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I've said before that one of the best parts of hosting Infinite Loops is the chance to connect with people who consistently make me think differently — and few do that quite like Tiago Forte. Tiago Forte joins Infinite Loops for the first time, and within minutes we closed the door on his best-selling “Building A Second Brain” and were off to the races: from digitizing 50,000+ words of personal data to build an AI-powered life coach, to the emotional intelligence hiding inside envy, to the surprising lessons he learned walking through a tiny historical museum in Coconut Grove. We also dig into the messy magic of identity shifts, how fit dads triggered a personal transformation, and why letting go of productivity-as-performance might be the most productive thing you can do. Plus: the power of NotebookLM, building AI-native systems of self-awareness, and why the future will belong to those who embrace the one-way door. Unsurprisingly, this was a fun one. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that's interesting!”, check out our Substack. Important Links: Tiago Forte's Website Tiago Forte on X Tiago Forte on LinkedIn Tiago Forte's Annual Reviews Building A Second Brain Book The PARA Method Book I Replaced my $700/hour Coach with NotebookLM — Here's What Happened (YouTube) What I Learned About the Future By Reading 100 Science Fiction Books Show Notes: Closing the Door on Second Brain The Power of the Annual Review Tiago's Family: Incredibly Vibrant, Visual, Auditory Incorporating AI Into Work & Life Joe Hudson: Mentorship and Emotional Intelligence Miami: The Most Introspective Place on Earth Irreversible Decisions Archival Material: Underrated Forcing Function The Future of Book Publishing The Hard Truth on Performance Reviews AI Skepticism & Building Moats AI-First Mentality for Early Adopters Learning From Sci-Fi Books Cumulative Cultural Evolution Tiago as Emperor of the World Books Mentioned: Building A Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential; by Tiago Forte The PARA Method: Simplify, Organize, and Master Your Digital Life; by Tiago Forte How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain; by Lisa Feldman Barrett Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World; by Anne-Laure Le Cunff Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned; by Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehman Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine; by Candace B. Pert What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy The Beginning of Infinity; by David Deutsch One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson White Mirror; by Tinkered Thinking The Forever War; by Joe Halderman
This week Jim O'Shaughnessy (Website | X) joins Humans On The Loop to carry our first on-record conversation on Infinite Loops into bold new terrains! Jim is one of the most renowned investors and asset managers of all the time and the author of several hugely best-selling and influential books on investing, including What Works on Wall Street, Invest Like The Best, and Predicting The Markets of Tomorrow. He also founded the first online investment advisor and holds the patent for “ the origination and fulfillment of stock investment portfolios over a worldwide computer network.” (You heard right!)After decades of success in wealth management, he left his company in the care of his son Patrick and launched O'Shaughnessy Ventures — a firm that combines “Jim's deeply rooted interest in all things art, science, investing and tech with his long-held desire to establish positive sum scenarios designed to help promising creators and their inspiring ideas succeed, regardless of age, location, job history or level of education.”Last fall when I was on his show, we played a game of mind-jazz about “how we can live curious, collaborative and fulfilling lives in our deeply weird, complex, probabilistic world.” For this discussion, I wanted to rotate the axis of our exploration and learn how Jim's personal experiences have contributed to the frame through which he engages life. Sweeping across scales from candid autobiography to team inquiry into some of the wickedest problems — like how we foster meaningful relationships and balance achievement with humility — we covered a lot of new ground.I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did and benefit from a fresh take on the mind — and heart — of one of the most exemplary mavericks I know.If you find value in this conversation, please like and subscribe (YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify), leave a comment, and consider supporting my mission to help us cultivate wisdom in an age of magical technologies. Humans On The Loop is fiscally-supported by my friends at HAPPI (Helping Awesome People Prosper Intentionally), so you can become a member here or make tax-deductible contributions at every.org/humansontheloop. Recurring donors get the same community perks, including the book club and online course recordings.Project LinksContact me if you have questions or propositionsProject pitch & planning documentFull episode and essay archivesJoin the Future Fossils Discord Server for both public and members-only threadsMeet collaborators on the open online commons Wisdom x Technology Discord serverChapters0:00:00 - Teaser0:01:16 - Intro0:06:23 - Jim's Backstory0:31:43 - Crisis Personalities + Creativity vs. Risk Mitigation0:46:28 - Networks of Trust + Bootstrapped Credentials0:53:37 - Incenting Trust: Mass Customization + Consensus Reality Collapse1:06:14 - The Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma + Trust-Building in Social Networks1:13:25 - How Do We Design for Flourishing at Scale (or Can We)?1:21:22 - Markets as Complex Systems1:29:10- Using (Especially Local) AI to Accelerate Realizing Your Mistakes1:37:23 - OutroMentioned Reading, Listening, & PeopleFrom Nowhere: Artists, Writers, and The Precognitive Imagination by Eric WargoThe Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchristFinite and Infinite Games by James P. CarseThe Status Game by Will StorrThe Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (John Minford, translator)Power and Influence: Beyond Formal Authority by John P. KotterOne Summer: America 1927 by Bill BrysonGödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas HofstadterThe End of Trust - McSweeney's Issue 54Bilawal Sidhu — How to Unite Reality with Imagination - Infinite Loops PodcastWill Storr — The Status Game - Infinite Loops PodcastBrendan McCord — AI and The Philosophy of Technology - Infinite Loops PodcastAdam Aronovich on A Cultural Anthropology for The Psychedelic Internet - Future Fossils PodcastReimagining the PhD - Nadia AsparouhovaThe TPOT PhD - Priya RoseSo many music festivals have been canceled this year. What's going on? - Greg Rosalsky for NPRCory DoctorowDoug RushkoffAlfred North WhiteheadJosiah WarrenJed McKennaJosh WolfeSocratesUpcoming Events* My new single and music video “The Big Machine” goes live on April 1st! Pre-save to Spotify or pre-order on Bandcamp here.* I'm co-facilitating a session on “Right Relations with AI” for the School of Wise Innovation's Spring Cultivator alongside a superb faculty. Cohort starts April 3rd!* The book club is back! Join us for a group reading and discussion of Federico Campagna's Prophetic Culture: Recreation for Adolescents with asynchronous discussion in the Future Fossils Discord server and a live call on May 3rd. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelgarfield.substack.com/subscribe
Get more notes at https://podcastnotes.org Business* Active Listening by Carl R. Rogers* Key reading for getting better at negotiations* Source: Chris Voss's recommendation to Jordan B. Peterson (PN)* When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert* One of the best books about philanthropy* Source: Brent Beshore's recommendation to Shane Parrish (PN)* Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan* A simple guide to creating great advertisements* Source: Chris Beresford-Hill and Tim Ferriss in discussion (PN)* Words That Work by Frank Luntz* Mastering the art of words* Source: Chris Beresford-Hill and Tim Ferriss in discussion (PN)Economics* The Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin* Analysis of bank bailouts* Source: Michael Saylor and Peter McCormack in discussion (PN)* Broken Money by Lyn Alden* “Money” is the biggest total addressable market in the world, and the money now is currently broken* Source: Dylan LeClair recommendation (PN)* The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History by David Hacket Fischer* Explores the recurring cycles of price inflation throughout history, connecting economic trends to broader social and cultural changes* Source: Rudyard Lynch's recommendation to Tom Bilyeu (PN)* Fiat Food: How Government, Industry, and Science Manufacture the Foods We Eat by Matthew Lysiak* Why inflation has destroyed our health and how Bitcoin may fix it* Source: Matthew Lysiak's appearance on We Study Billionaires (PN)Entrepreneurship* Zero to One by Peter Thiel* One of the most commonly recommended books for entrepreneurs* Source: Multiple* Only The Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove* Must read for all entrepreneurs* Source: Morgan Housel and Chris Williamson in discussion (PN)* Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Simple Way to Launch a 7-Figure Business in 48 Hours by Noah Kagan* The idea of starting a business is often so overly romanticized that people never make the jump into entrepreneurship* Source: Noah Kagen's appearance on Deep Questions with Cal Newport (PN)* Mastery by Robert Greene* The value of mastering a skill set* Source: Sam Parr's recommendation to Andrew Wilkinson (PN)* Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott* How to overcome creative roadblocks* Source: Chris Beresford-Hill and Tim Ferriss in discussion (PN)* Chase, Chance, and Creativity by James Austin* Talks about how certain people attract luck and how luck can be created* Source: Mike Maples, Jr. recommendation to Lenny Rachitsky (PN)* Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb* The impact of randomness and luck on success* Source: Cyrus Yari and Iman Olya book review (PN)* Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb* “You cannot separate knowledge from contact with the ground. Actually, you cannot