Unlearn & Unlock
Unlearn & Unlock
3.26 | "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." ― Albert Einstein
News and Numbers
Markets this Week:
S&P 500 is up 5%.
NASDAQ 100 is up 6%
Bitcoin-USD is up 1%
Ethereum-USD is up 2%
Headlines from this Week:
Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of 7 counts of fraud and conspiracy that led to the collapse of FTX.
Jerome Powell and the Fed left interest rates unchanged at between 5.25 - 5.50%.
Lionel Messi won his 8th Ballon D’or. Erling Haaland won best striker. Jude Bellingham won best young player. Emiliano Martínez won best goalkeeper.
Finance
By Vlad Estoup, B.Comm. (Finance); working in Ethereum cybersecurity
Battling Zombie Firms: How the Economy and Banking System are Adapting
In the world of finance and economics, the term "zombie firms" has been making headlines. These are unprofitable businesses that manage to stay afloat, often by accumulating more debt. As economists and financial experts discuss the implications of zombie firms, it becomes evident that they can have a detrimental impact on healthy businesses operating in the same sector. This article delves into the concept of zombie firms, their impact on the economy, and recent developments, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in monetary policy.
Zombie firms are unprofitable businesses that manage to survive by taking on new debt, often with the hope of reversing their declining sales and financial fortunes. Banks are typically the source of this additional financing, as they extend credit to these struggling enterprises with the expectation that they will eventually regain profitability. However, this practice raises concerns about the long-term health of both these zombie firms and the financial institutions that support them.
Bruno Albuquerque, an economist at the International Monetary Fund, highlights the detrimental effects of zombie firms on healthy businesses competing in the same sector. The presence of such firms can distort market dynamics, leading to unfair competition and potentially stifling innovation and growth. These unhealthy firms can benefit from the competition by gaining access to capital at the expense of more viable enterprises.
Kathryn Judge, a professor of law at Columbia University, emphasizes the critical role of a healthy, well-capitalized banking system in dealing with zombie firms. A strong financial sector is crucial for ensuring that unviable firms are wound down in a timely manner rather than being propped up. When banks extend credit to zombie firms, they may inadvertently perpetuate their existence, which can ultimately pose a risk to the stability of the entire financial system.
Economists have observed that the prevalence of zombie firms can increase when governments or central banks intervene to bail out unviable firms during economic crises. Such bailouts may delay the necessary restructuring and consolidation in certain industries, hindering economic recovery. However, the Federal Reserve has noted a different trend in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates and tighten monetary policy may have played a significant role in discouraging the survival of zombie firms. Despite these interest rate hikes, U.S. firms have maintained healthy balance sheets. In October 2023, the effective federal funds rate stood at 5.33%, a substantial increase from 0.08% in October 2021. This change suggests that banks are becoming more selective in extending credit and supporting financially sustainable businesses.
The issue of zombie firms poses a significant challenge to the health and stability of the economy. While government interventions can exacerbate the problem, recent developments indicate a positive trend. The Federal Reserve's actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their commitment to maintaining a strong banking system have played a crucial role in curbing the proliferation of zombie firms. As the economy continues to evolve, it is essential to strike a balance between supporting struggling businesses and preserving the integrity of the financial system, ultimately promoting sustainable economic growth.
This is not financial advice and you should always do your own research before investing in any securities or cryptocurrencies.
Sci-Tech
By Keyann, Software Engineer in Web3
Stupidity can be Learned pt.II:
Elusive Solutions
There are times in software development, or any problem solving process, when the solution to a problem can be as elusive as a needle in a haystack, or worse, searching for a song you’ve never heard. In the latter, you don’t even know what you’re looking for.
One such instance I encountered recently setting up my cloud infrastructure to host an app. It involved pulling the image of an app from a container registry into a kubernetes pod and trying to run the app in a container. Specifically the error was this, exec /usr/local/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh: exec format error.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps I took to identify and solve the issue, moving from a specific approach to a more abstract problem-solving method.
