(#107) 💡 52 things I learned in 2024
In this week’s edition of On Strategy by Sorin Anagnoste, I draw inspiration from Tom Whitwell’s remarkable yearly reflections to share “52 Things I Learned in 2024.” These are lessons shaped by a year of exploration, observation, and growth - spanning business, strategy, and life itself.
I hope they inspire and provoke thought as we step into 2025 🎉
What a 45-year-old orchestra conductor making $950,000 eats in San Francisco. LINK
Why is India so bad at sports? LINK
The fight for Gabon’s forests. LINK
27 of the top 30 cities in the USA with the most crimes are run by Democrats. LINK
on US Labour Day, by George Friedman. LINK
The Brutalist may be the best film of 2024. LINK
On the receovery birth rates front: Mongolia. LINK
EVs might be too heavy for the US bridges. LINK
Washing vegetables doesn’t actually remove pesticides; you need to peel them. LINK
Colombia faces a new problem: too much cocaine. LINK
The Chef’s shoes, by Grenson. LINK
Unbusy - a poem. LINK
The German Army still uses floppy disks because they consider them more reliable. LINK
Damaged knives of the Japanese chefs are for sale on eBay. LINK
Hydra is probably one of the coolest islands to go in Greece. LINK
There is a Fight Club for drones in San Francisco. LINK
Steve Jobs helped make podcasting popular. LINK
Researchers identify gene that helps cancer cells spread throughout the body. LINK
Lee Kuan Yew on what enabled civilization in Singapore: Air conditioning. LINK
George R.R. Martin initially didn’t want dragons in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” saga. LINK
Across Andalusia on horseback. LINK
New research shows that drinking and flying could be bad for your heart, especially on long flights. LINK
The first doctors to treat cancer were ancient Egyptians. LINK
Austria is a failed state. Politico has a long piece on how Putin hijacked Austria’s spy service. LINK
Europe’s political divide over the return of wolves. LINK
Stop eating ultra-processed foods. LINK
The rain is a serious reason for delays in the construction sector in the UK. LINK
How marijuana affects the brain & body. LINK
Premier League took over the world, proving once again that the British are the best at creating pop culture. LINK
We could run out of cocoa. LINK
Bottega Veneta’s Matthieu Blazy: ‘If I do just fashion, I will go cuckoo’. LINK
An orangutan in Indonesia has self-medicated to heal a wound on his face. LINK
What ancient Roman wine tasted like. LINK
Yes, smartphones are bad in school, and overall, for kids. LINK
Why the real estate is cheap in Japan. LINK
Costco is selling up to $200m in gold bars per month. LINK
Dubai 2040. LINK
In Alaska, vegetables can grow to enormous sizes because they benefit from 20 hours of daily sunlight. LINK
Ludwig Von Mises + MMA fighters = LOVE. LINK
Robert Maddox, the engineer YouTuber who puts jet engines on absolutely everything. LINK
A detailed analysis of the Havana Syndrome on the US Stuff in Cuba. LINK
This is an interesting thread about the Comanche, the most brutal and feared American Indian horse warriors. LINK
A whisky distillery with two Michelin stars in Scotland. LINK
The UK has 500,000 redwood trees. LINK
Dallas is looking for a design that can tackle loneliness. LINK
Alzheimer’s may be caused by a build-up of fat in brain cells. LINK
Inside the glorious afterlife of Roger Federer. LINK
The more household work men do the more fertility increases. LINK
What really happens to our memory as we age? LINK
Scientists say they’re closer to reviving mammoths. LINK
Venezuela’s currency is so worthless there’s no point hiding PINs. LINK
Learnings from building Boston. LINK
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