How geography contributes to economic growth and can increase or lower the cost of living. Topics covered include: Why living in a developing country like Costa Rica is still relatively expensiveHow Amazon and e-commerce platforms lower the cost of livingWhy we should consider slowing down our rate of consumptionHow geography is impacting the rollout of AI Episode Sponsors LinkedIn Jobs – Use this link to post your job for free on LinkedIn Jobs NetSuite  Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Show Notes Market Research in Costa Rica: Costa Rica is a strong market in Central America providing many benefits.—SIS International Research & Strategy World Data Country Comparison: Costa Rica & USA Why is Gas so Expensive in Costa Rica? by Sarah Jordan—The Tico Times The Trailblazers: Inter-American Highway 1940 - 1957 by Norman Wood—U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Highway History United States eCommerce Sales Growth (2018 to Q3 2024) by Jason—SellersCommerce The Era of Finance CEOs Running Retailers Is Over by Amanda Mull—Bloomberg AI set to fuel surge in new US gas power plants by Amanda Chu and Jamie Smyth—The Financial Times What happened to the artificial-intelligence revolution?—The Economist Liebreich: Generative AI – The Power and the Glory by Michael Liebreich—BloombergNEF Related Episodes 444: Natural Disasters: Are They Truly Increasing?  413: What if the World Stopped Shopping? 151: Amazon Impacts Everything See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In our final episode of the year, I converse with author and data scientist Coco Krumme about the benefits and costs of optimization in finance, industry, and our daily lives. We explore AI and its overlap with optimization. We also consider the pros and cons of life optimization and finally discuss the extreme challenge of opting out. Episode Sponsors NetSuite  Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Show Notes Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization by Coco Krumme—Penguin Random House cocofolio.com Coco Krumme—LinkedIn Related Episode 480: Beyond Faster (T+1) Trade Settlement: The Hidden Costs of Optimization See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.