separate anything from contact with the ground.” – Nassim Taleb* Source: Cyrus Yari and Iman Olya book review (PN)* Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw* “I got married at Carnegie Hall because of my love for Andrew Carnegie… He did a lot of bad things, but he was mostly amazing” – Sam Parr* Source: Sam Parr's recommendation to Andrew Wilkinson (PN)* Tycoon's War by Stephen Dando-Collins* Cornelius Vanderbilt: How his mind worked and why you wouldn't want to compete against him* Source: David Senra book review (PN)* Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow* Most successful entrepreneurs can be honest family men, too* Source: Sam Parr's recommendation to Andrew Wilkinson (PN)* The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How To Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo* Nobody had more compelling presentations than Steve Jobs* Source: David Senra book review (PN)* How To Be Rich by J. Paul Getty* “I would like to convince young businessmen that there are no surefire, quick, and easy formulas for success in business” – J. Paul Getty* Source: David Senra book review (PN)* Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America's Richest Man by Vance H. Trimble* Discover the rags-to-riches tale of billionaire Sam Walton, founder of the discount chain Wal-Mart and America's richest man, in this study of old-fashioned values like honesty and hard work* Source: David Senra book review (PN)Investing* What I Learned About Investing From Darwin by Pulak Prasad* How to beat the market, the biggest mistakes investors make, why history is more important than projections, and how natural selection applies to investing* Source: Kyle Grieve book review (PN)* The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham* Understanding the difference between price and value* Source: Bill Ackman's recommendation to Lex Fridman (PN)* The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway* “America is a loving, generous place if you have money. It is a rapacious, violent place if you don't.” – Scott Galloway* Source: Scott Galloway's appearance on The Rich Roll Podcast (PN)* A Mathematician Plays The Stock Market by John Paulos* Source: John Paulos appearance on Infinite Loops with Jim O'Shaughnessy (PN)* Poor Charlie's Almanack by Charlie Munger* Charlie Munger understood incentives and human psychology, but never used that knowledge to manipulate others* Source: Warren Buffett's recommendation to shareholders (PN)* Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition by Michael J. Mauboussin* Making decisions is part of life, this is how you make better ones* Source: John Paulos and Jim O'Shaughnessy in discussion (PN)* Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson & Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean by Karen Berman and Joe Knight* Books that Ateet Ahluwalia gives people who join his firm* Source: Ateet Ahluwalia recommendations to Jim O'Shaughnessy (PN)* eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work by Randall Stross* An intriguing insider's look at the rise of Silicon Valley through the lens of the pioneering venture capital firm Benchmark Capital* Source: Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan in discussion (PN)* Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis* How the insiders got exposed* Source: Joseph Stiglitz and Tyler Cowen in discussion (PN)Productivity* Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity by Gloria Mark* Illustrates four myths about attention span* Source: Cal Newport book review (PN)* The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting The Right Things Done by Peter Drucker, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, and Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen* Three books that embody the evolution of productivity* Source: Cal Newport recommendation to Chris Williamson (PN)* Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman* How to embrace the fact that you can't do everything* Source: Cal Newport recommendation to Chris Williamson (PN)Leadership* The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz* Great lessons about running a business and being a leader* Source: Marc Andreessen's recommendation to Rick Rubin (PN)* Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman* Frequently recommended over and over again this year* Source: Bill Gurley, Michael Mauboussin, and Patrick O'Shaughnessy in discussion (PN)* Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card* Sci-fi novel but also a great way to study leadership* Source: Tim Ferriss recommendation to Chris Williamson (PN)* Art of War by Sun Tzu* Do not assume that your enemy thinks in a similar way that you do* Source: Source: Jocko Willink recommendation (PN)* Adventures of a Bystander by Peter Drucker* A captivating journey through his encounters with remarkable individuals who influenced his thinking and shaped the world of management* Source: Jim O'Shaughnessy's recommendation to Ateet Ahluwalia (PN)Motivation* The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho & Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks* Helped Mike Posner on his spiritual journey* Source: Big Sean recommendations to Mike Poser (PN)* Driven From Within by Michael Jordan* Written during his career peak* Source: David Senra book review (PN)* Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby* The key insights into Michael Jordan's competitive spirit and how it made him the greatest basketball player of all time* Source: Ben Wilson book review (PN)Deep Thinking* The Beginning of Infinity and The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch* Naval Ravikant praises David's work, considering him the smartest human alive* Source: Naval Ravikant and Niklas Anzinger in discussion (PN)* The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self by Thomas Metzinger* “Life is not a mystery anymore” – Thomas Metzinger* Source: Thomas Metzinger's appearance on Making Sense with Sam Harris (PN)* Gold by Haleh Liza Gafori (a new translation of Rumi's poems)* Remedy for overthinking before bed* Source: Tim Ferriss recommendation to Chris Williamson (PN)Get the FULL List at Podcast Notes Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
My guest on Infinite Loops this week knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur from the time he was buying and selling things on eBay. Jay Reno claims he didn't know what the word ‘arbitrage' meant back then, but if you tug on the colourful threads of his career, you'd reveal the kind of tenacity and resourcefulness that allows special founders like him to repeatedly find value in places that have long been deserted by everybody else. If you listen in on today's episode, it will become apparent why O'Shaughnessy Ventures invested in Jay and his current venture. Jay is the CEO and Founder of Pointhound, which helps people find amazing deals on flights and travel using their credit card points and miles. He's also a partner at 645 ventures. Among other fun pursuits, he's spent the last ten years building all sorts of cool things; like a same-day grocery delivery service, a craft coffee company, a restaurant and bar reservation app, and a furniture rental service for city dwellers. We spent our conversation talking about his advice for first-time founders; his learnings from building Pointhound; the whimsical world of credit card point programmes; his thoughts on consumer psychology; and much more! For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that's interesting!”, check out our Substack. Important Links: Jay's Twitter Jay's LinkedIn 645 Ventures Pointhound HQ Show Notes: How To Bring Your Idea To Life The Virtues of the Y-Combinator Model Picking the Right Investor Pointhound & The Points Game On Consumer Psychology and Trying New Things Removing the Invisible Barrier Product Cycles and User Feedback Slow Down to Speed Up The Common Pitfalls in Building Consumer Products The Credit Card Prestige Factor The Cashback Conundrum The Future of Pointhound Jay, The Emperor of The World Books & Articles Mentioned: My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla; by Nikola Tesla Mistakes were Made. (And, Yes, by Me.); by Jim O'Shaughnessy
It's a delightful conversation with one and only Jim O'Shaughnessy My guest today is Jim O'Shaughnessy a Wall Street veteran, founder, investor, venture capitalist, best selling author, successful podcaster, who is pursuing his curiosity in yet another direction through O'Shaughnessy Ventures. Takeaways Jim's childhood shaped his views on money and success. The importance of humility in investing is crucial. Success is not a destination but a continuous journey. AI can enhance human creativity and productivity. Failure should be viewed as a learning opportunity. Building relationships with 'treadmill friends' is vital. The market often reflects human emotions and behaviors. Podcasting allows for the exploration of infinite topics. The COVID pandemic accelerated changes in work culture. Tinkering and creativity are essential in today's world. https://www.osv.llc/ https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/ Podcast Program – Disclosure Statement Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm's employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives, and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for any individual. Listeners are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax, legal, or investment adviser to determine whether any information presented may be suitable for their specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
