Welcome to the Friday Wrap-Up for August 28, 2026. This is a short newsletter where I talk about 4 things: What’s on my mind this week, Recommended Reading, Something Fun, and Something to Help Your Systems. Here's what's on my mind...
On My Mind
Writing with AI is not the same as using a calculator for math: Financier Stanley Druckenmiller is in hot water this week for using AI to write his criticism of Scott Bessent. He said:
using AI to write is akin to "using a calculator when I do math problems."
I've seen this more than once over the past couple of weeks, and it shows a deep misunderstanding of math, calculators, and words.
There are some stark differences. For example, you still need to know the calculation you're trying to do. You can't just shout "solve for x" into a calculator without more info.
Aside from that, each math problem yields one answer. As my CS teacher Dr. McCloskey often said, the beauty of math is that it's not ambiguous.
If you ask AI to write a criticism of Scott Bessent, you'll get vastly different answers between LLMs, prompts, or even attempts. Claude will not output the same article twice.
You can use any calculator to solve 5 * 5. You will get 25 every single time.
But that's not even my biggest gripe. My biggest gripe is that it's equally as troubling when people use calculators for basic math. I paid for takeout with cash at a restaurant recently. It was $47.46, and I gave the cashier $48. And she opted to not give me the change because she couldn't figure it out. "Do you want the change? It's just a few cents." It was 54 cents. When I said I did, she brought me 2 quarters.
That's bad. Everyone should be able to do basic math in their head. But not being able to articulate your own thoughts without AI?
That's so much worse.
Do you have something on your mind? Let me know at https://streamlinedfeedback.com. You can write in, or leave a voice note. I might even play it on the show. |
Recommended Reading
The Unraveling of Podcaster Ashley Flowers’ True Crime Empire: I am not much of a true crime podcast listener anymore. I enjoyed the first couple of seasons of Serial. And I listened to Criminal, and Dr. Death, plus some limited-run shows. But it's been a while.
To my knowledge, I haven't listened to any of Flowers' Audiochuck shows, including Crime Junkie. The most interesting bit of this story for me actually came towards the beginning:
A growing number of top performers — from Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper to Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast — are attempting to parlay their internet clout into broader, more diversified companies. But such transitions can be difficult. To pull it off, the already-harried hosts typically have to take on expansive new leadership duties while continuing to star on podcasts or YouTube channels with intensely demanding schedules. Often, it amounts to a frantic juggling act for even the most industrious hustlers.
I see a lot of parallels between the personalities described here and solopreneurs. When you try to build an empire based on you, you're going to hit up against some limitation: time, money, appeal, etc.
I knew when I made the decision to stay a company of one that I wasn't going to build an empire or generate massive wealth. But I did know I could make more than enough money to support my family and spend time with my kids.
I think the framing of the story is interesting (the journalist who wrote it, Ashley Carmen, is an excellent reporter). Flowers admitted that she killed a popular show to spend more time with her young daughter. But the article also quotes her as saying this:
“No one at this company works more hours than I do...Yes, I am the founder, but that is not why. It’s because I care so much about this company and the work we do. I regularly set my alarm at 2 or 3 a.m. and work over the weekend, holidays and when I’m sick.”
I think two things can be true: you can care about the company while also not doing everything yourself.
It's a story for us too. How many times have you said, "no one can do what I do?" Increasingly, automated systems can take a lot off of our plate. If our goal really is time freedom, we should let them.
Something Fun
Tom Cruise vs Evel Knievel. Epic Rap Battles Of History: I love Epic Rap Battles of History. They are clever, well-researched, and catchy. I also appreciate that the guys took a step back from doing videos every 2 weeks to prevent burnout for them and their team.
Even though it's every few months now, I greatly look forward to new ones. This one is just as funny and clever as their previous work. Plus the guy they hired to play Tom Cruise is incredible.
Something to Help Your Systems
The Stream Deck: A few times over the past weeks, I showed off my mad Stream Deck skills on calls and recordings and folks were really impressed by it.
While I've written about my Stream Decks several times, it's always worth resurfacing. If you're looking for a place to start, I made a video about what your first 6 Stream Deck buttons should be.
My latest from around the web: