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THE ORIGINS OF EFFICIENCY
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Reading List 06/13/2026
Homes being built on top of libraries, Patriot missile manufacturing, an effort to construct new US coal plants, a tunnel between the US and Russia, and…
Jun 13
•
Brian Potter
105
1
1
Biological Evolution and Information Acquisition
A few weeks ago we looked at a simulation of technological evolution by economist Brian Arthur, in which he was able to start with simple building…
Jun 11
•
Brian Potter
125
6
4
Reading List 06/06/26
Chatbots replacing realtors, Chinese synthetic diamonds, Australian batteries, Meta’s data center tents, and more
Jun 6
•
Brian Potter
108
1
2
How Long Does It Take to Plan a Bridge?
Many folks, including me, have observed that it seems to take much longer to build infrastructure in the US than it used to.
Jun 4
•
Brian Potter
164
29
12
May 2026
Reading List 05/30/26
A California chemical leak, weapons-grade plutonium for nuclear reactor startups, a startup that will clean your house to get robot training data, Blue…
May 30
•
Brian Potter
106
1
3
Where Are the Economies of Scale in Homebuilding?
Over the last few months we’ve examined the extent of the construction industry’s productivity problem.
May 28
•
Brian Potter
219
55
17
Reading List 05/23/26
Squatter removal services, Apple finding uses for defective chips, process heat use in California, the brewing Colorado River crisis, and more.
May 23
•
Brian Potter
97
2
The Rise of Build-to-Rent Housing
A major shift in the housing market in the last several years is the rapidly increasing popularity of “build-to-rent” homes — single-family homes that…
May 21
•
Brian Potter
162
30
12
Reading List 05/16/26
Tokyo’s cheap housing and expensive land, the House response to the Senate housing bill, an IED near an Alabama dam, Fervo’s IPO, and more.
May 16
•
Brian Potter
103
1
1
Reading List 05/09/2026
Trapped buildings, in-home data centers, cardboard military drones, Brightline’s potential bankruptcy, and more.
May 9
•
Brian Potter
98
9
4
How Long Do We Wait for New Inventions?
Mostly not very long
May 7
•
Brian Potter
731
77
90
Reading List 05/02/2026
Chilling effects in the build-to-rent sector, how fast could robot manufacturing scale up, PJM’s new interconnection queue, the backlash against battery…
May 2
•
Brian Potter
97
3
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