Infinite Loops Key Takeaways Check out the episode pageRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.org“We have created for ourselves a world that we didn't evolve for.” Gurwinder Bhogal is, for my money, one of the most independent, original and insightful thinkers you'll find in our corner of the internet. He returns to discuss how willpower and good old-fashioned human agency can help us reclaim our mental sovereignty and escape the “constant avalanche of concerns that are being vomited over us through our laptop screens, our phones, our TV screens, and in conversations.” For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other stuff designed to make you go, “Hmm, that's interesting!” check out our Substack. Important Links: Gurwinder's Substack Gurwinder's Twitter Gurwinder's previous Infinite Loops appearance Show Notes: “We have created for ourselves a world we didn't evolve for” The dogged persistence of our stubborn beliefs Gamification; generational differences in agency The societal impact of the education system's changing priorities How to zombify a population Skin in the game: Gurwinder's guide to reclaiming agency LLMs, bullshit, and the atomization of culture How to play better games Willpower is the bottleneck Gurwinder as emperor of the world MORE! Books Mentioned: Why Everything is Becoming a Game; by Gurwinder Bhogal Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know; by Adam Grant The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements; by Eric Hoffer Why the Mental Health of Liberal Girls Sank First and Fastest; by Jonathan Haidt (After Babel) America's Colleges Are Reaping What They Sowed; by Tyler Austin Harper (The Atlantic) Joe Biden and the Common Knowledge Game; by Ben Hunt (Epsilon Theory) The Emperor's New Clothes; by Hans Christian Andersen Futarchy Details; by Robin Hanson (Overcoming Bias) The Enlightenment Trilogy; by Jed McKenna The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous; by Joseph Henrich
“We have created for ourselves a world that we didn't evolve for.” Gurwinder Bhogal is, for my money, one of the most independent, original and insightful thinkers you'll find in our corner of the internet. He returns to discuss how willpower and good old-fashioned human agency can help us reclaim our mental sovereignty and escape the “constant avalanche of concerns that are being vomited over us through our laptop screens, our phones, our TV screens, and in conversations.” For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other stuff designed to make you go, “Hmm, that's interesting!” check out our Substack. Important Links: Gurwinder's Substack Gurwinder's Twitter Gurwinder's previous Infinite Loops appearance Show Notes: “We have created for ourselves a world we didn't evolve for” The dogged persistence of our stubborn beliefs Gamification; generational differences in agency The societal impact of the education system's changing priorities How to zombify a population Skin in the game: Gurwinder's guide to reclaiming agency LLMs, bullshit, and the atomization of culture How to play better games Willpower is the bottleneck Gurwinder as emperor of the world MORE! Books Mentioned: Why Everything is Becoming a Game; by Gurwinder Bhogal Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know; by Adam Grant The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements; by Eric Hoffer Why the Mental Health of Liberal Girls Sank First and Fastest; by Jonathan Haidt (After Babel) America's Colleges Are Reaping What They Sowed; by Tyler Austin Harper (The Atlantic) Joe Biden and the Common Knowledge Game; by Ben Hunt (Epsilon Theory) The Emperor's New Clothes; by Hans Christian Andersen Futarchy Details; by Robin Hanson (Overcoming Bias) The Enlightenment Trilogy; by Jed McKenna The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous; by Joseph Henrich
Bloomberg Radio host Barry Ritholtz speaks to Jim O'Shaughnessy, founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures LLC. He is also chairman of the board at Stability AI. He is the host of the Infinite Loops podcast and the author of Invest Like the Best, What Works on Wall Street, How to Retire Rich and Predicting the Markets of Tomorrow. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For this milestone 200th (yes, TWO HUNDREDTH) episode of Infinite Loops, regular guest and Infinite Media head Liberty RPF joins writer & researcher Ed William to turn the tables on Jim O'Shaughnessy. Stay tuned for Jim's dream podcast guests, his advice to parents, a diabolical spin on his trademark closing question, and MUCH more! Important Links: Infinite Loops Substack Show Notes: Episode One: Tequila With Ramp Capital Taking Inspiration From My Dinner With Andre Would the Show Be Different if Monetized? “I would be doing this if I wasn't pressing publish” Jim's Definition of a Successful Episode Nerves & Jim's Appearance on Oprah Infinite Loops as a Serendipity Engine The Infinite Loops Team Jim's Dream Guests Controversiality & Being Distinctive Jim's Relationship With His Grandchildren We Are Winners of the Cosmic Lottery Why Aren't There More History-Focused Episodes? The Jim O'Shaughnessy Guide to Productivity: Silence, Journalling & Keeping Things Simple Advice to Parents What Has Jim Changed His Mind On in the Last 12 to 24 Months? Advice to Young People Who Doubt the American Dream When Will We See An Updated What Works on Wall Street? What Would a World of Abundance Look Like? Jim's Favorite Poem Jim as EVIL Emperor of the World MORE! Episodes Mentioned: Ramp Capital and Super Mugatu (Ep.01) Brian Muraresku (Ep. 57) David Rhoiney (Ep. 99) Will Storr (Ep. 122) Alex Danco (latest episode) (Ep. 156) Brian Roemmele (latest episode) (Ep. 168) Julie Fredrickson (Ep. 181) Ben Westhoff (Ep. 189) Guy Spier (Ep. 197) Books & Poems Mentioned: The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name; by ****Brian Muraresku How to Retire Rich: Time-Tested Strategies to Beat the Market and Retire in Style; by Jim O'Shaughnessy Invest Like the Best: Using Your Computer to Unlock the Secrets of the Top Money Managers; by Jim O'Shaughnessy What Works on Wall Street: The Classic Guide to the Best-Performing Investment Strategies of All Time; by Jim O'Shaughnessy The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr Fentanyl, Inc.: how rogue chemists are creating the deadliest wave of the opioid epidemic; by Ben Westhoff One Summer: America 1927; by Bill Bryson To His Coy Mistress; by Andrew Marvell The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock; by T. S. Eliot
Jim is a legendary investor and pioneer in the field of quantitative investing. He is the Founder & CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures (OSV). Prior to OSV, Jim was the Founder & CEO of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management (acquired by Franklin Templeton). He also hosts the Infinite Loops podcast and serves as the Executive Chair of the board of directors at Stability AI. Follow Jim on X @jposhaughnessy. [0:16] - How Jim kickstarted his career with “Invest Like the Best” [7:11] - Learning from mistakes [14:36] - Lessons learned from refusing a large acquisition offer [25:09] - How Jim listens to and learns from young people [31:28] - How O'Shaughnessy Fellowships empower techno-optimists [42:31] - Jim's approach to investing in technological frontiers [51:17] - The career impact of starting a family at a young age For more episodes, go to podofjake.com. Previous guests include Mark Cuban, Vitalik Buterin, Brian Armstrong, Balaji Srinivasan, Keith Rabois, Ali Spagnola, Anthony Pompliano, Raoul Pal, Julia Galef, Jack Butcher, Tim Draper, and over 100 others alike. Learn from founders and CEOs of companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Solana, Polygon, AngelList, Oura, and Replit, and investors from Founders Fund, a16z, Union Square Ventures, and many more. I appreciate your support and hope you enjoy. Thanks to Chase Devens for the show notes and Yiction for the music. Lastly, I love hearing from fans of the pod. Feel free to email me any time at jake@blogofjake.com. Thank you!
Support this podcast at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/arjunkhemaniJim O'Shaughnessy is the founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures LLC. He also serves as the executive chair of the board of directors at Stability AI and is the host of the Infinite Loops podcast.TIMESTAMPS0:27 - The future of AI and Jim's investment in Stability AI 4:51 - The Beginning of Infinity and the ideas of David Deutsch12:32 - The perils of labeling things and the illusion of certainty17:35 - Thinking probabilistically vs. deterministically23:14 - The education system and Synthesis School29:38 - $100,000 OSV fellowships35:43 - The Great Reshuffle and the movie industry51:09 - We have more natural resources today than we did in the past56:46 - Does Jim want to live forever?1:02:08 - Final remarksJIM'S LINKS* Twitter: https://twitter.com/jposhaughnessy* O'Shaughnessy Ventures LLC: https://www.osv.llcARJUN'S LINKS* Twitter: https://twitter.com/arjunkhemani* Blog: https://arjunkhemani.com* Buy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/arjunkhemani This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com
The scientist, researcher, analyst, connector, thinker, and doer Brian Roemmele joins us for his second Infinite Loops appearance to discuss the decline of wisdom and how we can save it, why LLMs are the modern version of Plato's cave, we need locally run AI models and MUCH more! Important Links: Brian's Twitter ReadMultiplex.com 40 AI Use Cases: How Many Did You Know About? Brian's first Infinite Loops appearance Show Notes: Why LLMs are the modern version of Plato's cave AI as Promethean fire Why we need locally run AI models AI use cases & the Nedd Ludd story The decline of wisdom Creating a wisdom keeper Loneliness & abandonment “How To Have A Conversation With Your Local Documents” History is written by the victors; using wisdom to define our future The tragedy of lost knowledge You are loved and you are not alone MUCH more! Books Mentioned: Cycles: The Science of Prediction; by Edward R. Dewey and Edwin F. Dakin The Iliad; by Homer The Odyssey; by Homer The Epic of Gilgamesh The Bible The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size; by Tor Norretranders The Hero with a Thousand Faces; by Joseph Campbell
Over the years, I have gotten to know Jim through one-on-one conversations and by listening to Infinite Loops and other podcasts where he was a guest.My goal with this podcast is to help you get to know Jim better, from his origin story to his early career in finance and quantitative investing, the writing of his influential book, all the way to the seeds of the idea that became O'Shaughnessy Ventures (OSV) where I now work (more on that below) and how we see the past and future of the Media space.I hope that you will enjoy our conversation and learn a few things even if you've been following Jim for years. If this is your introduction to him, I hope you'll come out on the other side feeling like you have a good understanding of who he is, what his North Star is, and what he's building.