1. Getting help: ChatGPT, Tech Support, and StackOverflow.
Nowadays, with the power of AI, most solutions to problems can be streamlined with an effective prompt. But every now and again, I find AI throwing me into a loop, and creating a harder problem for me than there was originally. It gives you suggestions, you reply, and you repeat that until it gives you the same original suggestion, thus throwing you into a loop. Online communities are a good last resort, but i’ve never felt encountered a thread that the online community couldn’t solve. Technical support can also be limited, as they also rely on online threads for assistance to very specific issues.
After days of digging, the predominant explanation for my issue is that it occurs when there’s a CPU, OS, or architecture mismatch between the machine building the image and the host machine running it. In my case, I was building the machine on mac but hosting it on linux. However, after rebuilding the image for the correct architecture and pushing it to my registry, I was still getting the same error.
2. Verifying the Image
The first step in my troubleshooting process was to ensure that the Docker image I created was built correctly. By building and running the image locally, I was able to verify its architecture and functionality. This step confirmed that the image should work when deployed in a Kubernetes cluster.
3. Observing Image Behaviour
Despite my local tests being successful, the pod in the Kubernetes cluster still threw an error. The message was cryptic: `exec /usr/local/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh: exec format error`. But if the image was working locally, why wasn't it in the Kubernetes cluster?
4. If at first you don’t succeed try again.
I traced all my steps, and tried again, just to ensure I didn’t miss anything. Sure, enough the error still arose.
5. Check other explanations
What if there’s an another reason to explain the error? After further digging and inquiry, a couple other explanations arose. Some claimed the pod didn’t have permissions to execute the file, others claimed there were issues with the base image I was using, in that it might not support. Sure enough, after pursuing these avenues, I still didn’t resolve my issue. I looked into the image locally, and found the file, so it was there. I was able to execute it, so it had permissions. I double checked my Dockerfile, and verified that it was properly building the image.
6. The Image Pulling Conundrum
At this junction, I had all but given up, but one question and obstacle remained. Was the Kubernetes pod even pulling the updated image? I can’t inspect it from the pod, so how am I to ascertain this? Until I had somewhat of a eureka moment. I came up with a simple experiment to falsify the truth.
The Experiment: I deleted the image from my container registry and deleted/ recreated the pod to check if the Kubernetes cluster would run the image. This test would reveal whether the image was being pulled afresh each time or whether it was using a cached version in the kubernetes cluster.
The Revelatory Find: Image Pull Policy
The results of my experiment indeed revealed that despite deleting the image altogether, the error was still there, indicating that the pod was using a cached version and not being an updated one.
Using this insight, I now knew what I was looking for and was able to uncover a solution. By default, Kubernetes pods, especially those on Azure Kubernetes Service, will store images on the node. They won't always pull a new image each time a pod is recreated, unless configured otherwise in the deployment.yaml. Thus, the pod was reusing the old image instead of fetching the updated one.
The solution? An adjustment in the deployment configuration:
deployment.yaml
spec:
containers:
- name: <container_name>
image: <image_url>:<version_tag>
imagePullPolicy: Always
Setting the `imagePullPolicy` to `Always` ensures that the pod always fetches the latest image.
A Broader Perspective
Let's distill the problem-solving process into more abstract terms:
- Direct Verification: Before looking elsewhere, check the immediate and controllable components.
- Assumptions and Experiments: When direct evidence is unavailable, construct experiments to validate assumptions.
- Configuration Over Code: Often, the issue lies not in the code but in how it's configured or deployed.
Conclusion
In the vast ecosystem of Kubernetes, small configurations can sometimes lead to perplexing behaviours. As developers and engineers, and similar to scientists, our task is to methodically dissect problems, experimenting our way around a cause, until we pinpoint its root. With a mix of direct tests, logical reasoning, and a healthy dose of curiosity, even the most elusive issues can be resolved. As Galileo Galilei once said, "All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."
Paradigm Shift
By Roman Kuittinen-Dhaoui, CPHR, BBA (Hons)
The Benefits of Waking Up at the Same Time Daily
Waking up at the same time every day, also known as maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, can offer several benefits for your physical and mental well-being:
Better Sleep Quality: Consistency in your sleep schedule helps regulate your body's internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm. This, in turn, can improve the quality of your sleep, making it more restorative and efficient.
