What I Read This Week (12/22)
Wisdom from Socrates, MIT's Revolutionary Imaging Technology, How Every Child Can Thrive By Five, Dangers of Tylenol for 65+, Fed Cut Rates, Finally Winter Break, & Releasing My eBook!
Every week, I like to share what caught my attention. This is from 12/15/24 to 12/22/24
Old Idea
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." - Socrates
More harm is caused by stupid and incompetent people than evil people.
People act stupid when they are certain that they have all the answers.
When people are certain, they act stupid. When those people have power, they are dangerous.
I take this to mean not to be so certain. I do not know all the answers. This opens me up to learning new things. The worst that can happen is being reminded of something I already knew. From what I can tell, there is almost no upside to being certain I have all the answers.
New Ideas
MIT's Revolutionary Tissue Imaging Technology
MIT researchers have developed a groundbreaking imaging method that allows scientists to study living tissue without causing damage. You can read about it here!
Here's why I think this is cool:
Typically, traditional techniques kill cells during sample preparation; this method keeps cells alive, enabling real-time observation.
Specialized lasers and flexible fiber optics penetrate over 700 micrometers into tissue—more than three times deeper than previous methods.
By precisely controlling light to minimize scattering, researchers can capture detailed images of cells in action.
The technology offers new insights into disease progression, drug effects, and immune responses.
The new imaging technique enables laser light to penetrate deeper into living tissue, capturing sharper images of cells at different layers of a living system. The left is the initial image, and the right is the optimized image using the new technique.
The team is now working on algorithms to reconstruct high-resolution 3D structures of biological samples, further enhancing its capabilities. 🤯🤯
How Every Child Can Thrive By Five
I watched a 7-year-old give a TED Talk on neuroscience, specifically on the importance of the first five years of mental health development. The video is only 7 minutes long and is a well-put-together presentation.
In the video, she said there are five things anyone can do to help their children thrive.
Connecting with them
Talking to them
Playing with them (I’m super big on this one)
Providing a healthy home
Connecting to a community
So, how do we implement these things?
Early and Often - the earlier and more often we do these things, the better!
Serve and Return - start a connection with the child and return the favor when they try to connect with us.
She also shows what happens when the connection stops, such as when a parent uses a phone while the child is talking to them.
The child starts to panic.
I did not find this surprising; panic is a universal emotion when we perceive a break in social connection.
The Dangers of Acetaminophen for Ages 65+
The Epoch Times put out an article citing a study of people aged 65 and older stating that regular usage of acetaminophen (a.k.a. Tylenol) was linked to:
heart failure
kidney problems
ulcers
and other issues
This was alarming to me because my parents take acetaminophen like candy. This is something I’m definitely sharing with them.
What I See In Markets
Fed Cuts 25 Basis Points: Early Signs of Stagflation in 2025
The Fed Cut Rates by 25bps (.25%), which was expected. However, in their SEP (Summary of Economic Projections), they announced that they plan to slow the rate cuts over the next year; they are planning to do 2 rate cuts instead of 4. Although, I think much of this isn't very meaningful because the Fed will have to adjust to a new administration in a month.
Long story short: higher rates for longer. You can read about it here!
FedWatch suggests that the Fed will probably pause cutting at its next meeting. I think this is because inflation came in higher than expected last week.
Some people think this is good because borrowing money will be cheaper; others believe it is a sign of stagflation in 2025.
In my opinion, this will not be good. Typically, the Fed cuts rates when there is economic weakness. It seems like the Fed is cutting rates partly because of the rough jobs report in October. While unemployment was steady at 4.1%, August and September job growth was revised down by 112,000.
Despite the vibes of optimism, I think the economy is weakening, and inflation is ticking up. I think there will be a market correction in 2025, meaning a massive buying opportunity. :)
Prepare the dry powder, my fellow market nerds!
Personal Update
Finally, I'm off work for a break, which could not have come sooner. Every teacher I talked to, including me, said they were burned out. I’m looking forward to resting over the next three weeks! However, one coworker told me not to start a new book over break, and now I’m tempted.
Also, my first book, The Learning Compass, is available for free download until March 4th, 2025! The print copy will be out in a few weeks.
The link is to the Kindle version. If you prefer a different platform or want it in a different form, please email me chris@chrismukiibi.com