Repository of Ideas - Tapan Desai

This page serves as my intellectual repository. Each year, I share the most valuable ideas and resources here.

The aim is to help everyone save time on searching and spend more time learning. You will find articles, newsletters, videos, and tweets covering a wide range of topics, including thinking tools, psychology, business, investing, and more.

Before we get started, here are some other important resource links (I am a sucker for curated lists). Do check them out 👇🏽

Monthly Mulling – An archive of Monthly Mulling, my bi-monthly newsletter sharing the best ideas from the web.
Cold Brew Money – Rabbit Hole – CBM is my podcast on wealth, investing, and the psychology of money. Rabbit Hole is a similar project where Atit and I have shared our favourite resources on money.

If you like my repository page, consider buying me a pizza 🙂

Last updated on 13 February 2023.

💼 Finance & Business

Book Recommendations – Check out my favourite books on Finance & Business.

Finshots (Newsletter) – Newsletter from India explaining complex business ideas in simple terms. It covers current political, technological, and business developments in India.

Optimal Finance Daily (Podcast) – Podcast covering articles on finance read to you, daily. If you don’t have time to read, listen.

Business Wars (Podcast) – A fun podcast by Wondery that explains the wars between major businesses. They go through their origins till the current scenario. My favourite season is Nike vs Adidas.

Naval (Twitter) – I have included Naval’s Twitter in so many categories that it’s hilarious! If you’re not following him on Twitter, you’re missing out on some great insights. Here is a link to his most famous thread. He also has a podcast.

Wendover Productions (YouTube) – publishes videos rarely but they are well-researched and edited. Breaks down complex topics into simple explanations. His video on Airline Economics is one of my favourite explainer videos.

ColdFusion (YouTube) – Cold Fusion makes documentary-style videos on topics ranging from history to cryptocurrency. The videos are well-made and really informative. Check out his video on who controls all our money.

Income School (YouTube) – If you’re a blogger, definitely check out this channel. They give honest advice on how to grow your blog, especially if you’re building a niche site. They help you navigate through creating your site, SEO, writing post, and monetizing your site.

A Masterclass from Jeff Bezos (Article) – This is a compilation of all the articles written by Jeff Bezos. It talks about decision-making, failures, and a lot more. It’s like Jeff Bezos’ brain but compiled.

Warren Buffett Shareholder Letter (Blog) – A lot of people mistake Buffett as an investor. He definitely is but more importantly, he teaches philosophy. Philosophy on how to live. This site holds all his shareholder letters since 1977 which is worth going through.

Network Effects 101 (Article) – When I wanted to learn more about Network Effects, I decided to write about it as I learned. It’s a series of 4 articles discussing Network Effects and how to apply them.

Never Split The Difference (Book, Article) – If you want to learn about the art of negotiation, read this article (also, read the book). It’s my summary and favorite lesson from Never Split the Difference.

💰 Investing & Economics

Book Recommendations – Check out my favourite books on Investing & Economics

Cold Brew Money (Podcast) – Of course, my own podcast. Our mission is to simplify investing and finance for beginners and break the stigma around talking about money. We cover topics ranging from value investing to cryptocurrency.

Ray Dalio (Twitter) – Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates and creator of the all-weather portfolio for investment. We also did an episode on Cold Brew Money covering his asset allocation in the all-weather portfolio. He is also the author of Principles which is a really good read giving insights into his thought process. You should definitely follow him on Twitter.

Planet Money (Podcast) – One of my favourite podcasts from NPR. They explain economics with fun examples and stories.

Market Foolery (Podcast) – Motley Fool’s daily podcast looks at stocks and business/investing news.

Steady Compounding (Blog) – Written by Thomas Chua, Stead Compounding gives you advice on investing, options, and happiness. Thomas is a student of Warren and Charlie Munger which you can see when you read articles on his page. My favourite page is the ‘Resources’ page which is a curation page of all of Thomas’s favourite resources.

The Dhandho Framework (Article) – I spent about a month deep-diving into Mohnish Pabrai’s investing philosophy. This article is a compilation of his best lessons on investing and life.

Investing vs. Speculation (Article) – A stock speculator is like somebody who notices the weather is warming up in March, and that the trend continues and even accelerates in April and May. By August they have sold their winter coats and boots and are fiercely accumulating bikinis and flip-flops, shouting to everyone that you ain’t seen anything yet, this trend is just getting started! An investor is somebody more seasoned. They have been through this all year after year, decade after decade, and thus they know what comes after summer. Therefore, the investor selects a portfolio of clothes that serve a purpose. Some of these garments deliver warmth in winter, others are great for the beach, and all of them with a timeless style and durability.

