• TBOY
  • Posts
  • šŸ€ The Economics of 3-Pointers

šŸ€ The Economics of 3-Pointers

And Jamie's leaked audio breakdown

Happy Saturday,

ā€œIs it safe to fly?ā€ That’s the #1 Google search these days…

With four flying incidents in four weeks & FAA layoffs, concern is soaring. But the data says you’re:

šŸš— 7,000x more likely to be injured in a car than on a plane
šŸ›‹ļø 20x more likely to be killed by your own furniture
šŸŽ¢ 68x more likely to die on a rollercoaster
⚔ Twice as likely to be struck by lightning… twice
šŸš‡ More likely to be bitten by a New Yorker on the subway

Even if flying got twice as risky, seat 17A is still safer than the sidewalk.

🤬 Jamie Dimon’s Leaked Rant on WFH

A leaked, expletive-laden rant from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is peak unfiltered New Yorker. The guy despises remote work—and he’s not shy about it. But 1st, some context…

RTO Is Back—For Real. 800 companies were surveyed by McKinsey: The number of in-office workers doubled last year, with 68% now ā€œmostly in-personā€. Even Amazon now requires 5 days/wk (even though they don’t have enough desks). Hey Alexa, order more Amazon desks on Amazon.

Jamie’s been JPM’s CEO for 19 years, and in a leaked audio clip, he goes off.

  • šŸ—£ļø On Zoom meetings: ā€œEveryone’s on their phone, texting, talking s**t.ā€ He thinks in-office meetings will bring back good manners.

  • šŸ“ž On remote Fridays: ā€œI call people on Fridays, nobody picks up.ā€ Summer Fridays? Cool. Saying you’re working and ghosting? Not cool.

  • šŸ’¼ On work ethic: ā€œI come in seven days a week… Where is everyone else?ā€ But that’s kinda hypocritical since JPM capped workers at 80 hrs/week after a banker at another firm died.

  • šŸ¢ On remote work overall: ā€œYou have a choice—you don’t have to work at JPM.ā€

Dimon’s biggest concern? ā€œThe young generation is being damaged… left behind socially, in ideas, in meeting people.ā€

And we think that point’s right. There’s value to WFH if you’ve got kids or need to live somewhere more affordable. But in your 20s? The office is where you learn how to work, talk, maybe find a future spouse, and network with Carole from accounting - it’s the door-opener to life opportunities.

The Takeaway 🚘

The best career investment you can make in your 20s is a commute into the office. We did it when we were roommates in NYC. Subway at 7am from the East Village. And we wouldn’t trade it for anything.

šŸ€ 3-Pointers: More isn’t Better

NBA viewership is down 18%, and everyone’s debating why—players are too soft, rivalries are fading, defense is nonexistent. But we think the real issue is too many 3-pointers.

And The Data Says It All:

  • 25 years ago, teams shot 14 threes per game.

  • Today? 37 per game.

  • The Celtics? 48 three-point attempts per game. Excessive much?

Instead of a mix of dunks, mid-range shots, and creative plays, the game is now a never-ending 3-point contest with the occasional rebound.

Economics explains why.

It comes down to Expected Value (EV). A 3-pointer (36% success rate * 3 points) earns an expected 1.08 points per shot. A 2-pointer (40% success rate * 2 points) earns an expected 0.8 points. Math proves it—3s are just the more efficient play.

The Takeaway šŸ”»

In economics, what’s happening in the NBA is called a ā€œmarket failureā€ — when the market, left to it own forces, results in a negative outcome (in this case, the NBA losing its appeal to fans). And the solution to a market failure in business? The government steps in (w/ taxes, incentives, or new rules). For basketball, the NBA is the ā€œgovernmentā€ and needs to step in. Push back the 3-point line (again)? Change 2s and 3s to 3s and 4s? Make the ball heavier? Either way, it’s time to intervene.

šŸ‘¶ Financial Trickshot

A low-cost, high-return strategy for maximum impact with minimum effort.

Baby Go-Bag Hack: With Jack expecting baby #3 any day now, he packed UNO cards for hospital downtime with his wife & battery-powered tea candles to escape the harsh fluorescent lights. Small purchases, big upside.

šŸ‘Æā€ā™€ļø Tell a Bestie:

These are the headlines from our ā€œHeadline Hammerā€ of potential stories for the show each morning that we couldn’t fit on the pod.

  •  šŸ¤” Microsoft claimed the world’s first quantum processor… and in doing so created a 4th form of matter (not liquid, gas, or solid).

  • šŸ’€ Ancient Rome was so polluted with lead that it may have lowered Romans’ IQs.

  • šŸ‘š Forever 21 went bankrupt—now, it can’t even find a buyer. The whole store might sell for the price of a cute top.

  • 😲 F-35 fighter jets are made in a factory that’s 1 mile long. That’s longer than 17 football fields.

  • šŸŽæ Skiers on Mt. Etna are carving snow while lava erupts right next to them.

  • 🚢🌊 The largest ship ever made in America is being sunk off the Gulf… just to become an artificial reef.

The Best Idea Yet šŸ”ļø

Patagonia: How a toilet seat cover inspired a fleece revolution - and a company run by the most anti-corporate CEO ever…

Get the untold story of The Patagonia Fleece on the latest episode our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet.

This weekend, listen to the untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with… New 45-minute episodes drop every Tuesday… it’s simply The Best Idea Yet.

And one more thing. We’re officially on baby watch—any day now. Nick will jump in with the news when it happens & then we will be off the pod for a week, but with special episodes to fill the feed while we’re gone. Meanwhile, Nick’s remastering the piano w/ weekly lessons. Paul McCartney has nothing to worry about… yet.

Cool if we air Nick’s lessons on the pod feed while Jack is out?

— Nick & Jack

spotify logo  apple podcasts logo  youtube logo  

Reply

or to participate.