Why Do You Podcast? And How Does It Help in the Wealth/Law Space? Why do I do it? What's involved? How does it interact with your career? Should I do it? (YES- At least try it) How did you get started and how much does it cost? Do you make money on it? Is your ROI on the show different? Do you use it for research or marketing (or both)? Do you enjoy it? Two Advisor Podcast Experiences I thought I would have BRENT NELSON on the show, so we could trade our two podcasting experiences. Brent is the host of the successful and entertaining Wealth and Law podcast and heavily involved in the wealth management space. This is his second visit to the Wealth Actually Podcast. He is an ACTEC Fellow and a partner of the Tucson-based RIMON LAW FIRM and focuses on international and domestic estate planning. For those curious about the world of podcasting and where it can fit into your business or practice, this should be a useful listen from two people who have done it. I liked the idea of two people, who have demanding day jobs, describing their podcasting experiences and how they make it fit within a demanding schedule- Why we did it? Why do we continue to do it? What do you listen to and what did you take for inspiration? What's your process? What started off poorly and has gotten better? How much time / resources / workflow does it take? What functions do you keep / what do you delegate? How do you measure success? How do you "monetize?" Business model? Advertising? What do you wish you had? Struggles with audience building- Weird stuff like music / disclaimers? The Wealth and Law Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bQK3jsLsacNqryQKQuSRG I am also adding this excellent primer on "HOW TO PODCAST" from my friend, Jason Cilo of Meeting House Productions- it goes into some depth on the "Who, What, Where, When, Why and How" of the process from a person who does an extremely professional job on his show. It is well researched and serves as an ode to his passions in the TV and Film world. Well worth the listen: FULL CAST AND CREW: HOW TO PODCAST https://open.spotify.com/show/1UTZzSo2oPXBxn94UrIjO1 Some of the Podcasts Mentioned: Errol Louis ("You Decide" NYS Political Podcast), Various Horror Podcasts, John Keim (Washington Commanders Beat Writer for ESPN), Full Cast and Crew, Infinite Loops, Penny Philips, Griffin Bridgers, Morgan Housel, Ritholtz Wealth's stable of podcasts, Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Actually-Intelligent-Decision-Making-1-ebook/dp/B07FPQJJQT/ "This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes. It is neither investment, legal, nor tax advice and does not represent the opinions of the employers of the host or guest."
Infinite Loops Key Takeaways Check out Infinite Loops Podcast Episode Page & Show NotesRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgAlex Danco returns for his seventh (yes, SEVENTH) appearance on Infinite Loops to discuss, as usual, pretty much everything other than the topics we had prepared in advance. This week, we discuss: The two types of lawyers, what Alex learned from reading Don Quixote, Elon the Reply Guy, the psychology of Seinfeld, the best Wall Street Movies, and much more. Important Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco Website: https://alexdanco.com/ Newsletter: https://danco.substack.com/ Show Notes: The two kinds of lawyers Medicine, placebo, Don Quixote & theatre Heroes, villains & main characters Elon the Reply Guy Safe words, scams & narrative collapse Self-deception is multiplayer The psychology of Seinfeld To what extent are great innovations already baked into the systems? Margin Call: The two schools of thought The best Wall Street movies MUCH more! Books Mentioned: The Theory And Practice Of Gamesmanship Or The Art Of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating; by Stephen Potter Don Quixote; by Miguel de Cervantes The Fifth Science; by Exurb1a The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History; by Howard K. Bloom Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships; by Eric Berne Mendel's Dwarf; by Simon Mawer The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine; by Michael Lewis The Bonfire of the Vanities; by Tom Wolfe The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron; by Peter Elkind & Bethany McLean
Infinite Loops Key Takeaways Check out Infinite Loops Podcast Episode Page & Show NotesRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgAlex Danco returns for his seventh (yes, SEVENTH) appearance on Infinite Loops to discuss, as usual, pretty much everything other than the topics we had prepared in advance. This week, we discuss: The two types of lawyers, what Alex learned from reading Don Quixote, Elon the Reply Guy, the psychology of Seinfeld, the best Wall Street Movies, and much more. Important Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco Website: https://alexdanco.com/ Newsletter: https://danco.substack.com/ Show Notes: The two kinds of lawyers Medicine, placebo, Don Quixote & theatre Heroes, villains & main characters Elon the Reply Guy Safe words, scams & narrative collapse Self-deception is multiplayer The psychology of Seinfeld To what extent are great innovations already baked into the systems? Margin Call: The two schools of thought The best Wall Street movies MUCH more! Books Mentioned: The Theory And Practice Of Gamesmanship Or The Art Of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating; by Stephen Potter Don Quixote; by Miguel de Cervantes The Fifth Science; by Exurb1a The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History; by Howard K. Bloom Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships; by Eric Berne Mendel's Dwarf; by Simon Mawer The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine; by Michael Lewis The Bonfire of the Vanities; by Tom Wolfe The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron; by Peter Elkind & Bethany McLean
Alex Danco returns for his seventh (yes, SEVENTH) appearance on Infinite Loops to discuss, as usual, pretty much everything other than the topics we had prepared in advance. This week, we discuss: The two types of lawyers, what Alex learned from reading Don Quixote, Elon the Reply Guy, the psychology of Seinfeld, the best Wall Street Movies, and much more. Important Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco Website: https://alexdanco.com/ Newsletter: https://danco.substack.com/ Show Notes: The two kinds of lawyers Medicine, placebo, Don Quixote & theatre Heroes, villains & main characters Elon the Reply Guy Safe words, scams & narrative collapse Self-deception is multiplayer The psychology of Seinfeld To what extent are great innovations already baked into the systems? Margin Call: The two schools of thought The best Wall Street movies MUCH more! Books Mentioned: The Theory And Practice Of Gamesmanship Or The Art Of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating; by Stephen Potter Don Quixote; by Miguel de Cervantes The Fifth Science; by Exurb1a The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History; by Howard K. Bloom Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships; by Eric Berne Mendel's Dwarf; by Simon Mawer The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine; by Michael Lewis The Bonfire of the Vanities; by Tom Wolfe The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron; by Peter Elkind & Bethany McLean
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways Check out Infinite Loops Podcast Episode Page & Show NotesRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgThis week, we're delighted to welcome Ed Latimore back for his second Infinite Loops appearance. Ed is a best-selling author, former professional heavyweight boxer, competitive chess player, Physics graduate, father, and husband. He joins us to discuss stoicism, progress & pain, demonstrating authenticity, being liked vs. being respected, and a whole lot more. Important Links: Ed's Twitter Ed's website Ed's Substack Ed's first Infinite Loops appearance Show Notes: New child; new house; new book How Ed's new book has developed Humor and progress Understanding addiction Being liked vs being respected “Stoicism found me” Is progress possible without pain? “Humans are very bad at the future” Demonstrating authenticity Being cast as a father figure What's next for Ed Ed's three step process for self-improvement “I don't think any situation has ever gotten worse because someone has good manners.” Books Mentioned: The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs who Shaped Silicon Valley; by Jimmy Soni The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance; by Josh Waitzkin Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds; by David Goggins The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life; by Mark Manson
Infinite Loops: Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- This week, we're delighted to welcome Ed Latimore back for his second Infinite Loops appearance. Ed is a best-selling author, former professional heavyweight boxer, competitive chess player, Physics graduate, father, and husband. He joins us to discuss stoicism, progress & pain, demonstrating authenticity, being liked vs. being respected, and a whole lot more. Important Links: Ed's Twitter Ed's website Ed's Substack Ed's first Infinite Loops appearance Show Notes: New child; new house; new book How Ed's new book has developed Humor and progress Understanding addiction Being liked vs being respected “Stoicism found me” Is progress possible without pain? “Humans are very bad at the future” Demonstrating authenticity Being cast as a father figure What's next for Ed Ed's three step process for self-improvement “I don't think any situation has ever gotten worse because someone has good manners.” Books Mentioned: The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs who Shaped Silicon Valley; by Jimmy Soni The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance; by Josh Waitzkin Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds; by David Goggins The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life; by Mark Manson