Seek Wealth (Article) – This is my own article where I want to dive deeper into the concept of building wealth through assets that earn while you sleep.

How Buffett Built His Wealth (Article) – You must have read that Buffett built his wealth by reading. It’s usually quoted that Buffett said, “I sit in my office and read all day.” But it’s taken out of context a lot of times. Buffett didn’t just make his wealth by reading. There is one more key aspect to his wealth creation. Relationships.

New Money (YouTube) – Brandon is a value investor and a follower of Warren Buffett just like me. His videos are well-produced, grounded in facts, and educational especially if you’re a beginner investor.

Aswath Damodaran (YouTube) – He publishes his classes from NYU MBA on YouTube FOR FREE! I love the internet. The classes are a bit advanced and teach valuation and corporate finance.

The Plain Bagel (YouTube) – Well-researched, fact-based videos on investing.

Safal Niveshak by Vishal Khandelwal (Blog, Newsletter) – One of my favorite investing newsletters. Most of his newsletters directly go to my second-brain database.

🗺 History & Geography

Book Recommendations (Article) – My favourite books on history and geography that explore the history of India, world borders, Mongols, and a lot more.

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall (Book) – I wrote an article on Colonial Borders after reading this book. My favorite chapters are the borders in Congo, Iraq, and Indo-Pakistan. Really great read!

On the Origin of Earth (YouTube) – How were the continents formed over billions of years? It’s an interesting question. The landmass has been created over billions of years and you can watch this video to understand the world before Plate Tectonics. Due to the movement of the plate tectonics, supercontinents were formed. You might have heard about Pangaea or Nuna supercontinents. The plates constantly move, they are still moving 2.5 cm per year. The study of rocks and plates is called Geology. Using Geology, researchers are able to determine the various eons, eras, and ages on Earth and what was the general environment on Earth. Here is a video on the Brief History of Geologic Time. One of the most significant chapters in life on Earth is called Cambrian Period which occurred during the Paleozoic Era. It is significant because it marks the beginning of the finding of phyla fossils and major diversification in organisms. Before the Cambrian explosion, life was pretty simple on Earth. If you want a quick history, try exurb1a’s the Universe in 4-minutes.

Johnny Harris (YouTube) – Johnny is a journalist who makes videos about history, geography, and other cool stuff. I love the beautiful editing in his videos, especially videos with maps which are all of his videos. He also hosted an amazing show with Vox called Borders. Do check that out as well.

Wendover Productions (YouTube) – Publishes videos rarely but they are well-researched and edited. Breaks down complex topics into simple explanations. His video on Airline Economics is one of my favourite explainer videos.

Odd Compass (YouTube) – Sharing historical videos about neglected topics. They publish one video per month but the topic will usually blow your mind. They are currently covering the Indian sub-continent.

Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy (Docu-Series) – In this series, Stanley explores Italy through the history of food i.e. how the conquests and migrations over the years changed the food landscape in Italy

How The US Stole (YouTube) – This series of videos made by Johnny Harris explains how the US used its military might to steal certain islands and cities across the globe. These videos are truly eye-opening and show how the US came to dominate the world.

Singapore & LKY (Multiple) – Singapore went from a third-world country to a financial hub in 3 decades – that’s quick growth for any nation. Singapore gained Independence after India and yet saw a quicker growth, astronomical growth. Most of this is attributed to their first PM – Lee Kuan Yew (LKY). I found out about LKY from a speed that Charlie Munger made calling him the most important nation-builder that has ever lived. If Munger talks about someone, you should 100% try to know more. I am still in the process of studying LKY but this Reddit thread of articles is a great starting point and talks about LKY’s policies on Citizen Development & Growth, Freedom of Speech, Policies on Language and Race, and finally transition of Singapore. Additionally, this book by LKY himself called From Third World to First explains his thought process and is a great read.

Hardcore History (Podcast) – Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History is one of the best podcasts in the history of podcasts. He also has recommended a lot of great books. If you’re a history buff, definitely listen to the podcast! It has about 12 episodes, each 4-5 hours.

