Weekend Reading #52

This is the fifty-second weekly edition of our newsletter, Weekend Reading, sent out on Saturday 25th January 2020. To receive a copy each week directly into your inbox, sign up here.

***

What we’re doing.

We continue to see good deal flow as we prepare to launch our deal platform for professional investors. Mainly equities at this stage, with a nice mix of seed, Series A and later stage stuff coming across our desks, from locations as diverse as Turkey, the USA, Poland and Indonesia. If you’re interested in finding out more, or indeed introducing us to deal flow from your network, please do hit us up via deals@threebody.capital or reply to this email.

This week we attended a lecture from (arguably) our favourite contemporary quantum physicist, Sean Carroll, at the Royal Institution. We wrote about his book, Something Deeply Hidden, when we first came across him on his podcast last year, discussing his view that the universe is continually branching into what may be an infinite (or at least extremely large) number of parallel universes. We think this gives us a good framework for thinking about the multiple paths that markets can take, but listening to Sean talk through the arguments for the “Many-Worlds” view of Quantum Mechanics, particularly about how clunky and complicated the alternative theories are, perhaps we are indeed continually being split as we get ever-more, in the Quantum sense, entangled.

We have persevered with our January health push, believing that clichés can (and should) be permitted if they make you healthier, happier and more productive. We are particularly interested in the science of memory, and all the research seems to point to one inescapable fact – if you want to improve your memory, you must improve your sleep. The effect of sleep on memory is an active field of research in neurology, psychology, and related disciplines, and although researchers still have much to learn about sleep and memory, it can be said with certainty that a good night’s sleep improves concentration for learning and remembering what we have learned. Memory processes are stabilised and enhanced by nocturnal sleep and even daytime naps. We are yet to try sleeping in the office to get an edge, but never say never!

What we’re reading.

We flew through Hannah Lucinda Smith’s “Erdogan Rising”, a masterpiece of a book if you want to understand the cult of personality around Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.  The most interesting anecdote is that Erdoğan’s biggest competitor died in 1938. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, has grown stronger and stronger in the minds of most secular Turks as the years have gone by and for President Erdoğan 2023 looms large.  The 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic is the president’s target to surpass Turkey’s original founding father in the hearts and minds of the Turkish people. The problem is the competition is tough. What is dead can never die.  

This week we’ve been revisiting The Internet Of Money, a seminal book that delves into the why of bitcoin. Acclaimed blockchain expert Andreas M. Antonopoulos examines and contextualizes the significance of bitcoin through a series of essays spanning the exhilarating maturation of this technology. This is a great entry point into the universe of blockchain and crypto, from a guy who writes (and speaks) incredibly eloquently and intelligibly about a complex subject. But the coolest thing about this book is that it’s based on a series of lectures given by Antonopoulos as far back as 2013 – which means you don’t even have to read it. You can simply watch each chapter on Youtube.

We spent way too much time on Twitter this week, as the #fintwit community weighed into the Fed’s recent intervention in the repo market. Here’s what Zero Hedge’s Tyler Durden (yup, not his real name) had to say about it.

We also follow Adam Elman (who heads up sustainability in Europe for Amazon), who noted that China is moving to phase out single-use plastics including plastic bags, to be banned in all major cities by the end of 2020. This is a huge theme, and it’s only going to get bigger. Bear in mind that around 8% of the world’s oil production is used to make plastic, of which about 40% turns into disposable packaging. And of that, some 18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into the oceans every year. This article explores some of the startups that are tackling this rapidly growing area – who knows, perhaps we’ll be listing one of them on our deal platform one day soon?

Finally, we got stuck into this article about how Slack is ruining work. Research from the University of California and Humboldt University has found workers can lose up to 23 minutes on a task every time they are interrupted, and this productivity issue has led some companies to curb the use of Slack. Here at Three Body Capital we use Slack (sometimes). We also use WhatsApp (all of the time). They can be distracting, but they can also be incredibly useful and fun. Like everything in life, instant messaging requires a commitment to balance and a modicum of common sense. For those who can’t handle it, there’s always Airplane mode. 

What we’re watching (and listening to).

We finally got around to watching the (no longer) new Blade Runner movie, and we’re happy to report that it’s superb. Intelligent, gorgeous, frightening and beautiful in equal measure, if will make you question the sustainability of the world around us – and our very humanity.

On a lighter note, we’ve been playing loads of fun, positive music, especially first thing in the morning, before the sun comes up here in London (which happens around 8am at this time of year) and it’s dark, cold and eerily quiet as all the birds have flown away for the winter. As an antidote to this misery, names like Bon Jovi, Van Morrison, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Orchestra Baobab have been dominating our Spotify. For those of you with kids, you must check out this record entitled, “Songs of Peace & Love for Kids & Parents Around the World”. It’s absolutely joyous and gives us maximum nachas! South Africa’s pre-eminent singing group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, present a collection of newly recorded classics, introduced with short explanations and positive messages of peace, love, and tolerance – including an AWESOME version of “Old MacDonald” that will have the entire family singing along. You are going to love it!