https://tharuniyer.me/ Recent content on Tharun Iyer Hugo en Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/zoom-only-on-one-thing/ Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/zoom-only-on-one-thing/ In Nick Maggiulli’s book Just. Keep. Buying. I came across an interesting story about focus. Jeffrey Seder, a Harvard-educated lawyer, discovered his passion for horses after a stable visit with his girlfriend. This passion became his profession. After studying horses extensively, Seder made a breakthrough discovery: heart size was the decisive factor in racing success. Not bloodlines. Not pedigree. Not training methods. Just heart size. Seder began performing MRIs on potential purchases, selecting horses solely based on heart size while ignoring metrics like bloodline, coat, etc. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/plastic-in-brain/ Thu, 13 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/plastic-in-brain/ Microplastics are those microscopic plastic particles smaller than 5 millimetres that have sneaked their way into pretty much everything around us. And when I say everything, I mean everything - including our bodies. For years, scientists have been finding microplastics in various human organs - from our blood to our lungs. Last year, researchers found microplastics in human testicles. And they think this might be why sperm counts in men have been reducing globally. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/error-lead-to-chicken-industry/ Tue, 11 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/error-lead-to-chicken-industry/ Cecile Steele was supposed to receive 50 chicks from a hatchery in 1923, but a clerical error resulted in her receiving 500 instead. Nobody predicted that this would lead to the $30 billion chicken industry. In the early 1900s, chickens were largely kept for eggs. Only when their output had been lowered were they slaughtered for meat. But Cecile Steele had 450 more chickens and no room to store them. Since returning these chickens was not an option, she chose to keep them in the limited area she had. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/reducing-pollution-leads-to-climate-change/ Thu, 06 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/reducing-pollution-leads-to-climate-change/ Efforts to clean up our oceans might be accidentally speeding up global warming. Umm, but how, why? I had the exact same question when I came across this article from Financial Times, and I tried my best to understand it and now I’m trying my hand at explaining it. I am by no means an expert but here is what I have understood. In 2020 the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) decided to reduce sulphur emissions from ships. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/happiness-can-buy-money/ Wed, 05 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/happiness-can-buy-money/ We’ve all heard that money can’t buy happiness, but happiness can buy money, and cried a little every time we heard it. But it turns out there could be some truth to this: being happy - or more specifically, being optimistic - might actually help you save more money, according to research from the American Psychological Association. The research team, led by Dr. Joe Gladstone from the University of Colorado Boulder, conducted an extensive study across multiple countries. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/china-new-military-base/ Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/china-new-military-base/ China’s military is building a massive military base, a construction site spanning roughly 1500 acres. Rumours suggest they are planning on building large bunkers to protect their leaders in case of conflict, including a nuclear war. Speaking of nuclear capabilities, China is rapidly expanding its arsenal. In just one year, they’ve increased their operational nuclear warheads from 500 to 600. But that’s not all - President Xi Jinping has also ordered the PLA to develop the capability to attack Taiwan simultaneously. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/exceptional-people-are-rare-to-find/ Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/exceptional-people-are-rare-to-find/ Have you ever noticed how companies are constantly searching for that one perfect employee? You know, the superhuman who can do everything - and they’re willing to pay any price for them. If you’re a manager, you’ve probably been on this hunt too. But here’s the thing: finding this person feels impossible, right? Almost like searching for a unicorn. Think about it - companies want someone who can: Learn, think, and solve problems quickly Stay responsible, organized, and hardworking Handle pressure like a pro and manage stress effortlessly If you’re wondering why your team seems filled with “just” average or above-average people, there’s now actually a scientific explanation. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/how-to-build-muscle/ Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/how-to-build-muscle/ I think I am slowly turning into a “Self improoover”, trying to optimize every second of my life like those LinkedIn bros posting their 4 AM cold shower routines. I am slowly becoming him. And in that quest to become the optimal male, I recently came across this article, where Luc van Loon, through research, explains the best time to have protein, the optimal quantity and what leads to muscle loss and how to prevent it. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/do-the-rich-get-richer-and-stay-rich/ Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/do-the-rich-get-richer-and-stay-rich/ I often hear people around me say, “The rich get richer and stay rich,” talking about how wealth gets passed down through generations and creates more inequality. I never thought much about it until I stumbled across this NBER working paper that made me want to dig deeper. The paper tracked millions of families from 1850 through the Gilded Age up to the 1940s, looking at how wealth moved between generations. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/alcohol-neuroticism/ Tue, 21 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/alcohol-neuroticism/ Ever since I read articles that covered the U.S. Surgeon General’s January 2024 report about alcohol consumption, I haven’t touched a drop. The report suggested that even moderate drinking could increase cancer risks, recommending scary warning labels on all alcoholic beverages. And then I learned that each drink supposedly takes away 5 minutes of your life. As someone who enjoyed their occasional glass of alcohol this was pretty unsettling. But this weekend I was listening to Derek Thompson’s podcast that has pushed me down a rabbit hole and made it easier for me to reconsider my choices. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/just-keep-buying-learnings/ Tue, 21 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/just-keep-buying-learnings/ I was reading Just Keep Buying by Nick Maggiulli hoping to increase my savings and build wealth to finally buy my dream house and a Ferrari. With my current trajectory and the lifestyle inflation creep, it looks like I’ll never reach that goal. But to make sure you reach your goals and don’t end up on the same path, here’s what I’ve learned from reading half the book. To build wealth, it doesn’t matter when you buy stocks - whether it’s a bull market or a bear market - as long as you keep buying. https://tharuniyer.me/posts/my-fitness-journey-in-2024/ Wed, 08 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/posts/my-fitness-journey-in-2024/ Hi, I’m Tharun, and this is my first post. Like millions of others who make new year resolutions, I too made one - to write at least one post every month. Given that most people who set new year resolutions fail them within the first two weeks, this might end up being my first and last post. But I thought I’d start by sharing something—a goal that I achieved last year—participating and winning Zerodha’s internal health challenge. https://tharuniyer.me/about/ Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/about/ I’m Tharun. I work at Zerodha. Outside of that, I make videos and write about AI — specifically what it can do for your money and career. Also into fitness, books, music, and magic. Not necessarily in that order. https://tharuniyer.me/archives/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/archives/ archives https://tharuniyer.me/search/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://tharuniyer.me/search/ search