Cities and Ambitions (Article) – Great cities attract ambitious people. You can sense it when you walk around one. In a hundred subtle ways, the city sends you a message: you could do more; you should try harder. NYC tells you to be rich, and powerful. SF tells you to be innovative, creative. Boston tells you to be smarter. Mumbai, I think, tells you to work harder. Why does this matter? As James Clear puts it in Atomic Habits, your environment plays a huge role in shaping your habits, your behavior. If you live in a city that aligns with your goals, you will find more success. People surrounding you are chasing the same goals. You will find more motivation.

Kento Bento (YouTube) – Animated documentary-style videos on Asian historic events. Binge-worthy!

Vikas Divyakriti (YouTube) – Vikas is a professor helping students learn for their IAS exams in India but his videos are incredibly informative. He looks at the historical events from an unbiased lens and builds the story for the present.

🧠 Psychology, Decision Making, & Mental Models

Book Recommendations (Article) – My favourite books on psychology and decision-making

Mental Models and Biases (Article) – This is a great starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about mental models. And the best part, I wrote it. I talk about all the mental models I have read and used over the years in this article.

Principles That Changed My Life (Article) – On my 28th birthday, I compiled about 50 ideas that have changed my life. I keep going back to this article to see if any of the ideas have changed. I would highly recommend creating a list for yourself as well.

Farnam Street (Newsletter, Blog, Podcast) – You know how there are these key milestones in life where you find something new and it completely changes your life. Farnam Street by Shane Parrish did that for me. FS introduced me to the world of mental models, decision-making, and how to think. I would highly recommend subscribing to their newsletter and going through the blog, especially the basics of mental models. A lot of mental models I shared in my article, I attribute to Farnam Street. Farnam Street’s podcast, the Knowledge Project, is really interesting as well. A fun trivia, the name Farnam Street is a homage to Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger as their business Berkshire Hathaway is located on Farnam Street. If you’re interested in mental models, this 101 video by George MacGill is also a great starting point.

James Clear (Newsletter) – Newsletter by James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits (one of my most recommended books). Every week he sends 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question. I read this newsletter diligently for the ideas which reinforce his lessons from Atomic Habits. BTW I have also shared my book notes on Atomic Habits here.

Curiosity Chronicle by Sahil Bloom (Newsletter) – Sahil breaks down complex ideas into Twitter threads and newsletters. Well researched and easy to follow.

Mark Manson (Newsletter) – Mark shares 3 big ideas every Monday which make you ponder. These are usually three separate ideas tied loosely on a thread. Mark is the author of Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

Naval (Twitter) – I have included it in so many categories that it’s not even funny. If you’re not following him on Twitter, you’re missing out on some great insights. Here is a link to his most famous thread. He also has a podcast.

25 Useful Thinking Tools (Article) – Scott Young is taking a different approach to looking at mental models. He is looking at 25 professions and how they solve a problem. Not the problem they are trying to solve but how they solve a particular problem. There are some good models in there to add to your toolkit.

Via Negativa (Article) – The method of getting a good idea is by eliminating a lot of bad ideas. After all, the best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas. This process of obtaining knowledge via subtraction is also called Via Negativa. Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines Via Negativa as, “The principle that we know what is wrong with more clarity than what is right, and that knowledge grows by subtraction. Also, it is easier to know that something is wrong than to find the fix. Actions that remove are more robust than those that add because addition may have unseen, complicated feedback loops.”

Common Causes of Very Bad Decisions (Article) – Inattention, distraction, lack of interest, poor preparation, genuine stupidity, timidity, braggadocio, emotional imbalance, ideological, racial, social, or chauvinistic prejudices, and aggressive or prevaricatory instincts. Morgan goes ahead and adds a few more reasons. Here are my favourite reasons why we make bad decisions – incentives, group consensus bias, the aggregate of marginal gains, and survivorship bias.

The Paradox of Choice (Article) – I spend a ridiculous amount of time just deciding on the cuisine I want to order. After which I spend another 30-minutes deciding on the restaurant. And then comes the part when I decide on what I actually want to eat. Barry Schwartz studied how more choice not only doesn’t always help us choose better, but can also make us feel worse about what we got even if it was great. Reduced satisfaction arises from 1. the escalation of expectations 2. the opportunity cost of what we could have had and what was good about other options 3. regret and anticipated regret of the choice we made 4. self-blame when we think we are responsible for not doing as well as we could have.

