What I Read This Week…

GameStop stock triples after meme is posted on X, groundbreaking clinical trial leads to restored hearing in five deaf children, and elite universities have become bastions of progressive ideology.

Chamath Palihapitiya

Jun 09, 2024

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Caught My Eye…

After a three-year hiatus since the 2021 GameStop short squeeze, Keith Gill, also known as RoaringKitty, posted a meme on X that caused GameStop’s stock to triple. This has sparked debate over whether Keith’s actions constitute market manipulation under SEC rules. Is it market manipulation? Despite his actions having a significant impact on the stock price, current SEC rules do not address the outsized role that social media influencers play in driving stock purchases, especially when there is no clear deception involved. Notably, Keith has not explicitly endorsed investing in GameStop or made any claims about its financial prospects.
Scientists involved in a groundbreaking clinical trial have successfully restored hearing in five children born with DFNB9, a form of inherited deafness. How does this therapy work? Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are engineered to carry and deliver functioning copies of the human OTOF gene into the children’s inner ears, restoring production of a key protein called otoferlin. By releasing neurotransmitters after sound waves enter the ear, otoferlin facilitates the conversion of mechanical sound signals into electrical impulses that the brain ultimately interprets as sound. As a result, individuals born with an otoferlin deficiency can experience hearing restoration.
Elite universities have become bastions of progressive ideology, with 65% of Harvard’s 2023 graduating class identifying as progressive or very progressive, and with the opinion section at The Harvard Crimson leaning significantly more progressive over the past two decades. What is driving this? One factor is that highly-educated progressives tend to occupy positions of privilege while opposing privilege ideologically. This creates cognitive dissonance, as they benefit from the very systems they critique. To reconcile this dissonance, these individuals often intensify their progressive signaling, striving to demonstrate their commitment to progressive values. Over time, this creates a radicalized progressive culture within these institutions.