One of more interesting Sherlock Holmes stories is “The adventure of the speckled band”.
For those of you who haven’t read it, a very aggressive and dangerous man chooses an off beat way of getting his immediate family killed so that he can take over the entire family estate. He uses a poisonous serpent to get the deed done during the night time while keeping it in an iron safe during the day time. As Holmes figures this out over time, on a particular night he decides to sit on vigil as the next intended victim is sleeping on the bed in her room.
When he hears a hiss, he immediately starts striking at the serpent with his cane while agitatedly exclaiming to his good friend Dr. Watson “You see it, Watson? You see it?”. Watson obviously isn’t yet fully clued in on what is going on.
Eventually this angers the serpent enough to turn on its own master and bite the very hand that feeds it.
From the day I read this story again recently, this exclamation has become symbolic of something that most people fail to observe and make sense of even if it is happening right in front of their eyes.
The ongoing situation in Ukraine is symbolic of so many things that are wrong with the world right now. A nation is getting bombed to bits by a more powerful neighboring nation, it needs all the help it can get to survive while the Western powers are content giving their Premier a standing ovation and nominating him for the Nobel Peace prize, rather than doing what it takes to help the country survive.
Russia is calling the Western world out on its bluff and is waiting with tanks on the battlefield while their Western opponents are content with token economic sanctions, banning Russian vodka in their countries and threatening to unfollow Russian models on IG.
All the while, they accuse Russia of cowardice from the comfort of their AC chambers far away from the battlefield. While Europe continues to buy Russian energy and indirectly funds their military actions, the US tries to dissuade India from striking its own deal with Russia for energy supply.
Russia is fighting a direct, outright battle knowing very well that their Western opponents are unlikely come to the battlefield unless they are absolutely forced to.
While violence of any form is not acceptable, every single human being intuitively knows that it takes balls of steel to go to battle. Cowards rarely go to battle.
There is so much money being pumped into mainstream and social media to brand this military action by Russia as cowardice when every ounce of our instinct screams otherwise.
Inclusivity is one of the best known social themes across the world right now. In theory it sounds very good but in practice it works slightly differently.
Inclusivity seekers are nowhere to be seen when the foundation for something is being laid, they turn up only after the 25th floor is built and as the interiors are being done. They then proceed to demand their “fair share” without having suffered to build it in the first place.
VC investing is sexy today, it wasn’t the case 20 years ago. Today the narratives by the inclusivity seekers are
Why is there limited representation of the LGBT community?
Where aren’t there enough colored folks in powerful VC positions?
Where are the women?
None of them were around to do the grunt work back then when nobody cared about VC investing. Now that the money and glamour is there, everyone wants in on the action.
Crypto currency as an industry was built by high IQ geeks working out of their mother’s basements for years. These were the very same folks that the society made fun of 10 years ago by calling them socially awkward losers.
It will be a matter of time before this industry too gets accused of not being inclusive enough if it continues to deliver economic value. If the industry doesn’t do well, it is very unlikely that there will be calls for inclusivity.
Time will tell.
Some of the wisest quotes I have read about power
Power abhors a vacuum, there are no equations or relationships where power is not in play.
In any relationship, the party that needs the other party the least has the power.
Power is never given; power is always taken.
Interpersonal relationships are about love, companionship and understanding. Just that they are more about value, leverage and reciprocity beneath the surface. The first set is at play only after the the second set is already in place.
Apply these to the world, people and relationships around you.
“You see it, Watson? You see it?”