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways Check out Infinite Loops Podcast Episode Page & Show NotesRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgThis week, we're delighted to welcome Ed Latimore back for his second Infinite Loops appearance. Ed is a best-selling author, former professional heavyweight boxer, competitive chess player, Physics graduate, father, and husband. He joins us to discuss stoicism, progress & pain, demonstrating authenticity, being liked vs. being respected, and a whole lot more. Important Links: Ed's Twitter Ed's website Ed's Substack Ed's first Infinite Loops appearance Show Notes: New child; new house; new book How Ed's new book has developed Humor and progress Understanding addiction Being liked vs being respected “Stoicism found me” Is progress possible without pain? “Humans are very bad at the future” Demonstrating authenticity Being cast as a father figure What's next for Ed Ed's three step process for self-improvement “I don't think any situation has ever gotten worse because someone has good manners.” Books Mentioned: The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs who Shaped Silicon Valley; by Jimmy Soni The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance; by Josh Waitzkin Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds; by David Goggins The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life; by Mark Manson
This week, we're delighted to welcome Ed Latimore back for his second Infinite Loops appearance. Ed is a best-selling author, former professional heavyweight boxer, competitive chess player, Physics graduate, father, and husband. He joins us to discuss stoicism, progress & pain, demonstrating authenticity, being liked vs. being respected, and a whole lot more. Important Links: Ed's Twitter Ed's website Ed's Substack Ed's first Infinite Loops appearance Show Notes: New child; new house; new book How Ed's new book has developed Humor and progress Understanding addiction Being liked vs being respected “Stoicism found me” Is progress possible without pain? “Humans are very bad at the future” Demonstrating authenticity Being cast as a father figure What's next for Ed Ed's three step process for self-improvement “I don't think any situation has ever gotten worse because someone has good manners.” Books Mentioned: The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs who Shaped Silicon Valley; by Jimmy Soni The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance; by Josh Waitzkin Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds; by David Goggins The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life; by Mark Manson
This week we get together to talk about...STUFF. Specifically, amongst the panel we discuss what are we reading/watching/listening to that have NOTHING to do with "the agile", and how they've impacted our behaviours, mindsets, and how we approach our work as coaches and agents of change. Hopefully you find something you enjoy! Enjoy! BOOKS: From Contempt to Curiosity - Caitlin Walker Leadership is Language - David Marquet Quit - Annie Duke Thinking in Bets - Annie Duke Wanting - Luke Burgis Salem's Lot - Stephen King Framers - Kenneth Culkier Lucifer Principle - Howard Bloom The Status Game - Will Storr Sapiens - Noah Harari Anti-Fragile - Nicholas Taleb Range - David Epstien Ant Encounters - Deborah Gordon The Moral Molecule - Paul Zak The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz PODCASTS: The Radical Candor podcast Infinite Loops The Jim Rutt Show Unlearn - Barry O'Rielly Remote Work - Lisette Sutherland Hidden Forces CONTENT: Ribbonfarm, Venkatesh Rao Balaji Srinivasan OTHER HONORABLE MENTIONS Trung Phan - Twitter and newsletter, https://trungtphan.com/, @TrungTPhan ORSC - Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching - https://crrglobal.com If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a review, a rating, or leave comments on iTunes, Stitcher or your podcasting platform of choice. It really helps others find us. Much thanks to the artist Krebs from Machine Man Records who provided us our outro music free-of-charge! If you like what you heard, check out these links to find more music you might enjoy! If you'd like to join the discussion and share your stories, please jump into the fray at our Discord Server! We at the Agile Uprising are committed to being totally free. However, if you'd like to contribute and help us defray hosting and production costs we do have a Patreon. Who knows, you might even get some surprises in the mail!
Today's guest is Jim O'Shaughnessy, founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures. You may know Jim from his prior time at O'Shaughnessy Asset Management or from hosting the Infinite Loops podcast. In today's episode, Jim talks with us about the third stage of his career with the launch of OSV. Jim walks us through the different verticals, from making documentaries, hosting podcasts, making venture investments, and funding a fellowship program. He walks us through why each vertical is important to him, what he expects in the next year, and why he's doing this both for profit and for fun. ----- Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube For detailed show notes, click here To learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com ----- Today's episode is sponsored by The Idea Farm. The Idea Farm gives you access to over $100,000 worth of investing research, the kind usually read by only the world's largest institutions, funds, and money managers. Subscribe for free here. ----- Interested in sponsoring the show? Email us at Feedback@TheMebFaberShow.com ----- Past guests include Ed Thorp, Richard Thaler, Jeremy Grantham, Joel Greenblatt, Campbell Harvey, Ivy Zelman, Kathryn Kaminski, Jason Calacanis, Whitney Baker, Aswath Damodaran, Howard Marks, Tom Barton, and many more. ----- Meb's invested in some awesome startups that have passed along discounts to our listeners. Check them out here!
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways We are entering an exponential trajectory of technological progress and our antiquated minds cannot possibly keep up unless we change the stories, programming, and hardwareTechnological progress is like a snowball rolling down a hill, picking up more matter and evolving as it goes Today, we are operating on the programming that worked really well in caves and savannas but does not work quite as well in the massive groups that we find ourselves in now Stories can help us overcome the deeply-rooted social wiring that does not always serve usNegative storytelling appeals to our base emotion of fear, especially novel fear regarding things that newThe heretics working on the leading edge of technology must reframe their innovation's impact with better stories We may fall victim to a self-fulfilling prophecy of a tech dystopia if we do not get the stories right Humans evolved during times of zero-sum conflict, so all of the stories we told around the campfire were zero-sum conflict-based storiesUpgrading the human operating system will not solve all the world's problems, but it will create new and better problems that can also be solved Humans control what pumps the gas or slams on the break for the AI, which are control measures that we barely have for ourselves Our current system is optimized for growing GDP, not human flourishing Reduce the flow of negative information into your mind and increase the volume of positive information in the worldTry to be optimistic about the future, and see yourself as a human on earth instead of being a member of a specific tribe Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgAuthor, CEO of VUDU Marketing and digital nomad Sam McRoberts returns for his second appearance on Infinite Loops. This week, Sam and Jim discuss Sam's latest book ‘The Grand Redesign'. Part science-fiction, part operating manual for upgrading human OS, ‘The Grand Redesign' touches on a number of recurring Infinite Loops themes, and is available for free online (see ‘Important Links' section below). Important Links: The Grand Redesign Sam's Twitter Sam's Substack The Thinker and The Prover Tinkered Thinking's winning entry to our ‘White Mirror' competition Show Notes: Why Sam wrote the book Is the Watcher a reliable narrator? Interfering with complex systems An overview of Social OS Why we need White Mirror The kindness pledge Incentives and the Cobra Effect How do we break the Shannon limit? Jim's movie idea Improving the political and legal system The opportunities of AI Optimising our system for flourishing Finding the hidden geniuses Sam's solutions; reaching the tipping point Sam's hopes for the book MUCH more! Books Mentioned: The Grand Redesign; by Sam McRoberts The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr Prometheus Rising; by Robert Anton Wilson House of Cards: Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth; by Robyn Dawes The Lessons of History: by Will Durant and Ariel Durant Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine; by Derren Brown The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future; by Kevin Kelly
Infinite Loops: Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- Author, CEO of VUDU Marketing and digital nomad Sam McRoberts returns for his second appearance on Infinite Loops. This week, Sam and Jim discuss Sam's latest book ‘The Grand Redesign'. Part science-fiction, part operating manual for upgrading human OS, ‘The Grand Redesign' touches on a number of recurring Infinite Loops themes, and is available for free online (see ‘Important Links' section below). Important Links: The Grand Redesign Sam's Twitter Sam's Substack The Thinker and The Prover Tinkered Thinking's winning entry to our ‘White Mirror' competition Show Notes: Why Sam wrote the book Is the Watcher a reliable narrator? Interfering with complex systems An overview of Social OS Why we need White Mirror The kindness pledge Incentives and the Cobra Effect How do we break the Shannon limit? Jim's movie idea Improving the political and legal system The opportunities of AI Optimising our system for flourishing Finding the hidden geniuses Sam's solutions; reaching the tipping point Sam's hopes for the book MUCH more! Books Mentioned: The Grand Redesign; by Sam McRoberts The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr Prometheus Rising; by Robert Anton Wilson House of Cards: Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth; by Robyn Dawes The Lessons of History: by Will Durant and Ariel Durant Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine; by Derren Brown The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future; by Kevin Kelly
