The hottest Performance Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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A Rivalry Plucked From Fiction

Passing Time • 133 implied HN points • 20 Jun 25
🎾 Sports Performance
  1. Rivalries in sports, like Federer and Nadal, show how two strong characters can define each other. They push each other to improve and create some of the best moments in sports.
  2. Each player has unique styles and strengths, making their matches thrilling to watch. Federer’s elegance and Nadal’s grit complemented each other perfectly on the court.
  3. Despite being fierce competitors, Federer and Nadal shared a deep respect and friendship. They recognized how their rivalry elevated the game of tennis and enjoyed playing together.

Disparate Impacts in Two Sports

Heterodox STEM • 113 implied HN points • 09 Jul 25
🎾 Sports Performance
  1. Many top professional basketball and football players in the U.S. are Black, which shows a shift away from racial discrimination in these sports. This situation raises questions about claims that no group has inherent advantages without discrimination.
  2. There are noticeable performance differences in sports between Black athletes and Asian athletes, with statistical advantages for Black athletes. This suggests that athletic success can come from a mix of natural talent and environmental support.
  3. The significant gaps in performance statistics across different racial groups show that not all disparities are due to discrimination. These differences can impact educational and career opportunities, like in STEM fields, leading to discussions about unfair practices like limiting Asian admissions at some colleges.

GM Shaders: Mipmaps

GM Shaders Mini Tuts • 117 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Performance
  1. Mipmapping helps to downsample textures for improved visual quality and performance.
  2. Enable mipmapping in GameMaker games to enhance texture filtering with different filter options.
  3. Consider factors like memory usage, texture sizes, and avoiding seams when utilizing mipmapping in game development.

Unlocking Your Peak Performance

The Breaking Point • 439 implied HN points • 18 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Performance
  1. Focus on improving your performance to make better decisions as a leader.
  2. Recognize your two hours of peak performance daily and prioritize important tasks during that time.
  3. Tailor your work/life balance to optimize your personal performance rather than simply working more or less.
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Banishing The Inner Critic

The Ruffian • 245 implied HN points • 08 Feb 25
🎾 Sports Performance
  1. Madison Keys won the Australian Open by playing more instinctively and accepting her mistakes. She realized that losing while being true to herself was better than winning by playing tightly and feeling stressed.
  2. She worked on her mental health through therapy, which helped her feel happier and less burdened by the pressure to win. She learned that success in tennis doesn't define her worth as a person.
  3. Keys found success by caring less about the outcome of her matches. By reducing her focus on winning, she could play more freely and confidently.

Music in a Barn

The Analog Family • 139 implied HN points • 13 Dec 23
🎶 Music Performance
  1. Performing Handel's 'Messiah' in a barn creates a unique and memorable experience. The mix of classical music with the sounds of animals adds a fun twist to the concert.
  2. The Christkindl Market features traditional German holiday foods and crafts, making it a charming place for families to enjoy Christmas together. It's a community-focused event that feels authentic and uncommercialized.
  3. Despite the chilly conditions and rustic setting, the atmosphere of the barn concert is magical. The audience leaves feeling uplifted and connected to the holiday spirit.

The Plays About the End of the World

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 222 implied HN points • 12 Feb 25
🎭️ Culture Performance
  1. New plays about AI are popping up everywhere, showing how people respond to new technologies. They don't predict an apocalypse, but they reveal our emotions and reactions.
  2. Theater might seem like a strange place to talk about complicated tech ideas. But these plays manage to make tough topics more relatable and human.
  3. Rather than traditional, boring themes, these plays bring fresh perspectives on current issues with technology that are important to us today. They offer entertaining yet thoughtful reflections on our future.

the haunting image of a "best newsboy" kid's costume from Target

Both Are True • 96 implied HN points • 07 Jul 25
🎭️ Culture Performance
  1. The image of the 'best newsboy' costume makes the viewer feel uneasy, especially because the boy appears small and distant. It raises questions about connection and authenticity.
  2. There's something awkward about the costume itself, making it feel unnatural and silly for a child to wear at a party. This prompts thoughts on how we define roles in society.
  3. Additionally, the lack of product reviews and availability adds to the overall strangeness. It leads to doubts about the costume's reality and the child's authenticity.

Can AI Speed up your Code?

Daniel’s Substack • 3 HN points • 03 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Performance
  1. AI can write a lot of code quickly, but it often makes mistakes. So, it's not ready to fully replace human programmers yet.
  2. Converting Python code to C++ can make it run much faster, especially for tasks that involve heavy string processing.
  3. While AI can assist in code conversion, current tools have limitations and sometimes struggle with complex functions.

An Ineffable Memory Of Effortless Mastery

Weekly Wisdom • 179 implied HN points • 16 Mar 23
🎶 Music Performance
  1. The author recounts experiencing a state of effortless mastery while playing jazz piano after a series of events including alcohol consumption and the unexpected presence of their father, creating a magical performance.
  2. Effortless mastery in music, as discussed in the book 'Effortless Mastery' by Kenny Werner, involves overcoming self-imposed limitations and negative thinking through affirmations and a love for the process.
  3. The author shares affirmations such as 'I am a master' and 'Music is easy' that counter self-criticism with positive beliefs, highlighting the importance of mindset in achieving mastery and enjoying the process.

