| Sunday, 07 December 2025 |
A community-powered Sunday newsletter on mental models, self-reflection, learning, growth, photos, books, and more Subscribe here
Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],
Hello again! Here we are, in the last month of this absolutely bonkers year, where it felt like every day was being stuck between two closing walls—Donald Trump and AI!
Are you in a reflective mindset already? I know I am. But I’m more excited and hopeful about the year that lies ahead. Self-reflection is good, sure, but what’s the point of it if you aren’t using it to discover a better version of yourself? (No? Too reductionist? Write in and tell me!)
The magic, imho, happens when we’re able to use reflection and discovery to feed each other. Thus, each December is magical because we’re poised at the edge between learning from another year, and using those learnings to have a better year, Donald Trump and AI be damned!
Here’s everything we have for you in First Principles this week:
1. A Fourier analysis of our lives and careers
2. A day for books 📚
3. Afterglow 📸
1. A Fourier analysis of our lives and careers
Though synthesis and analysis are two sides of a coin, my preference and love has always been for the side that helps us see how things are interconnected and part of complex systems we cannot even fathom. That is, synthesis.
Sometimes, though, it is invaluable to be able to do the opposite and break down things into smaller parts. Seeing my own life (and career) as a wave, in turn composed of dozens of other smaller waves, is one of those obvious and yet hard realisations. I would even go out on a limb and say it is the most important perspective—aka, “mental model” – that has allowed me to “calm down” and take a more strategic and long-term view of my life and career.
What am I talking about? Let me try and illustrate it. Say the blue line was you.
I am sure you will immediately start to think about how your own curve fits with this. Your mind starts wondering what the relevant time periods must be. Is it this year? The last few years?
I enjoy reading The Ken because it is informative, the articles are well researched, well written, without the spin and bias. I admire The Ken team for their dedication to getting closer to the true picture.
Hari Buggana
Chairman and MD, InvAscent
Transparent, Honest, Detailed. To me, The Ken has been this since the day I subscribed to them. The research that they put into each story and the way it is presented is thoroughly interesting. Personally, I’ve always had a great time interacting with the publication and reading the stories.
Harshil Mathur
CEO and Co-Founder, Razorpay
The Ken has proven naysayers wrong by successfully running a digital news publication on a pure-subscription business model in India. They have shown that discerning readers are willing to pay for well-researched, well-written, in-dept news articles.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Executive Chairperson, Biocon Limited
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Rahul Gonsalves
Co-founder and CEO, Obvious Ventures