In a rare occurrence, the first two topics this week are forward-looking instead of historical facts. Yet, the third topic on daydreaming is the one closest to my heart and the most impactful on my daily life.

Google Enters Higher Education

Google currently offers five different certifications on Coursera, a website that works with higher education institutions to offer online degrees, certifications, and continued education. Google has entered the higher education space with shorter-term and cheaper certification programs in:

• Data Analytics
• UX Design
• IT Support
• Project Management
• IT Automation with Python

Their certifications can be earned in less than a year, costing a few…

There’s a chance you’ve seen a headline or two about sports cards. Specifically about cards sold at auction for ridiculous amounts. Earlier this month a Michael Jordan card sold for $1.4 million, and in August of last year a LeBron James rookie card sold for $1.8 million. eBay, the primary marketplace for sports cards, recently shared sports card sales grew by 142% on their site in 2020.

All of this is to say that sports cards have become a legitimate investment option. Sure, we saw the excitement of Robinhood, r/WallStreetBets, and Gamestop earlier this year. …

The world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) is growing at an unbelievable rate. Two months ago it would have been hard to find a single person in your circle who could tell you what NFT stood for, much less what a Non-Fungible Token is. Now, you can hardly go a few hours of scrolling on Twitter without seeing at least one mention of it.

For those who haven’t taken the dive to learn what an NFT is, a simple explanation is that it’s a verifiable piece of digital data. This data can take almost any form. Meaning, it can be an…

During the 2020 Democratic Primary, Joe Biden tried to set himself apart in two distinct ways. He was the electable candidate, and the unity candidate. As people identify more and more with their political party and lob insults at those on the other side, Biden said he could bring the country together.

He double-downed on this promise of unity after winning the election. He would be a president for all Americans. In his acceptance speech, he gave credit to the broad coalition that helped elect him.

I’m proud of the coalition we put together, the broadest and most diverse coalition…

One of the things we count on is politicians always worrying about the Federal Deficit, which they oftentimes call the National Debt. For clarity’s sake, they’re referring to the same thing. The large number that currently sits just shy of $28 trillion.

Which sounds scary. Especially to people who’ve experienced debt through student loans, mortgages, auto loans, medical debt, etc. — so, essentially everyone. But, the Federal Deficit is nothing like the personal loans or debt you’ve incurred.

Thus, it’s important to identify the basic truths of federal spending. This is the Too Long Didn’t Read (TLDR) section:

1. The U.S…

I could have written this at any point in the last 100 years and still been firm in my belief. But especially now, as we continue to struggle through a pandemic that’s forced businesses to close and unemployment to skyrocket, with a looming recession about to happen, the United States needs a jobs guarantee program.

What is a Jobs Guarantee Program?

A jobs guarantee program is exactly as it sounds. A federal nationwide mandate that says anyone who wants a job, gets one. …

The main topic of this week’s article is probably the most useful piece of information I’ve shared yet. Item two might be the most exciting and is just the beginning of my journey (some of which I’ll share here) into the human brain. Lastly, I have bad news for Nicolas Cage.

Feynman Technique, Understanding Complex Topics

How appropriate to cover a tried and tested learning technique in this weekly series that shares the interesting things I learn. The Feynman Technique is named after Nobel-prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, who set this framework based on how he learned complex subjects.

Feynman Technique Steps:

1. Pick a Topic
2. ELI5…

We say we value learning. That it’s important. But we don’t actually mean it. Not at a societal level at least.

We implicitly, and sometimes explicitly, try to create people who follow rules and memorize facts. “Listen to me, what you learn in class today will help you later,” just enforces the shut up and listen mindset. Sure, teachers tell us to ask questions and ask why. But that doesn’t mean they’ll reward us for actually doing it.

Nobody does.

Asking why, having an actual desire to learn, is often met with annoyance or sarcasm. …