Welcome to the weekend.

The past week may go down as a pivotal moment in human history, marked by two major medical breakthroughs harnessing the powers of CRISPR and brain-computer interface technology. The rapid advancement of these emerging technologies leaves me awestruck and highly optimistic about their potential to better humanity. The first two stories delve deeper into these groundbreaking developments that could truly transform our future.

Lastly, here’s my February playlist. Enjoy!

Prime Numbers

72 —  NASA has ended the pioneering Ingenuity Mars helicopter mission after performing 72 flights over three years and covering 14 times farther than originally planned — an extraordinary achievement for a technology demonstration deployed from the Perseverance rover.

100 — A Texas second grader uses allowance funds to make 100 supply bags for homeless residents.

1,907 — A building has been proposed by developers in Oklahoma City that, if completed, would be the tallest in America. The skyscraper would stand at 1,907 feet and beat out New York City’s One World Trade Center, which is 1,776 feet tall.

Curing Deafness

Aissam Dam was born deaf in Morocco and grew up in silence, communicating through a sign language he invented. Last year, after moving to Spain, he received an experimental gene therapy for congenital deafness at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The treatment succeeded in giving him hearing for the first time at age 11. Aissam is delighted by all the sounds he can now hear. "There's no sound I don't like,” he said. “They're all good." His story represents a medical breakthrough, as he is the first person in the U.S. to receive gene therapy for lifelong deafness. New York Times (8 minutes)

Brain Computer Interface in Humans

Neuralink, the brain-computer interface startup founded by Elon Musk, announced its first human implant on Sunday. Musk said on Twitter that the recipient is recovering well after the procedure. Last year, Neuralink received FDA clearance to conduct a clinical trial testing its brain implant. The company's Phase 1 study, called the Prime trial, will evaluate the safety and functionality of the wireless interface. The implant aims to enable quadriplegic patients to control devices using thoughts. Initial results show promising detection of neuron spikes, Musk noted. The Prime trial marks a milestone for Neuralink's goal of developing a brain implant to treat paralysis and other neurological conditions. The Guardian (6 minutes)

Banks Load Up on Surprising $2.1tn Asset Class

Bank of America. UBS. JPMorgan. They’re all building (or have already built) massive investments in one $2.1 trillion asset class, but it’s not what you think. It’s not private equity or real estate but fine art. Why? Data from Citi shows it’s a potent diversifier with low correlation, and certain segments have even outpaced traditional investments. Take blue-chip contemporary art, which has outpaced the S&P 500 for the last 27 years. Masterworks knows the power of art investing, with their platform giving 900K+ users the opportunity to invest in this asset class. Masterworks takes care of every step of the process; buying art, breaking it into shares and then selling it. In fact, they just pulled off a streak of four successful exits within two months, bringing them to 20 exits in total, with investors netting returns of 13%, 14%, 16% and more. Skip the waitlist. Masterworks (Sponsored)

LLM Model Collapse

Ever heard of the concept of LLM model collapse? It's arguably the biggest threat facing outfits like OpenAI, Microsoft and Google right now, and none of them really seem to be taking the threat particularly seriously. Model collapse describes the degenerative process that large language models like ChatGPT can experience when they're trained on AI-generated junk data. Much like a JPEG passing through thousands of iterations of compression and sharing over the years, if tools like ChatGPT and Copilot make it easy to flood the internet with poorly written, hallucination-filled junk data, it'll iteratively reproduce a cumulative and escalating degenerative effect on the quality of an LLM's output. Yahoo (6 minutes)

How to Set Boundaries

Creating boundaries and sticking to them are a tough part of parenting. Setting clear expectations and limits creates a sense of safety and predictability for children. Be direct about rules, get close, make eye contact and lovingly tell children what to do step-by-step. A strong parent-child relationship built on love enables effective discipline that focuses on teaching rather than punishing. Connected consequences like losing privileges logically reinforce good behavior without shaming. Natural consequences let children learn from mistakes without parental interference. Logical consequences like taking away a toy require some parent action. But the key is tying consequences directly to the misbehavior so children understand how their decisions impact outcomes. Consistent, compassionate boundaries paired with clear expectations helps kids develop skills to function in relationships. Parent Data (5 minutes)

The Joy of Organizing

It wasn’t until I was well into adulthood that I actually started seeing the power in getting organized and began to slowly enjoy it. Getting organized can feel overwhelming due to the large amount needing sorting. Avoid judging yourself for the clutter. Instead, intend to sort joyfully. Work in short bursts, clearing small amounts without expecting full completion. Find pleasure in incremental progress. See piles as opportunities to enjoy decluttering, not as failures. With self-compassion, patiently tackle bits at a time until order emerges from chaos. Zenhabits (6 minutes)

Principles

This article is a collection of 30 useful principles. Here are a few of my favorites: 1) Beginner's Bubble Effect. Epicetus said, "You cannot learn what you think you already know." The most ignorant people are not those who know nothing, but those who know a little, because a little knowledge grants the illusion of understanding, which kills curiosity and closes the mind. 2) Benford's Law of Controversy. We tend to fill gaps in information with emotion. We fear what we don’t understand, love what we naively romanticize, etc. As such, the things that fire people up most are usually the things they understand least. 3) Safetyism. After U.S. schools banned peanuts because some kids had allergies, more kids develop peanut allergies from lack of exposure. We’re increasingly protecting kids from life, which only makes them more vulnerable to it. Too much safety is dangerous. The Prism (15 minutes)

Should We Work Together?

Hi! I’m Kyle. This newsletter is my passion project. When I’m not writing, I run a law firm that helps startups move fast without breaking things. Most founders want a trusted legal partner, but they hate surprise legal bills. At Westaway, we take care of your startup’s legal needs for a flat, monthly fee so you can control your costs and focus on scaling your business. If you’re interested, let’s jump on a call to see if you’re a good fit for the firm. Click here to schedule a one-on-one call with me.

Founder Fridays

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Weekend Wisdom

God has entrusted me with myself. -Epictitus