores), who’re seeing revenues drop by as much as 50%, and they’re pushing for sharper regulation of the sector. The big reason behind this is that these companies are flouting FDI norms and paying lawyers hefty fees to find workarounds, employing the same playbook as e-commerce companies to skirt the law. We may be in for a major showdown between the 2 factions.
Hitler and IQ: Hitler was anti-IQ, and the intelligent reader can guess why. The Nazis had started an intelligence test during WW2 but started hating it when the Jews continuously outperformed. So they stopped those tests, declared them invalid, and looked for different ones in which the Germans would fare better! (via Chris Williamson)
The Israel Lobby: What explains the fact that Israel fearlessly projects its power in the Middle East, carrying out strikes and assaults, without seeming to be worried about any sort of backlash? Geopolitical thinker John Mearsheimer points out that this is because of the unlimited Israel lobby in America. This level of unconditional support is unprecedented in history and there’s no reason it’ll change, which is why Israel does whatever it wants to, knowing fully well that Uncle Sam will step in whenever things go awry. But this isn’t all that good for the US itself, which is facing diplomatic tensions with Islamic nations like Malaysia and Indonesia over its policies.
That’s it for the day folks. Like this piece? You’ll love these as well:
Why You Need ‘Optimal Deprivation’ [Important Read]
Why I Quit Meat [Popular]