Japan Reality Check #4: In praise of the Salaryman CEO

Japan Optimist • 176 implied HN points • 25 Feb 23
💼 Business Performance
  1. Japanese Salaryman CEOs have shown extraordinary resilience and competence in delivering corporate economic value and profitability.
  2. Data shows that Japanese Salaryman CEOs have outperformed Wall Street Superstar CEOs in terms of profit increase without relying on rising sales.
  3. While Japanese Salaryman CEOs have significantly increased profits, their compensation has only risen modestly, maintaining a close link between performance and pay.

WINNER TAKES ALL

The Nature of Training • 19 implied HN points • 22 Jun 24
🎾 Sports Performance
  1. People's qualities are similar but their results vary greatly.
  2. In the real world, winners often take the most rewards.
  3. Investing in improvement can lead to significant rewards, especially in competitive environments.

Nvidia's Margins May Be Safe

Tapa’s Substack • 59 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Performance
  1. Nvidia's GPUs are so good that even if competitors offered their chips for free, it's still not enough to beat Nvidia's performance. Overall, focusing only on GPU prices misses the bigger picture of total ownership costs.
  2. Networking costs make up a large part of the expenses when using AI chip clusters. Even if you find a cheaper GPU, the added networking costs can make it more expensive overall.
  3. AI chip startups need to consider the entire system's costs, not just the price of the chips themselves. If they don't, they may struggle to compete with Nvidia's established products.

Simulate Your Next Marathon Race Pace

The Healthtech Initiative • 2 implied HN points • 20 Feb 26
🎾 Sports Performance
  1. A predictive marathon model built from 101 runners explains about 79.3% of the variation in finish times and has an average prediction error of roughly 18.3 minutes.
  2. Running performance is framed as two parts: baseline ability (like genetic or starting pace) and adaptation to training (how much fitness you gain per minute of training).
  3. About 21% of finish-time differences are unexplained — things like weather, illness, sleep, motivation, nutrition, and luck — which shows there are real limits to modeling human performance.

I didn't go to my graduation

The Nature of Training • 19 implied HN points • 16 Jun 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Performance
  1. Feeling frustrated and disappointed from traditional sports science education led to a journey of self-discovery and obsession with Complex Systems.
  2. Transitioning from competitive cycling to coaching unlocked new patterns and aspects influencing performance, beyond traditional theory.
  3. Discovering the Science of Complexity provided a new lens to address training problems and integrate diverse passions into a coherent field.

How Jimmy Carr reinvented himself

A Bit Gamey • 13 implied HN points • 21 Dec 25
😂 Humor Performance
  1. You can reinvent yourself at any age; be willing to become a beginner again and try new paths.
  2. Treat failures as feedback, not final answers. Test ideas quickly, learn from flops, and keep iterating until something works.
  3. Happiness is something you design by choosing how to spend your time and who to spend it with, and humour can help you carry pain and shrink problems.

Workshop on Performance Optimizations in Code: The One Billion Row Challenge

Confessions of a Code Addict • 577 implied HN points • 15 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Performance
  1. Code efficiency at scale is crucial - data structures and algorithms matter, but execution cost is also important.
  2. Participating in challenges like the 1 Billion Row Challenge can enhance performance engineering skills.
  3. The workshop covers optimization techniques like flamegraphs, I/O strategies, system calls, SIMD instructions, and more.

Who I’d pick for the Baseball Hall of Fame

Silver Bulletin • 186 implied HN points • 13 Jan 25
🎾 Sports Performance
  1. Ichiro Suzuki is a top pick for the Baseball Hall of Fame and may get in unanimously. His hit record is impressive and he's respected for his contributions.
  2. Recent Hall of Fame ballots include many international players, which shows baseball's growing diversity. This means that performance from players around the world is important.
  3. When considering Hall of Fame candidates, both statistics and a player's character matter. Some great players, despite their achievements, face scrutiny over their behavior or past controversies.

Bad News on Brock Purdy's Toe

House of Strauss • 18 implied HN points • 25 Nov 25
🎾 Sports Performance
  1. Turf toe is a tricky injury that can linger, causing ongoing pain even long after it seems healed. It's easy to re-injure it in everyday activities.
  2. Quarterbacks rely on their big toe for mobility and stability, which makes turf toe particularly problematic for their performance. It affects their throwing ability even if they don't feel pain.
  3. The injury can create a false sense of confidence, making athletes believe they can perform at full capacity when they actually can't. It can surprise them with sudden weakness during physical activity.

How a talk begins

Austin Kleon • 739 implied HN points • 25 Jan 22
🎭️ Culture Performance
  1. Creating a talk often starts with small ideas that come together over time. It's okay to mix old and new material based on the audience and theme.
  2. Imagination and creativity are not the same thing. Imagination is about thinking of things beyond what's in front of you, while creativity is turning those thoughts into something new.
  3. Some people have a condition called aphantasia, meaning they can't visualize images in their minds. This doesn't stop them from being creative and can even help their thought processes.

