Hi friends,

Greetings from Detroit!

I’m writing today’s Finds on a layover in Detroit after hanging with the Write of Passage marketing team in Ohio. I’m honestly tempted to cancel my flight home to tour Detroit. Between the Ford Factory and Geenfield Village, it’s one of my very favorite cities (as I wrote about here).

In case you missed it, I also published my Annual Review last week.

Today's Finds

​Where White Walls in Museums Come From: One of the main differences between American museums and European ones is the number of paintings per wall. I still remember visiting an exhibition room in Vienna that must’ve had 100 paintings, where I was utterly humbled by its voluminous grandeur. American museums are comparatively bland. They generally have white walls and space their paintings out enough for each to deserve its own zip code. This essay traces the history of such bare minimalism.

​Ray Bradbury, on Science and Religion: I’m continually surprised by how many great scientists were also intensely spiritual. It makes me wonder whether reason and religion are fundamentally connected, even though we now see them as opposites. Ray Bradbury made a similar point in 1974. He argued that science and religion were two sides of the same coin. Scientists have theories. Theologians have myths. Science and religion are complementary ways to think about the unthinkable and investigate the nature of reality. And here’s what Werner Heisenberg has to say: “The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”

​Steve Jobs, on Hiring: A collection of short interviews with Steve Jobs about his recruiting philosophy at Apple. Two principles stand out: (1) The greatest people are self-managed but need a common vision, which comes from leadership; and (2) Apple wouldn’t hire somebody unless they absolutely lit up when they saw the Macintosh computer. Apple hired a number of professional managers who didn’t pan out. From this mistake, Jobs learned that the best managers don’t want to be managers, but take on the role to maintain the company's quality standards.

​The Bull Case for Apple (2012): An early Michael Saylor prediction about why Apple was destined to hit $2,000 per share. He believed that Apple would sell 1 billion devices per year and become a luxury company, dodging the downward price pressures that hurt the PC industry. Apple's products go beyond utility. They are like jewelry, clothing, or handbags — fashion statements and an extension of your personality. This line stands out: “If you’re going to know a subject, know the subject. Because knowing only part of the subject is just enough to hurt yourself.” The video is only 2 minutes.

​American Experience Documentaries: This is for all the American history buffs out there. Pick a topic and search the site. You’re basically guaranteed to find something interesting.

Before I go, I also want to recommend this Twitter thread from Jeremy Giffon. He was the first employee at Tiny, which went public this week at a valuation just shy of $1 billion, and I played a small role in helping him distill what he’s learned from working there.