TouchStone Reads - January 23rd, 2026

We often set aside articles that are longer, deserve a re-read, are broader in scope…or just for fun - for weekend reading. Below are some from this week - pour yourself a hot cup of coffee & enjoy...

• Must Read: Rules Matter More Than Insight: How Discipline Beats Brilliance (The Financial Pen)

• What if the idea of the autism spectrum is completely wrong? (New Scientist)

• New High of 45% in U.S. Identify as Political Independents (Gallup)

• 14,000 words on the Real China. Dan Wang’s annual letter is a yearly fright and delight about where China is headed. (Dan Wang)

• Zero-Sum Economics Keeps Failing: The world is not a lump of “resources.” (Noahpinion)

• Photos Capture the Breathtaking Scale of China’s Wind and Solar Buildout: Last year China installed more than half of all wind and solar added globally. In May alone, it added enough renewable energy to power Poland, installing solar panels at a rate of roughly 100 every second. (Yale Environment 360)

• Alex Honnold: How I climbed a 3,000-foot vertical cliff - without ropes (TED Talk)

• Darwin the Witness In His Own Words: Darwin immortalized a fast-transforming world - customs, political situations, and ways of life that were both new and just about to vanish into mostly-unwritten history. (Aether Mug)

• Apple lost the AI race - now the real challenge starts: It’s time to turn Apple Intelligence into something people actually care about. (The Verge)

• Even More Very Good Music Facts: The title of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was taken from a line in The Clash’s “Charlie Don’t Surf.” “Charlie Don’t Surf” was taken from a line in “Apocalypse Now.” “Apocalypse Now” was based on Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.” (Go Jeff Go)

• Behind the Curtain: AI rush creates rarified class of “Have-Lots” (Axios)

• Solar met 61% of US electricity demand growth in 2025 (Source: Ember) 
  

• Congress struggled to pass laws – the second fewest enacted in over a century (Source: Bruce Mehlman’s Age of Disruption) 
  

• Another point that’s interesting about ChatGPT’s user base: A lot of kids are using it for homework. During the summer and over the weekends usage gets cut in half because kids are out of school.
  

 

What are you reading or listening to?