Author, CEO of VUDU Marketing and digital nomad Sam McRoberts returns for his second appearance on Infinite Loops. This week, Sam and Jim discuss Sam's latest book ‘The Grand Redesign'. Part science-fiction, part operating manual for upgrading human OS, ‘The Grand Redesign' touches on a number of recurring Infinite Loops themes, and is available for free online (see ‘Important Links' section below). Important Links: The Grand Redesign Sam's Twitter Sam's Substack The Thinker and The Prover Tinkered Thinking's winning entry to our ‘White Mirror' competition Show Notes: Why Sam wrote the book Is the Watcher a reliable narrator? Interfering with complex systems An overview of Social OS Why we need White Mirror The kindness pledge Incentives and the Cobra Effect How do we break the Shannon limit? Jim's movie idea Improving the political and legal system The opportunities of AI Optimising our system for flourishing Finding the hidden geniuses Sam's solutions; reaching the tipping point Sam's hopes for the book MUCH more! Books Mentioned: The Grand Redesign; by Sam McRoberts The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr Prometheus Rising; by Robert Anton Wilson House of Cards: Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth; by Robyn Dawes The Lessons of History: by Will Durant and Ariel Durant Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine; by Derren Brown The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future; by Kevin Kelly
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Intro O'Shaughnessy Ventures (OSV) is a company that invests in creators in the areas of art, science, and technology to help promising creators and their inspiring ideas succeed For most of human history, a genius was born, lived, and died, and no one knew a thing about him or her; today's technology changes that The Great Reshuffle: Jim's thesis that all the old business models are collapsing, and that very different, new ones are taking their place“I believe that AI is the third technology revolution.” – Jim O'ShaughnessyWe need as much cognitive diversity as possible for technologies like AI to work; it is currently very Western-centricHumans cannot prophesize future knowledge, and thinking that we can is a bug in the human operating systemBig Tech used the AI algorithm to maximize revenue, but these objective functions can also be used to maximize things like creativity and happiness The guiding principle for OSV: asymmetric opportunities that are win-win Every system other than capitalism – many of them religions – promised people that they would be fed and housed, and they all failed over the millennia Jim believes the free market system succeeds because it is most aligned with human biology and the world Traditionally, networks were where you went to school and where you grew up; but today, networks are being redefined as geography, time, and space all collapseLuck exists, and if you're reading this you probably hit the cosmic lottery, but you must still play the hand that you are dealt Money is a technology that is used to bring ideas to life Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgWe've landed. After 3 months of stealth mode, sneak-peeks, and surprise announcements, we have finally hit launch day. In this special episode of Infinite Loops, hosted by Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Jim chats through the rationale behind founding OSV, the positive impact he wants it to have on the world, and the ways you can get involved. Important Links: OSV's Website Jim's Twitter Show Notes: The origins of OSV Why OSV does not invest third parties' money The story of Jim's investment in Stability AI What has surprised Jim the most about the world of AI What OSV will look like on 1 January 2023: the four verticals Assembling the OSV team OSV's objective function Where the majority of Jim's energy will be directed How you can get involved with OSV
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Intro O'Shaughnessy Ventures (OSV) is a company that invests in creators in the areas of art, science, and technology to help promising creators and their inspiring ideas succeed For most of human history, a genius was born, lived, and died, and no one knew a thing about him or her; today's technology changes that The Great Reshuffle: Jim's thesis that all the old business models are collapsing, and that very different, new ones are taking their place“I believe that AI is the third technology revolution.” – Jim O'ShaughnessyWe need as much cognitive diversity as possible for technologies like AI to work; it is currently very Western-centricHumans cannot prophesize future knowledge, and thinking that we can is a bug in the human operating systemBig Tech used the AI algorithm to maximize revenue, but these objective functions can also be used to maximize things like creativity and happiness The guiding principle for OSV: asymmetric opportunities that are win-win Every system other than capitalism – many of them religions – promised people that they would be fed and housed, and they all failed over the millennia Jim believes the free market system succeeds because it is most aligned with human biology and the world Traditionally, networks were where you went to school and where you grew up; but today, networks are being redefined as geography, time, and space all collapseLuck exists, and if you're reading this you probably hit the cosmic lottery, but you must still play the hand that you are dealt Money is a technology that is used to bring ideas to life Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgWe've landed. After 3 months of stealth mode, sneak-peeks, and surprise announcements, we have finally hit launch day. In this special episode of Infinite Loops, hosted by Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Jim chats through the rationale behind founding OSV, the positive impact he wants it to have on the world, and the ways you can get involved. Important Links: OSV's Website Jim's Twitter Show Notes: The origins of OSV Why OSV does not invest third parties' money The story of Jim's investment in Stability AI What has surprised Jim the most about the world of AI What OSV will look like on 1 January 2023: the four verticals Assembling the OSV team OSV's objective function Where the majority of Jim's energy will be directed How you can get involved with OSV
Infinite Loops: Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- We've landed. After 3 months of stealth mode, sneak-peeks, and surprise announcements, we have finally hit launch day. In this special episode of Infinite Loops, hosted by Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Jim chats through the rationale behind founding OSV, the positive impact he wants it to have on the world, and the ways you can get involved. Important Links: OSV's Website Jim's Twitter Show Notes: The origins of OSV Why OSV does not invest third parties' money The story of Jim's investment in Stability AI What has surprised Jim the most about the world of AI What OSV will look like on 1 January 2023: the four verticals Assembling the OSV team OSV's objective function Where the majority of Jim's energy will be directed How you can get involved with OSV
We've landed. After 3 months of stealth mode, sneak-peeks, and surprise announcements, we have finally hit launch day. In this special episode of Infinite Loops, hosted by Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Jim chats through the rationale behind founding OSV, the positive impact he wants it to have on the world, and the ways you can get involved. Important Links: OSV's Website Jim's Twitter Show Notes: The origins of OSV Why OSV does not invest third parties' money The story of Jim's investment in Stability AI What has surprised Jim the most about the world of AI What OSV will look like on 1 January 2023: the four verticals Assembling the OSV team OSV's objective function Where the majority of Jim's energy will be directed How you can get involved with OSV
Tom Morgan returns for his third appearance on Infinite Loops with Jim, Infinite Loops' own Ed William and special guest Brett Andersen, an evolutionary psychology PhD student at the University of New Mexico. We discuss the implications of the ideas presented in Brett's fantastic essay ‘Intimations of a New Worldview', whether the rise of anti-heroes is a challenge to Campbell's Hero's Journey, the influence of conscious vs unconscious design, and much more. Important Links: Intimations of a New Worldview Brett's Substack Brett's Twitter Tom's blog Tom's Twitter Awakening from the Meaning Crisis Show Notes: Objective vs subjective morality Complexity as a precondition Biological complexification Complexification and social selection Relevance realisation Jordan Peterson's ‘Maps of Meaning' and the metamyth The optimal path and the process of creation The cognitive purpose of supernatural beliefs Mapping a response to the meaning crisis Quantum entanglement and consciousness Practical implications of Brett's theory Cultural evolution Conscious vs unconscious design There is an underlying flow of things Breaking Bad and the Hero's Journey Slack vs tension MUCH more! Books Mentioned: Meaning in Life and Why It Matters; by Susan Wolf The Romance of Reality: How the Universe Organizes Itself to Create Life, Consciousness, and Cosmic Complexity; by Bobby Azarian The Life of the Cosmos; by Lee Smolin Evolution's Arrow: the direction of evolution and the future of humanity; by John Stewart Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny; by Robert Wright The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature; by Geoffrey Miller Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief; by Jordan Peterson Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis; by John Vervaeke Principia Mathematica; by Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World; by Iain McGilchrist The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous; by The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom Life Finds A Way: What Evolution Teaches Us About Creativity; by Andreas Wagner Tao Te Ching; by Laozing
Creator and curator Liberty RPF returns for his second appearance on Infinite Loops. He and Jim discuss the art of curation, the opportunities and risks of AI, the curse of creativity, the future of learning, and MUCH more!
