Notes
March 29, 2019

Welcome, friend.

Me xxxx

Hi, I’m Thomas.

I write to make sense of the world, and to spread this sense with others.

I like pull-ups, making up my own lyrics to popular songs, and talking to people with unusual worldviews.

Some things about me

I’m a British-seeming Third Culture kid.

I studied maths & physics and now work at startups on growth.

I work at Wren.co. When I’m not working I’m usually skiing, jotting down ideas, or playing touch rugby.

I also write Between the cracks. It’s a public diary of some ideas I’m kicking around.

I’m based in Vancouver, Canada. Contact me if you are around and fancy a coffee (or a ski sesh!).

You can find me on Twitter, or LinkedIn.

My favourite posts

  • Life, School, and the 80:20 Rule: School compresses the ups and downs of life into nice linear sequences. It gives the illusion of progress. But real learning is nonlinear.
  • The economics of OnlyFans: OnlyFans is a billion-dollar company, but most creators lose money. Why?
  • Minimum Viable Novelty: In uncertain times we crave order, and in the lockdown we have to impose it upon ourselves. Our routines need minimum viable novelty so we don’t go insane.
  • Why does maths work?: A summary of Hamming’s The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics
  • Wait Attentively: Why waiting for groups of friends is like an infinite series.
  • Benford’s Law Basics: In which I finally understand Benford’s Law.
  • 2020 Review: Just over a year of writing online. It’s surprising how much I learned.

Some things I’d like to see in the world

If you want to discuss any of these, reach out!

  • A scaled solution to the Two-Sigma problem
  • Widespread nuclear power (especially nuclear powered container ships — did you know the biggest 15 ships emit as much pollution as all the world’s cars?)
  • A company that absolutely nails moving-as-a-service
    • When you have to move you should be able to push a button, and all the paperwork, finding a house, finding schools, opening a bank account, is done for you.
  • Voluntary Imprisonment as a service — a solution to the flying productivity paradox”
    • People tend to be extremely productive on airplanes. This is in part because there is a lack of stimulation: no internet, limited room to move around, only sub-mediocre entertainment which is decided by committee, not tailored to your interests. How can we simulate this in a co-working environment?
  • A really good consumer subscription management app.
    • Because companies are after predictable revenue, the subscription business model will become even more prevalent. But most consumers don’t get persistent value from most of their subscriptions.
  • Widespread permanent carbon removal under $50 per ton of CO2e
    • Biochar and enhanced mineral weathering seem like two promising approaches here.

About this blog

I’m just trying to figure stuff out.

You can find out more about what I was thinking when I started it here.

I hope you find it useful!


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