Obituary for a scientist who discovered viroids, which likely were the first branch of life on earth. Viroids are “nothing more than naked loops of RNA” as opposed to viruses that are packaged inside proteins. Viroids potentially could have been parasites on ancient cyanobacteria, but the link is yet unproven.
In the 1960s and 1970s, upwards of half of the potato plants in some states of Ukraine and China were also afflicted by what seemed to be the same disease. “In other words, this single molecule might have been able to handle all the basic tasks required for life. Only later did DNA and proteins evolve.”
I was listening to Bloomberg on the way to work discussing how Apple is going to the debt markets again despite the billions in FCF and cash on hand. I was reminded of my classes on Capital structure and revisited an article by Miliken.
“The optimal capital structure evolves constantly, and successful corporate leaders must constantly consider six factors -- the company and its management, industry dynamics, the state of capital markets, the economy, government regulation and social trends. When these six factors indicate rising business risk, even a dollar of debt may be too much for some companies.”
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“Fact: Over the past 120 years, home prices have declined about 40% of the time.”
- Michael Milliken April 21, 2009 “Companies that repurchased stock two years ago are in a world of hurt.” WSJ
3. Phronesis (Greek: φρόνησῐς)
Phronesis is a type of wisdom or intelligence. It is more specifically a type of wisdom relevant to practical action, implying both good judgment and excellence of character and habits, or practical virtue. As such, it is often translated as “practical wisdom”, and sometimes as “prudence.” Thomas McEvilley has proposed that the best translation is “mindfulness” -