Bowling strikes, bioinspired enamel materials, and unbeatable squash shot strategies

The Strategy Toolkit • 17 implied HN points • 10 Nov 25
🎾 Sports Performance
  1. To hit a perfect strike in bowling, players need to focus on the right spin, speed, and the oil pattern on the lane. These factors help increase the chances of hitting the headpin effectively.
  2. By increasing the angle at which the bowling ball hits the headpin, players can create better deflection and make strikes more consistent.
  3. Using rotation and the right speed allows the ball to transition from sliding on the oil to rolling properly, which is crucial for achieving strikes repeatedly.

Understanding Branchless Programming [Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 119 implied HN points • 26 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Performance
  1. Branchless programming is a technique that minimizes the use of branches in code to avoid performance penalties.
  2. Branchless programming can offer optimization benefits, but its complexity can outweigh the performance gains and make code maintenance challenging.
  3. Simpler code is often better than overly complex code, and branchless programming may not be suitable for most developers despite its potential performance improvements.

Rescuing the Bod(ies)

Painful Signs, Or, Joel's Substack • 59 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
📚 Literature Performance
  1. Book 17 of the Iliad offers important details and character development, adding depth to the narrative beyond just advancing the plot.
  2. The discussion of the Epic Cycle and Neoanalysis highlights the complexities of understanding how different narratives influence each other in ancient storytelling traditions.
  3. The rescue of Achilles' body in Book 17 showcases the richness and depth of oral traditions, and raises questions about the relationships between various epic traditions.

GM Shaders Mini: MandelBots

GM Shaders Mini Tuts • 117 implied HN points • 15 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Performance
  1. Using raymarching for rendering buildings can simplify complex fractal generation
  2. Deferred rendering can be utilized to optimize lighting workload by rendering lights onto surfaces
  3. Implementing HDR tone mapping can enhance color accuracy and brightness transitions in the game graphics

Portfolio Update and Performance Review

Modern Value Investing • 117 implied HN points • 01 Aug 23
💰 Finance Performance
  1. Portfolio is up 150% YTD, driven by investments in Meta Platforms and highly shorted stocks like Upstart and Opendoor.
  2. Author is getting more cautious due to rising inflation and interest rates, and has diversified investments.
  3. Author has built a 7% position in long-term treasuries as a partial hedge against market turmoil.

REPOST: Steve Martin's "Holiday Wish" Monologue is Perfect Comedy Writing

I Might Be Wrong • 9 implied HN points • 25 Dec 25
😂 Humor Performance
  1. Great sketches follow three clear steps: establish the funny premise or "game," heighten it with escalating beats, and blow it out with an absurd, decisive finish.
  2. Specificity and escalation matter — pick vivid, increasingly extreme examples in the right order so each beat builds on and tops the last.
  3. Tight, efficient writing can carry a sketch by itself: mine the premise fully, avoid filler, and end strong, while delivery simply amplifies the writing.

Received Wisdom

Dada Drummer Almanach • 62 implied HN points • 19 Jun 25
🎶 Music Performance
  1. Giacinto Scelsi viewed composing differently; he saw himself as a spiritual medium instead of just a composer. He believed he was receiving ideas rather than creating them.
  2. Scelsi's music is tied up in a mystery, with questions about what truly constitutes his music — the improvisations he made, the recordings, or the transcriptions by others.
  3. Frances-Marie Uitti, a close collaborator of Scelsi, interprets his music as a flowing, continuous thought that can be deeply felt and experienced, rather than just heard plainly.

Down-to-earth guide to Engineering KPIs

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 99 implied HN points • 28 Sep 23
💼 Business Performance
  1. Measuring team performance with KPIs can be chaotic and fascinating, revealing patterns and challenges in the process.
  2. Individual contributions can influence team behavior towards gaming KPIs, leading to increased numbers but decreased satisfaction.
  3. Balancing the use of KPIs in team management is crucial to prevent negative impacts on client relationships, employee satisfaction, and business outcomes.

Under The Hood Of Kima Ventures

Venture Prose • 1058 implied HN points • 03 Jul 20
💼 Business Performance
  1. Kima Ventures, led by Xavier Niel, focuses on investing in French tech founders worldwide.
  2. Their investment strategy involves making $150k investments in 100 new startups annually, with a particular focus on French tech founders.
  3. Kima Ventures aims to stay with companies for the long haul, providing support through their portfolio management platform and maintaining steady returns.

Take the Soap out of the Wrapper

Dada Drummer Almanach • 163 implied HN points • 02 Nov 24
🎶 Music Performance
  1. Demos are an important part of the music creation process. They can be rough ideas or complete songs, and they help artists shape their final work.
  2. Joni Mitchell's demo for 'Amelia' shows how a simple line can change the feel of a song. Editing and reordering lyrics can make a big difference in how the song tells its story.
  3. Listening to your own demos can be hard, but it’s also a chance to learn. Great artists like Joni Mitchell also spend time refining their work, which is encouraging for everyone.