In the early 1970s, English guitarist ROBERT FRIPP (of the seminal progressive rock band KING CRIMSON) began a series of experiments with tape delay echo loops that he came to call "Frippertronics." Fripp's collaboration with fellow electronic experimentalist BRIAN ENO yielded two influential albums of treated electric guitar and synthesizers. NO PUSSYFOOTING (from 1972) and EVENING STAR (in 1974) defined a new sound: the infinite spatial guitar. Whether endlessly looped or indefinitely sustained, Fripp transformed, expanded and dematerialized the electric guitar by feeding it back on itself — and created one of the foundations of today's ambient soundscapes. On this transmission of HEARTS of SPACE we borrow a term from computer programming, on a descending journey for fall called INFINITE LOOPS. Music is by HAROLD BUDD & CLIVE WRIGHT, ROBIN GUTHRIE, HAMMOCK, and RICHARD BONE. [ view playlist ] [ view Flickr image gallery ] [ play 30 second MP3 promo ]
Title: Description: Lulu Cheng Meservey is the Chief Communications Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Activision Blizzard. She joins Infinite Loops to provide us with a masterclass in communications for startups. A must-listen for current and aspiring founders. Important Links: • Lulu's Twitter • Lulu's Substack Show Notes: • Why people write hit pieces • The insurgency framework • How to access your audience's neural real estate • How to develop a spontaneous elevator pitch • Tips for becoming better at reading the room • Speak directly and take the hits • Defining business objectives • Learning from other industries • Personalising your message • Overcoming resistance to the unknown, what Christianity can teach us about comms • Escaping corporate jargon • How comms resembles rugby • Taking ownership of comms • Moving to a new model of comms • “Don't let things happen to you. Go and happen to things.” Books Mentioned: • The Network State: How To Start a New Country; by Balaji S. Srinivasan • The Hero with a Thousand Faces; by Joseph Campbell
My guest today is Kyla Scanlon (@kylascan). Kyla is a prominent TikTok and YouTube financial analyst, and also a good mate. I've known Kyla for a few years now so today's chat is a good exploration of creator life and her growth over time. Fun fact: when I first started speaking with Kyla, we both had around 1,000 followers on Twitter. Since then, Kyla has skyrocketed to 140,000+ with me not far behind on 4,000! In this conversation, we cover creator life from starting out to now, dealing with brands and sponsorships, and staying mentally healthy with a life online. I had a blast, and hope you do too, so please enjoy my conversation with Kyla Scanlon. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page on https://compoundingpodcast.com/ep39 ------ Show Notes: [00:00:31] - [First question] - Introduction [00:02:02] - When did things start to gain traction? [00:03:25] - Which social media to focus on? [00:06:53] - Outsourcing work? [00:08:17] - Switching off from Social Media [00:09:34] - Experimenting with content as you grow? [00:12:21] - A day in the life of Kyla Scanlon [00:14:00] - Monetisation approaches [00:15:19] - Dealing with brands [00:19:37] - Do market swings affect Kyla's content? [00:21:15] - Dealing with unsavoury comments? [00:24:30] - What Kyla wishes more people knew about her work [00:26:38] - Importance of writing [00:29:28] - Adopting long-form content into short form? [00:31:16] - Getting young audiences to care about complex stuff? [00:33:48] - Kyla's company Bread [00:37:25] - TikTok preferences [00:38:58] - Influential people on Kyla's journey? [00:41:27] - Undervalued life experience? [00:44:23] - Plans going forward and wrapping up ------ Connect with Kyla: Kyla's Website: https://kylascanlon.com/ Follow Kyla's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kylascan Follow Kyla on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kylascan Follow Kyla on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylascan/ Subscribe to Kyla's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KylaScanlon Kyla's Newsletter: https://kyla.substack.com/ ------ Mentioned/Recommended Content: Moontower Meta: https://moontowermeta.com/ Kyla on Infinite Loops podcast: https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/kyla-scanlon-cultivating-vibes-ep125/ ------ Stay up to date with the podcast by signing up to the Compounding Curiosity Substack, where I'll email you when the latest episode comes out along with my summary and takeaways, links to mentioned content, graphics and the transcript. Sign up at https://compoundingcuriosity.substack.com/ ------ Stay Connected with Compounding Curiosity: Visit the Compounding Curiosity PODCAST: https://CompoundingPodcast.com/ Sign up for the Compounding Curiosity SUBSTACK: https://compoundingcuriosity.substack.com/ Follow Compounding Curiosity on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CompndCuriosity/ Follow Kalani Scarrott on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ScarrottKalani/ Sign up for the Allocators Asia SUBSTACK: https://AllocatorsAsia.substack.com/ Join the DISCORD: https://discord.gg/NPVNPVsCYb Have some thoughts on the podcast? Leave FEEDBACK: https://forms.gle/Du61UxeJ25BkydH49
Jeremiah Lowin is the founder & CEO of Prefect, a dataflow automation company. Jeremiah joins Jim for his second appearance on Infinite Loops to discuss executing, storytelling, artificial intelligence and, of course, puns. Important Links: Prefect.io Disney Research Hub The story of the fake statue of Venus Show Notes: Slack, puns and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Planning, executing and the story of Prefect in 2022 Why naming things is a superpower If you can't pivot, you're dead Make original mistakes AI, storytelling, deep fakes and open source Books Mentioned: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; by Douglas Adams What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy The Beginning of Infinity; by David Deutsch
“To get me stop, they're going to have to pry the microphone out of my cold dead hand”. Hot on the heels of his hugely popular appearance on ‘Invest Like The Best', David Senra joins a marathon episode of Infinite Loops to discuss obsession, education, optimism, podcasting, and so much more. Unsurprisingly, this one is not to be missed. Important Links: Founders Podcast Founders on Colossus David's Twitter David's Substack Runnin' Down a Dream - Bill Gurley Show Notes: David's grandfather, refugees, and risk-taking Why reading history raises our ambition Obsession and genetics Why founders are the most important people in the world Our failing education system “To get me to stop, they're going to have to pry the microphone out of my cold dead hand” “Don't do anything that somebody else can do” Societal responses to change, predicting the future The benefits of small teams “Plan B should be to make plan A work” Optimism, risk and the bridge of nihilism Why you need to start a podcast “History doesn't repeat, human nature does” AI and art The internet is the greatest variance amplifier in history “You can't fake passion” Infinite networks Luck, burnout, learning and excuses “Don't be surprised if your best idea comes 30 to 40 years into your career” The blueprint for a great day Pick the right heroes Books Mentioned: Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel; by Sam Zell The Sugar King of Havana: The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba's Last Tycoon; by John Paul Rathbone The Hypomaniac Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America; by John D. Gartner One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell; by Charlotte Gray Born of this land : my life story; by Chung Ju-yung Shoe Dog; by Phil Knight Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power; by James McGrath Morris Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company; by Andrew S. Grove Time to Make the Donuts: The Founder of Dunkin Donuts Shares an American Journey; by William Rosenberg Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration; by Ed Catmull The Tao Te Ching; by Laozi My Life & Work - An Autobiography of Henry Ford; by Henry Ford One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization; by Dee Hock Zanies: The world's greatest eccentrics; by Jay Robert Nash
The brilliant Kyla Scanlon returns for her second appearance on Infinite Loops. As well as being a prolific creator, curator and writer, Kyla is the founder of the financial education company Bread. Kyla joins the show to discuss the vibecession, her plans for Bread, the creator economy, and much more. Important Links: Kyla's website Kyla's Twitter Kyla's TikTok Kyla's Instagram Kyla's Substack Kyla's Youtube Show Notes: Losing control of the meme Everything is vibes Inflation is a tax Are vibes top-down or bottom-up? Making complicated information fun The importance of having thick skin The benefits of free markets Do governments have vibes? How do you cultivate good vibes? The creator economy Bread's mission Education is broken Advice for upcoming content creators Against credentialism Open AI vs closed AI How can you change your models? What is your favourite medium? What would be the most surprising development over the next 12 months? Books Mentioned: The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics; by Gary Zukav The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom
Is this the greatest crossover event in history? Fresh from their individual appearances on Infinite Loops, Trung Phan and Rob Henderson join forces to discuss TV, film, and why Rob still hasn't seen Apocalypse Now. Important Links: Rob's Substack Rob's Twitter Trung's Substack Trung's Twitter Show Notes: Hearts of Darkness: one of the craziest stories in Hollywood history The beginning of TV's golden age Breadth or depth? The two paths to prestige TV What TV can teach you about elite America The two ways of watching prestige TV How TV shows program us The decline of event TV Recurring themes and HumanOS Succession and signalling The Great Reshuffle and Substack The 70s: one of the worst American decades of all time What will TV be like in 10 years' time? Challenge yourself with art Broaden your content horizons Books Mentioned: Heart of Darkness; by Joseph Conrad Unflattening; by Nick Sousanis The Iliad; by Homer The Odyssey; by Homer The Da Vinci Code; by Dan Brown Infinite Jest; by David Foster Wallace TV Shows and Films Mentioned: Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse Apocalypse Now The Shield The Godfather The Sopranos Seinfeld All In The Family The Wire The Simpsons The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Mad Men Game of Thrones The West Wing Roseanne Power Rangers The O.C. Breaking Bad Better Call Saul The Truman Show Back to the Future I Love Lucy Succession Will and Grace Severance House of Cards Stranger Things Office Space Euphoria Avengers: End Game Top Gun Maverick The Office Parasite
Vitaliy sits down with Jim O'Shaughnessy, author of the classic investment book What Works on Wall Street and host of the Infinite Loops Podcast. Vitaliy and Jim seem to share a brain, and they discuss Vitaliy's youth in Soviet Russia, how creativity... The post Infinite Loops Interview appeared first on The Intellectual Investor.
Vitaliy sits down with Jim O'Shaughnessy, author of the classic investment book What Works on Wall Street and host of the Infinite Loops Podcast. Vitaliy and Jim seem to share a brain, and they discuss Vitaliy's youth in Soviet Russia, how creativity connects the conscious and unconscious mind, the power of reframing and developing a thick skin, and the joys of classical music. Enjoy this wide ranging and fun conversation between two students of life! You can listen to the original interview here: https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/vitaliy-katsenelsonsoul-in-the-game-ep121/ or watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=414-Sv2eVps&t=3068s.
