Emanuel Derman @emanuelderman.bsky

Human Affairs

Very sad to learn of the passing of the brilliant and biting Tom Lehrer at 97. Even though he stopping writing and performing satirical songs a half century or more ago, I derived great joy knowing that he still walked among us. His work will forever remain the gold standard.

Excellent

Sailor’s delight

Trump’s Tariffs Are the Highest in a Century. But After His Threats, They Seem Like a Relief. nytimes.com/2025/07/23/bus…

Hamburger America makes smashburgers like hamburgers used to be, before supersizing and addons overtook everything, and it’s right around the corner from Film Forum

Martin Wolf: "The Swedish finance ministry tells me they think the Russian government’s own figures for inflation are far higher than the ones they publish. That might help explain why the central bank policy rate is 20 per cent while inflation is officially nearly 10 per cent"

New York City in the 90s was dotted with little fruit and vegetable storefronts run by Koreans. Inside was always a man or woman who, when they weren't busy, was shelling fresh peas into a plastic container. So sweet. Now the stores are gone, and you cant get sweet peas anywhere.

Michael Cunningham on Virginia Woolf’s Literary Revolution nytimes.com/2020/12/23/boo…

You have to have prayed in Hebrew to get this

Virginia Woolf on Mrs Dalloway. Like Schopenhauer, she doesn’t believe in concepts, only ideas.

Sorry, I didn’t read Mrs. Dalloway before

I’ve been notified I may eligible for a class action settlement payout, and now I’m very curious to find out what horrifying economic damages I’ve suffered at the hands of the Criterion Channel

As the world has moved away from writing by hand, over the last 20 or 25 years an incredible diversity of writing implements and paper and notebooks has developed for a v small audience

Here's the link to the interview: contrarian.substack.com/p/will-capital…