When To Say Yes Or No (Article) – When you’re just starting out, it’s important to jump onto every opportunity because you never know what doors they will open! As you start building your network and skills, you can start strategically saying no. Being unable to say “no” will give you plenty of short-term opportunities but gradually wear you down in the long run. Being unable to say “yes” will eliminate most short-term opportunities, but it occasionally pays off by allowing you to spot something everyone else missed.

Two Monks & A Lesson (Article) – This story about two monks is a good lesson in human psychology. Loss aversion and regret aversion – our attempt to avert losses and regrets in the future, because we do not drive pleasure from them. So, these cause us to carry that baggage from the past. Remember that a sunk cost is nothing but baggage and must be dropped if you realize it is not worth carrying.

Regret Minimization Framework (Article) – Will you regret not doing something in 80 years? If so, do it.

Zeigarnik Effect (Concept) – Open tasks tend to occupy our short-term memory–until they are done. This is Zeigarnik Effect. That is why we get by thoughts of unfinished tasks, regardless of their importance. Unfinished work continues to exert an influence, even when we try to move on to other things.

The Art Of Subtraction (Concept) – Thousands of years earlier, the Taoist philosopher Lao-tzu wrote that the path to wisdom involves “subtracting” all unnecessary activities: “To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day.”

Cargo Cult Thinking (Article) – A cargo cult is when we imitate behaviours without understanding how they work in the hope of achieving the same results. It is the belief that if we simply emulate the visible effects of achievement, the real achievement will follow automatically.

Scout vs. Soldier Mindset (Concept) – A soldier mindset is rooted in emotions like defensiveness or tribalism. A scout’s mindset is rooted in emotions too, emotions of curiosity.

Hyperbolic Discounting (Concept) – Just as objects far away seem smaller, so do things far into our future. As a result, we are inclined to choose immediate rewards over future ones, even when these immediate rewards are much smaller.

Why the Hell Not? (Concept) – Whenever I’m struggling with a decision that seems “unusual”, I remind myself that just because everyone else does something one way doesn’t mean you have to do it that way. Sometimes it’s just worth saying why the hell not and going for it. Don’t take the processes at face value. Break it down using First Principles and if you’re doing something different, ask “why the hell not?”.

Chesterton’s Fence (Concept) – The principle that reforms should not be made until the reasoning behind the existing state of affairs is understood. Put simply, don’t take a fence down unless you know why it was put up.

Ad Hominem (Concept) – An ad hominem attack is an attack on the individual rather than the argument. Often called “mudslinging”, using this fallacy the person instead of addressing the argument—its structure, logic, and merits— attempts to refute the opposition on the basis of personal characteristics.

And Then What? Second-Order Thinking (Concept) – Second-order thinking moves beyond the immediate problem and considers the multiple layers of implications and consequences of a given decision. In short, it looks past the simple first-order effects of a decision and deeply examines the second, third, and Nth-order effects. An easy way to apply second-order thinking is by asking “and then what?”.

Pygmalion Effect (Concept) – High expectations lead to improved performance in a given area. If you consistently see people at their highest potential, they will achieve more.

🚀 Science & Technology

MKBHD (YouTube, Podcast) – I started following MKBHD around 2012, and man, he has grown so much. He is my go-to resource for tech reviews. The thing I like about his reviews is that he simplifies the technology for the consumer. Waveform, his podcast, is one of my favourites as well.

Reply All (Podcast) – Reply All by Gimlet is a podcast about the internet and modern life. The episodes are fun and informative. They have stopped releasing new episodes recently but their old episodes are still gold!

Why’d You Push That Button (Podcast) – this podcast by Verge looks at the psychology behind technology and how it is designed to impact your social life. The podcast was discontinued in 2020 but you can still binge on their old episodes. Check out the episodes on tech after death.

Darknet Diaries (Podcast) – Darknet Diaries explores the dark side of the internet with stories on hacking, phishing, and cybercrime. One of my all-time favourite episodes is the cyber Indo-Pak conflict.

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell (YouTube) – makes videos explaining science. Beautifully edited and explained. Their video explaining Fermi Paradox is one of my favourites.

Mark Rober (YouTube) – entertaining videos using technology and engineering to solve, well, problems that no one actually has. Mark’s videos are fascinating and the first thing I click on as soon as he drops a new video. His videos of the squirrel feeder and catching porch thieves with glitter bombs are some of my favorites on the internet.

