Groundbreaking Lux Report and Shaving with Occam's Razor

I always tell our analysts at Lux to shave daily with Occam’s Razor. With my recent Forbes interview with Lux Capital portfolio company, Luxtera (the leader in nano-photonics, turning light to electrical signal and back for communications at the speed of light), and my wife’s prodding, I realized I needed my own shave. I was being mistaken for a certain—ahem…unflattering, unwelcome—U.N. persona non grata.

But when I say Lux’s team should shave with Occam’s Razor, it means this: find the simplest solution. When analyzing startups and their technologies, ask: “Is this the simplest way to do it?” Unlike Olympic divers, we don’t win any points for technical complexity. Engineers, like oenophiles prize “elegance”, “robustness” and other abstractions. We prize simplicity.

And speaking of simplicity, see the original groundbreaking report from Lux Research on ‘water wedges’. It’s called “Malthus Returns: Solving the Unsustainable Agricultural Water Demand Conundrum”. A sneak peek at the executive summary says: “The lion’s share of global water use is directed towards agriculture, and agricultural water usage already exceeds renewable supplies in the regions where people live and grow food. Water demands are set to skyrocket by virtue of population growth, economics expansion, and biofuel adoption. However, because recapture and recycling are out of the question, only technologies and practices that improve water efficiency can move the world towards sustainability. In this report, we forecast water demand and examine water reduction strategies – referred to as “water wedges” – that in certain scenarios bring water demand in line with renewable supply.”

Most valuably they outline the unintended consequences as well as all the new ag technologies that can lead to direct savings and boosted yields. Get access by emailing Lux Research at info@luxresearchinc.com