Jim McManus’s article on poker and American entrepreneurship is not to be missed. Here’s a great excerpt:
American DNA is a notoriously complex recipe for creating a body politic, but two strands in particular have always stood out in high contrast: the risk-averse Puritan work ethic and the entrepreneur’s urge to seize the main chance. Proponents of neither m.o. like to credit the other with anything positive; huggers of the shore tend not to praise explorers, while gamblers remain unimpressed by those who husband savings accounts. Yet blended in much the same way that parents’ genes are in their children, the two ways of operating have made us who we are as a country.
That’s not just a metaphor, either. Geneticists have shown that there is literally such a thing as American DNA, not surprising when nearly all of us are descended from immigrants. We therefore carry an immigrant-specific genotype, a genetic marker expressing itself—in some environments, at least—as energetic risk-taking and competitive self-promotion. Even when famine, warfare, or another calamity strikes, most people stay in their homeland. The self-selecting group that migrates, seldom more than 2 percent, is disproportionally inclined to take chances. They also have above-average intelligence and are quicker decision makers. Something about their dopamine-receptor systems, the neural pathway associated with a taste for novelty and risk, sets them apart from those who stay put.
McManus has also written an excellent book, Positively Fifth Street, which is just about the best piece of non-fiction poker writing I’ve encountered.
(via First Thoughts)
Positively Fifth Street IS fantastic. Though I listened to the audio book during a commute one week instead of reading the book. So I guess I’m just assuming that the book is fantastic. Perhaps I should say that the audio book of Positively Fifth Street IS fantastic.Report
Wait, somebody read that book out loud? With all the asides about strippers, tar heroine, murdering casino heirs and how hot the author’s wife is? I demand a copy of that audio tape. Like, right now.Report
Hi Will. Thanks for your enthusiasm about the Chronicle piece. I hope you will checkout the book when it comes out next week. I the meantime, the very best version of PFS on tape is from Books on Tape, in which the complete book is read by actor Paul Michael. Cheers, JimReport
Jim McManus –
I’m incredibly surprised (and gratified) to find you hanging out in our comments section. For what it’s worth, I was huge of Positively Fifth Street, which inspired my roommates and I to spend an inordinate amount of time playing Texas Hold ‘Em in college. Thanks for the tip!
Jaybird –
You win this thread.Report
Note to Will:
Jim McManus just saw you discussing how hot his wife is.Report
Will and Jaybird: dat’s okay. Jennifer is much hotter than I deserve. The new history is dedicated to her, and she’s the star of the novel I’m working on, called The Winter Casino, in which her name is Vanessa.Report