Zoology and Animal Evolution (YouTube) – I started getting interested in the evolution of animals while watching PartyElite play Planet Zoo. True story. The YouTube algorithm recognized this and recommended TierZoo. The host explains the animal tiers across various ages in the form of gameplay meta. The concept is brilliant. One of my favourite episodes is him explaining the cat tiers and how evolution played a role while ranking different cats across the planet.

🧘🏼‍♂️ Philosophy & Spirituality

Book Recommendations – My favourite books on this topic include books on Buddhism, Stoicism, and Hinduism.

Naval (Twitter) – If you’re not following him on Twitter, you’re missing out on some great insights. Here is a link to his most famous thread. He also has a podcast.

Pale Blue Dot (Video) – Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor, and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

Stoicism For Beginners (Article) – A beginner’s guide to Stoicism which includes my favourite lessons, quotes, and resources.

What Are You Doing With Your Life (Video) – Wrapping your mind around your life is pretty hard because you are up to your neck in it. It’s like trying to understand the ocean while learning how to swim. On most days you are busy just keeping your head above water. So, it is not easy to figure out what to do with your life and how to spend your time. There are a million distractions. Your family, friends, and romantic partners, boring work, and exciting projects. Video games to play and books to read. And then there is your couch that somebody needs to lie on.

ContraPoints (YouTube) – Natalie’s videos are mind-blowing. Well-researched and well-produced. These videos are heavy in content and would prescribe watching a video a week and sleeping on what she says.

Mahabharata Epified (YouTube) – Mahabharata is one of my favourite reads and has taught me a lot. If you’re not a reader, this video series does justice to the actual text.

Kintsugi (Concept) – It’s a Japanese concept of repairing broken items with gold. A bowl repaired with kintsugi might be seen as more valuable than one that had never been broken. It serves as a reminder that the object (or a person) has a history and has been through something, and that it is unique and valuable because of its past damages.

💪🏼Productivity & Self Development

Book Recommendation – My favourite books on this topic include Atomic Habits, Getting Things Done, and others.

7 Strategies In Time Management (Article) – my favourite strategies in time management as measured in energy, 80/20 rule, time blocking, and others.

Ali Abdaal (YouTube) – this man practically owns the term productivity. Ali releases really high-quality videos mostly on productivity but also, sometimes on books and investing. He also hosts a podcast with his brother called Not Overthinking. I have referenced Ali Abdaal and taken inspiration from him in multiple articles. I also learned about the idea of window openers and door-knockers from Ali.

Matt D’Avella (YouTube) – Matt is known for his documentary on ‘Minimalism’ on Netflix. He makes beautiful, minimalistic videos on self-development, creativity, and productivity.

Zanshin (Article) – This article by James Clear explains Zanshin which means “a mind with no remainder”. It refers to a state of relaxed alertness. There is a famous Japanese proverb that says, “After winning the battle, tighten your helmet.” It can apply to everyday life. We tend to get complacent once we finish something. Zanshin is a reminder that the fight is still on.

How to Learn a New Topic (Video) – Johnny Harris in this beautifully edited video explains how we learn any new topic. As we are trying to learn something new (software, language, technical skill), we have our eyes on the goal but the learning process is not a straight line. We descend into a valley (a.k.a. valley of despair) where we keep going deeper and deeper trying to understand the topic. Only after we have reached the very bottom, do we rise up again to finally understand the subject and reach our learning goal. What he skipped over is a bias related to learning a new topic – the Dunning-Kruger effect. Before you enter the valley of despair, you hit Mt. Stupidity where you think you understand everything about the subject. It’s very important to understand this bias.

Chauffeur Knowledge vs. Real Knowledge (Article) – Charlie Munger calls this the difference between “real knowledge” and “chauffeur knowledge.” He tells an apocryphal story about Max Planck, who went around the world giving the same knowledge about quantum mechanics after he won the Nobel Prize. After hearing the speech multiple times, the chauffeur asked Planck if he could give the next lecture. Planck said, “Sure.” At first, the lecture went well. But afterwards, a physics professor in the audience asked a follow-up question that stumped the chauffeur. Only Max Planck, who had the background knowledge to support the ideas in the talk, could answer it. From the chauffeur’s story, we learn that you understand an idea not when you’ve memorized it, but when you know why its specific form was chosen over all the alternatives. Only once you’ve travelled the roads that were earnestly explored but ultimately rejected can you grasp an idea firmly and see it clearly, with all the context that supports it.