Improved Sleep Duration: Setting a consistent wake-up time helps regulate your bedtime as well. This can lead to an appropriate sleep duration, ensuring you get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep for adults. A regular schedule reduces the likelihood of oversleeping or sleep deprivation.
Enhanced Alertness: When you wake up at the same time daily, your body becomes accustomed to a routine, and you're more likely to feel alert and refreshed upon waking. Irregular sleep patterns can lead to grogginess and difficulty getting started in the morning.
Stable Mood and Mental Health: A consistent sleep schedule can help stabilize your mood and reduce the risk of mood disorders. Sleep disruptions and irregular sleep patterns are associated with an increased risk of anxiety and depression.
Better Productivity: Waking up at the same time each day can lead to increased productivity and focus. Your body and mind are in sync, making it easier to tackle tasks and responsibilities throughout the day.
Weight Management: Maintaining a regular sleep schedule may help with weight management. Irregular sleep patterns can disrupt hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism, potentially leading to weight gain.
Consistent Energy Levels: A steady wake-up time can help regulate your energy levels throughout the day. You'll be less likely to experience energy dips, reducing the need for excessive caffeine or energy-boosting snacks.
Improved Immune Function: A consistent sleep schedule is associated with a stronger immune system. Irregular sleep patterns can weaken your body's ability to fend off illnesses.
TLDR: Waking up at the same time every day promotes a healthy and productive lifestyle by enhancing sleep quality, mood, and overall well-being. It's important to choose a wake-up time that allows you to get the recommended hours of sleep per night for your age and needs.
(Head)Space
By Keyann
Unlearning our Limits
I was watching UFC Dagestan fighters train, and was wondering, how these people somehow have a training regimen that supersedes some of the top athletes and facilities in the world, and defies what many would think as optimal training routines.
In another moment, I watching someone explain their workout routine and was perplexed how everyone has a different workout routine that can be just as effective as another’s as its tailored to them.
Which led me to think: If that’s true, why do we treat education differently?
The current educational model, excluding the more experiment or elite models, are in fact a relic from another era. It traces its roots back to the time of Charlemagne, who reigned over a millennium ago. The irony isn't lost on me. We sit in classrooms, absorb text, regurgitate it on paper, and repeat this across numerous subjects for over a decade. It's a rigid, one-track mind-set that's astonishingly outdated when you give it a hard think.
If you’re like me with school, you’d have based how smart you think you are based on how well you performed in school.
But I don’t measure my fitness or progress based on well I follow someone else fitness routine. So why do I accept this mismatch in education? Why do most people?
The analogy extends to medicine. The rise of personalized medicine acknowledges that not all treatments are universally effective; adverse reactions and allergies are reminders that individual needs differ greatly.
So this traditional ‘one size fits all’ school of thought is antiquated across many areas, whether it’s school, fitness, or medicine. But I think education is of paramount importance, because how different would the world be if everyone learned to embrace their inner genius?
What if we embraced the fact that everyone learns differently, at different paces, with different styles, motivations, and preferences? Some are visual, while others are verbal. Some need to interact with their knowledge, whereas others can just write it down and encode it.
Our brains are marvels of neuroplasticity, meaning they can adapt, mold, and change to new stimuli or conditioning. Stupidity can be learned as much as intelligence, and expectations can trick us into making the wrong decisions, pursuing suboptimal paths, or just giving up too quickly altogether. Don’t base your self-beliefs on how smart, capable or creative you are by how one stupid 15 year old french king made everyone learn.
Company of the Week
Visa processed about 378 million transactions each day in 2020.
Visa Inc. is a global financial services company that operates one of the world's largest electronic payment processing networks. The company facilitates electronic funds transfers, primarily through Visa-branded credit and debit cards. Visa does not issue cards or extend credit to consumers directly; rather, it provides the infrastructure and services that enable transactions between merchants, cardholders, and financial institutions.
Written by: Vlad Estoup, Keyann Al-Kheder, and Roman Kuittinen-Dhaoui