August 2022

It’s festival month in Edinburgh, so the city has been busy and life has flown by. I’ve been focused on earning money in advance of some paternity leave in November.

I managed almost no running, and only one big cycle ride. I went out and tried some new paths over the Pentlands.

We went to Glasgow to see Torres at Mono Bar. It was a fun gig - if you’ve not heard her album “Thirstier” then check it out.

The last week and a half of August was spent mostly confined to the house as Harriet caught Covid. Although she had a few bad days, particularly combined with being pregnant, she’s made it through ok. I managed to dodge the virus, but still kept away from being social.

This month I read:

• Bourgeois Equality by Deirdre McCloskey, finishing the Bourgeois Trilogy. The general idea is that the “great enrichment” of the past couple of hundred years was driven by a change in rhetoric, a rising esteem of the bourgeois class leading to a space for trade-tested betterment.
• The Pathless Path, by Paul Millerd. A personal story that illustrates preconceptions people have about work and settling into freedom. I had seen this recommended on Twitter, and identify a lot with the ideas being discussed here. Useful for those starting out in their careers, or for those who feel stuck.
• The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry. I watched a video with Louise Perry arguing about feminism, and on the back of that picked up her book. There is a fair amount to unpack: the main idea is that “liberation” was landed on male-centric defaults and benefit.
• Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. Inclusive vs Extractive institutions as the mechanism that either leads to the “great enrichment” or the plundering of society. Examples that show culturally or geographically similar places having large economic divergences.

That’s all for this month - September is more work, the return of EdinburghJS, and a weekend away cycling. 👋