Good Enough is Just Fine (Article) – When you work on a project for some time (article, newsletter, or anything else), you start building expectations. As you keep working. you try to perfect it even further. That’s human nature – you can always do better! And then there comes a point when you have done some “good enough” work but it is not perfect. So you chase perfection. In doing so, you end up delaying the project and keep working on it even further. As you keep working on it more, the point of perfection keeps rising and rising. It results in a chase that never ends. As a creator, you will never think your work is complete. But it is important to let it go when you think it is “good enough”. “Good Enough is when you know that the work isn’t perfect, but it still respects the intellect of your audience. It’s not exactly what you envisioned, but it’s still damn good enough to deserve their investment of attention.”

Steal from Your Comfort (Article) – ever think “I could have done that”, “I would have done that”, or “I can do that” when you see someone else’s work? So why are you not doing it? Derek Sivers answers the question – you have to steal from your comfort. It takes many hours to make what you want to make. The hours don’t suddenly appear. You have to steal them from comfort. Whatever you were doing before was comfortable. This is not. This will be really uncomfortable. If you want to build something, you have to put in the time and not give in to distractions. Don’t get comfortable.

The Knowledge Pipeline (Article) – In the age of information overload, it’s important to have a set method to consume information and convert it to knowledge. This article will explain how.

The Theory of Change (Article) – there are two schools of thought 1. Theory of Action: you look at things you know how to do and try to solve the problem using those things. 2. Theory of Change: you start at the end. You look at the solution you want and the things that you will need to get to that solution.

Warren Buffett’s 3-step 5/25 Strategy (Article) – how do you prioritize goals in your life? We all want to achieve 100 things. So what do you? 1. Create a list of 25 things that you want to achieve 2. Eliminate 20 things from the list 3. Focus on only 5 things that are a top priority for you at a time. We have a limited amount of time and energy to achieve our goals each day. Yet, more times than not, we spread ourselves thin by chasing too many goals at the same time.

4 Life Skills Not Taught In School (Article) – my article on the life skills not taught in school and how to learn them now – reading, writing, storing, and note-taking.

Work Like A Lion (Podcast) – If your goal is to do inspired work, you have to work like a lion, not a cow. The way people tend to work most effectively, especially in knowledge work, is to sprint as hard as they can while they feel inspired to work, and the rest. They take long breaks. You sprint and then you rest. You reassess and then you try again. You end up building a marathon of sprints.

📚 Reading

Book Recommendation (Article) – My favourite books across all genres. A good starting point.

Stupidest Reading Advise (Article) – There’s a lot of reading advice out there but the dumbest advice I have read online is “read fewer high-quality books”. In this article, I list out why is that advise stupid.

FiveBooks (Website) – Recommendations for top 5 books in various categories. It’s a rabbit hole of its own.

The Rabbit Hole (Website) – Has over 700 book summaries with notes, key takeaways, and ideas. Highly recommended.

LeafMarks (Website) – Book recommendations from famous personalities compiled on one website. The website is incredible.

How To Read A Book (Book) – Have you learned how to read after school? We do it wrong for the most part. This book will help you read books the right way.

Noise Bottlenecks (Concept) – Consuming online content makes us feel like we’re learning, but 90% of the content is useless junk: small talk, clickbait, and marketing! We’re filling our heads with noise, which is drowning out the signal. As such, we feel we’re getting smarter as we get stupider. When reading online, assess your input channels and remove the bottlenecks. Read my article on the Knowledge Pipeline.

✍🏼 Writing

David Perell (Newsletter) – David Perell has developed a strong niche around writing for himself on the internet. If you’re active on Twitter, you will have a tweet from him. If you’re not, it’s highly probable you have never heard about him. My favourite article from Perell is the ‘Serendipity Vehicle‘. I also learned to source my information from the fringes because of this article by David talking about finding an informational advantage. Informational advantages are found in obscure, hard-to-digest sources. As information moves from the boards of 4chan to the forums of Reddit to Twitter and Instagram and to the front page of the New York Times or Facebook, the signal-to-noise ratio increases, and informational advantages disappear.

exurb1a (YouTube) – Beautifully written and edited videos about existence and life. You would have probably seen his video on ‘the Universe in 4 minutes. If not, do it now.

10 Step Guide to Clearer Thinking Through Essay Writing (Article) – Here is some of the lessons that I have learned and implemented. The primary reason to write an essay is so that the writer can formulate and organize an informed, coherent and sophisticated set of ideas about something important. If you learn to write and edit, you will also be able to tell the difference between good ideas, intelligently presented, and bad ideas put forth by murky and unskilled thinkers. If you learn to think, through writing, then you will develop a well-organized, efficient mind — and one that is well-founded and certain. The most important part of learning and remembering is the recreation of what you have written in your own language.

