Twitteretter

Current politics are about division. They pitch Catalans against Spaniards, British against Europeans, Americans against all comers.  This is no coincidence, it is a ploy of capital. Capital, as a concept, is united in its aims. Unity of aims and purpose, and even of method, is a competitive advantage if your enemy is divided. The unity of the people, whether it is trade unions, across borders cooperation or financial and tax regulation, weakens capital, reduces its power. Capital can jump fences, and those who try to control it cannot, so capital builds fences. This is not a new concept. Julius Caesar is credited with the maxim ‘Divide et conquere’. It was a less subtle World, where conflict was more obvious and a lot more bloodied, but strategies remain fundamentally the same. Foster division and, if there isn’t any, seed it first, then foster it. One more episode of the capital versus the people. Passion and sentiment, so easily manipulated 

As I progress through life, I become wealthier, in economic and knowledge terms. The more this happens, the more I think about what to do with this wealth. We live in an age in which wealth, at least economic, is more concentrated than ever in the hands of a few, individuals and corporations. However much I think about it, I cannot find any purpose in this accumulation. I cannot escape the realisation that any money that survives you is money wasted, a lost opportunity. As inheritance, it is nearly always too late. In our current capitalist system, money has huge power to change lives, if used appropriately. And every single cent you own, once your needs (basic or not, that is an individual choice) are covered, should be used for this purpose, made to work to the full. If you have it, use it to change outcomes. I don’t know a lot, but I know that, if you ever stop to think at the time of your death, a bulging bank account will make you feel regret for what could have been.

I have been reading Javier Marias in @elpais today. On occasion of the death of the historian John Julius Norwich, Marias reflects on the widely held opinion that having general knowledge is not important nowadays, since the data are a few clicks away. He laments the excessively pragmatic nature of current education, and the fact that the last generations are less prepared than their predecessors, know less. Today, he regrets, it is possible to cross the World without knowing anything about it, to visit places and people without knowing how they came to be, what made them what they are. I do think that, as we improve the data/human interfaces, knowledge will be more immediately available and holding it will be less critical. However, our ability to navigate the World successfully will, until we are superseded by AI, still depend on our individual knowledge and understanding of the World that surrounds us. Without this knowledge, we drift without purpose, tools of the system 

The history of science is full of great stories of human endeavour and ingenuity. One of my favourites is the story of the discovery of Neptune, the eight planet of our Solar System. If you don’t know the story, you should read it. The position of Neptune was independently deduced by JC Adams in England and U Leverrier in France by observing anomalies in the precession of Uranus and, based on them, deducing the position where Neptune should be. Incredible use of meticulous observation and complex mathematics, confirmed by Galle by pointing the Fraunhofer telescope in Berlin to the point where the maths predicted a new planet should be. The story makes you realise how much humans can accomplish with time and determination. The observations must have been truly painstaking with the technology of the day, and the calculations hugely complex. An amazing achievement 

The most famous and valuable art work in the World is probably Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. This is difficult to understand, when considering it coldly. It is technically excellent, but so are many others. However, there is no point in considering art coldly, that its not its purpose or meaning. It appeals to the heart, more than to reason. Mona Lisa, in fact, appeals to both. It is, without doubt, one of my favourites. Because it represents Leonardo, intellectual giant of his time, truly unique man in his curiosity, his endeavour, his uncompromising pursuit of excellence. A man I admire. It is also beautiful and, very importantly, the only painted smile of its age. Nobody had painted a smile before it. It is the first smile in art. The power of the smile, domesticated by the first time by an artist. The symbolism of this fact is so significant that it justifies any value one could ever put on Mona Lisa. It is unique, ground breaking, completely original and rebelliously happy  ...

Whilst smart investment capital wakes up to the opportunities in countries like Spain, a big question is what local politicians can do to accelerate business growth. Current policies are misguided, as they are based on the belief that they need to create skills and entrepreneurship, providing endless coaching and tech transfer training and initiatives, backed up by insufficient capital. Once local politicians understand that the biggest challenge is access to seed and early round capital, this would  change their strategy for fostering entrepreneurship. The assignment is to get traditionally earned capital to invest in new technology, which at present, with some exceptions, it is not doing. How do we get a property or textile tycoon to invest in speculative biotech? Simple. We get their tax advisor to tell them to. They may not understand technology, but they understand taxation. Change the taxation enough, and you will change the dynamics of tech investment in your country, at a ...

The challenge I referred to in my previous post represents and excellent opportunity for the cunning mid or small size investor. A Spanish tech start up, based on the same idea as a US tech start up, and with a team of the same quality, will be valued 20 to 30 times cheaper than its US alter ego. This is a simple consequence of the law of supply and demand, with seed and early round capital being in short supply in Spain. This means that your investment dollars will buy you 20 to 30 times more equity in Spain, and therefore, if the business succeeds, you will make many times more money. Importantly also, moderate success will still reward you heavily, which it would not in the US, due to inflated seed and early round valuations. I think the smart money will soon start to spread to Spain and similarly under invested markets. Talent and entrepreneurship are global, tech seed capital, not yet.