🎬 Travel, Vlogs, & Entertainment

Serial (Podcast) – Like most people, I started listening to podcasts because of Serial. Brilliant show. If you’re not a fan of the podcast format or don’t know where to start, start here. Season 1 of the Serial.

Babish (YouTube) – Binging with Babish (now Babish Culinary Universe) is a cooking channel on YouTube. He usually recreates dishes from shows which are some of my favourite videos.

Iz Harris (YouTube) – Iz is another favourite YouTuber. She talks about mental health, makes travel vlogs, and does anything else she wants to. Kickass content creator. Her videos are really well-shot and beautiful!

Joshua Weissman (YouTube) – another cooking channel on YouTube. Videos by Josh are entertaining especially his ‘but better’ series. All his videos have a special b-roll segment at the very end which is disgustingly beautiful.

Only Desi (YouTube) – makes parody videos of Bollywood movies that are entertaining. He is filling the gap left by Pretentious Movie Reviews.

PartyElite (YouTube) – if watching someone play simulation games is your thing, subscribe to Party. He does not only play the game but also, discusses interesting facts, usually historical, about the gameplay.

Tanmay Bhat (YouTube) – One of my favourite YouTubers. He does vlogs and reacts to videos on his main channel. He also has another channel (Honestly by Tanmay Bhat) where he does videos on finance, investing and crypto.

The NerdWriter (YouTube) – beautiful video essays about movies and art. He shares really interesting ideas on his channel which has been a source of inspiration. I learned about Baader-Meinhof because of him.

Are Pop Lyrics Getting More Repetitive (Article) – the author explains the association between pop songs having a lot of repeated lyrics and audio compression (repeated words mean more compression). More than anything, if you are a fan of beautifully visualized data, you should definitely take a look at this article. It explains the data with stunning visualizations!

Nathaniel Drew (YouTube) – Nathaniel Drew is in search of mental clarity and he is taking us on this journey. His videos again are beautifully edited. Nathaniel’s videos on learning languages where he uses the 80/20 principle to learn a new language are some of my favourites.

The Pizza Show by Munchies (YouTube) – The Pizza show goes around the world to understand pizza and the history behind these famous restaurants serving some of the best pizza on the planet!

KVizzing Show by Kumar Varun (YouTube) – I never thought I would like trivia until I watched this show. The show is entertaining and insightful. If you know the answer to the question, you will feel validated. If not, you will learn something new.

Yes Theory (YouTube) – I really like their mission-seeking discomfort! And they live it. I binge-watch their videos once in a while. My favorite video is their video on Tuvalu.

All India Bakchod (YouTube) – They brought in the YouTube revolution in India with really well-produced videos. Their fall was really sad and horrific of what happened. Nevertheless, they have their old videos on the channel and give a good view of how things were back in 2014!

Daniel Ricciardo (YouTube) – Definitely one of my favourite F1 drivers but his life outside of F1 is damn interesting. He lives a dream life and does everything – dirt biking, bike stunts, music, tattooing. This channel is a great peek into his life.

ProHomeCooks (YouTube) – One of my favourite channels for home cooking!

Spotify – My Playlists (Music) – A shameless plug. I have a bunch of Spotify playlists if you’re into music (especially, Hindi Music).

Chalchitra Talks (YouTube) – Recommendations for TV, books, podcasts, apps, and everything else.

📰 News

Today, Explained (Podcast) – a daily podcast that updates you on the daily happenings in the world. If you don’t want to follow the news, this is a good way to catch up during your daily commute.

Morning Brew (Newsletter) – a quick way to get the daily dose of your news. I like getting news via newsletter so that I don’t have to keep following news media and get notifications. The newsletter compiles news from around the for me on a daily basis.

Finshots (Newsletter) – another one from India explaining complex business ideas in simple terms. It covers current political, technological, and business developments in India.

Soch by Mohak Mangal (YouTube) – well-produced, researched videos on niche topics in India not covered by mass media. One of the few remaining channels tackling sensitive issues in India.

Vox (YouTube) – beautiful videos explaining the current headlines. This is what journalism should look like in my opinion.

UnScripted (YouTube) – They produce Vox-style videos for India. Their series on the Indian farm laws is great.