Our recurring guest (who rarely recurs these days), Alex Danco, comes back for his sixth appearance on Infinite Loops! Important Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco Website: https://alexdanco.com/ Newsletter: https://danco.substack.com/ Show Notes: Our planned, but unplanned conversations Pink Floyd were philosophers From Heraclitus, to Lao Tzu, to Gita, to Deutsch Where does decision making come from? Projection 101 Can you versus can't you read people's mind Jim throwing big fancy words like “Phylogenetic inertia” Corn: The apex predator Self-serving nature of memetic theory The Mirror Philosophy What is a “creator”? Communication theory by Gregory Bateson The Founding Murderer Consequences of eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge "The most entertaining outcome is the most likely.” Hot media vs. Cool media The Wire, and dumb Stringer The state of accreditation Balancing mystery with transparency Knowing pop culture as a status symbol And MUCH more! Books Mentioned: The Science of Storytelling; by Will Storr The Status Game; by Will Storr Happy; by Derren Brown The Selfish Gene; by Richard Dawkins Steps to an Ecology of Mind; by Gregory Bateson War and Peace; by Leo Tolstoy
Jim O'Shaughnessy has had a long and successful career as a “quantitative investor”, or “quant”. He's the founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management (OSAM), author of the wonderful book “What Works On Wall Street”, host of the lovely podcast “Infinite Loops”, and master of GIFs on Twitter. In this episode, Jim will tell us about his Wall Street days and share with us several insights he has gained over the years: - The fundamentals of “quant” investing, - The importance of probabilistic thinking, - How the internet is just getting started changing the world of business and investing — ie, The Great Reshuffle, - And much more! Disclaimer: NONE of this is investment advice. Download the Callin app for iOS and Android to listen to this podcast live, call in, and more! Also available at callin.com
Listen to Infinite Loops: https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/alex-danco-what-is-web-30-all-about-ep95/ (37mins in)TranscriptAlex Danco:Yeah. So one of the cool things is that, I can say this from a vantage point at Shopify, is that all of this isfairly obvious to us and it's not because we're smart people, it's because when your whole life is workingwith merchants, it's like, these are merchants whose job is not terribly dissimilar from musicians. It'screate meaning, create community, create a reason to come back and talk to each other, and thereforeproducts get sold because of that underlying meeting. It's like, no, shit, that's what this is for. This iswhat we already were doing, this isn't new, this is kind of like it just makes a lot of sense.Jim O'Shaughnessy:Right. And it's repackaged and it gives the tool to greater extend the reach. But yes, I agree with you.Alex Danco:So, hey, we should NFT this conversation and sell it, and then if you buy this NFT, you'll become the onlyperson who gets to understand what NFTs are for. You have the exclusive rights to it, everybody elsegets to be wrong.Jim O'Shaughnessy:Everyone else is wrong.Alex Danco:Unless somebody right clicks and saves the audio file of our podcast, in which case they have stolen itfrom you.Jim O'Shaughnessy:Yes. And you're fucked.Alex Danco:Good luck to you. Sorry for your loss. Sorry, you got hacked.Jim O'Shaughnessy:Well, this leads into Web3, because I was very eager to hear you do a bit on Web3, it's like so much stuffis being written, talked about, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. What are your thoughts?Alex Danco:I mean, to some degree, I think it's like being able to draw a precise box around Web3 is a little sillybecause it's like there's just the web and it's all these cool tools. And certainly at Shopify, our job, I meanon the blockchain team and also generally is not to give merchants the best of Web3, as opposed toWeb2, our job is to give them good things that help them.Jim O'Shaughnessy:Exactly.Alex Danco:And it's like if you want to draw a box around this bunch of stuff that's Web3, fine. However, in anattempt to not be sarcastic and actually answer your question correctly, here is I think a good way tothink about what Web3 is. So if you go back to this whole idea of, okay, there are these things calledblockchains, what is the point to them? What do they do? Why do we care about them? It's like, okay,what is the blockchain? A blockchain is a new kind of network computer that is designed around a reallyinteresting set of constraints.And the constraints are very expensive and but they do something really interesting, which isthey allow for a bunch of people to create this shared state that everybody can agree on the inputs andeverybody could agree on the rules. And it's very, very constrained in how you're able to modify thisstate, but everybody can agree on what has been done. And different blockchains have different rules,the rules of Bitcoin are different from the rules of Ethereum or different from the rules of flowblockchain or polygon, any of those things. But ultimately you create this shared bit of state that cangrow in ways that are very, very constrained, but are highly observable and agreed upon.So what is the point of that? Who the fuck cares, what is this for? Well, what's interesting aboutthis is that this creates this new format for something that you can call code that can makecommitments. What does that mean? Well, it means that you can submit some code to this that willrun, and once it's running, you can actually trust that it will run in a fairly deterministic way,independent of any of the actors involved. So long as you trust that Ethereum will exist, then you canexpect that this smart contract will behave in a certain way. It's code that can make commitments, that'sneat. Well, what's the point of that?Well, what's really interesting about code that can make commitments is that it makes possiblea new setting for running certain kinds of applications. Well, what are those certain kinds ofapplications? It's like, well, it's a new setting for whether, it's like developers to go create little instancesof rules that will follow those codes that can make commitments. And that might have some value topeople, both because of the inherent work that they do, but also because of the shared state that theydo it in. Again, going back to this, well, there's a shared meaning and that has some interesting value,and if you're also participating in this, then that's really cool.And I'm sort of building and building there, but what ultimately that makes possible, and reallyit's like it took us the better part of a decade to actually really settle on this as the atomic unit of what'sthe point of this is wallets. We had all these false starts with crypto about how regular people couldthink about what the atomic unit of it was. Like, is the atomic unit the coins? It's like, well, yes, but thenlargely what you think of what you're doing is speculating. Is the atomic unit like network and ICOs as away of bootstrapping a certain thing? It's like, oh, maybe, if what you think of what you're trying to do isvarious kinds of incentive design and whatever.But ultimately now I think we're sort of at this point that largely actually mimics the beginning ofthe internet and the web where it's like there was 10 years of web before the web browser where it wasvery hard to actually do anything with it. And then the browser came along, it was like, ah, okay, now Ican actually do stuff. Same thing with wallets, I mean, wallets have existed since the beginning ofblockchain. It's literally just like an address and then a key that you sign with to show you're you, but it'slike it wasn't until I want to say Metamask is the first sort of modern wallet that let you actually dothings.And now these modern wallets, like Rainbow that are amazing where you're like, "Oh my God, Iget it." The point of this is for me to be able to say, "Hey, this is a way for me to do informed consent forthings where you know it's me consenting because of the blockchain in the back being you know it's me,and you know it's informed because of what is basically called, if you ever interacted with this, it's like,sign this message. Sign this message to inform consent to X. And it can only be you because it gets all goback to, so the point of the blockchain is so that why wallets can do informed consenting to things andthe wallets can do informed consent that has meaning because of the shared state that's in theblockchain back.So pause for a second. Now what on earth is that good for, if again, this is only useful in thissuper slow, clunky Web3 environment that doesn't actually have any real work it's doing yet? It's like,well, now you can go back and you can say, "Okay, well now we can think about this web space full ofweb apps and full of databases and applications and abstractions about what's in those databases andAPIs through which you can access them and then applications that build on top of them and then userswho use this applications. And it's like, all of that web stuff can still exist, just now bookended with thesetwo very strong concepts of the wallet and informed consent and removable informed consent.I can take it with me, I can remove my consent from somewhere and add it to somewhere else.This is all the idea of how Unfollow is the most important button on Twitter? Remove Wallet is the mostimportant button in Web3, it's like you can just leave and go somewhere else. But again, it's like you now have this whole set of web stuff that can now do work, except for when it's bookended by thesestrong forces at the ends of this shared state on one side, on a blockchain and wallets and your keys thatyou sign with, and only you sign with on the other hand. All of a sudden this radically, it's not like itrequires you to rewrite the internet from scratch, it doesn't and that's important.It sort of rechanges a lot of the relationships between those things and what is strong and whatis weak and what is powerful and what is not. And most importantly, it changes where the switchingcosts are. And that changes everything about how the internet actually works because I've explained toso many people, I explained them to this whole idea of, I tell people, "Imagine a merchant storefront,and you can just connect your wallet. And because of what's in your wallet, now all of a sudden, thestorefront reacts to you. You get special discounts, you get special this, you get special that."And they're like, "How is that different from login with Facebook? Isn't it the same thing? Isn't itjust now like login with Metamask. Doesn't Metamask now be the owner?" It's like Metamask is just likeUX. Metamask, it's your key pair that is associated with the thing. That's very, very hard for people tounderstand. The fact that all the stuff is in public is just associated with you and this thing you have,which is just a string of numbers, numbers of letters, it's just literally like a password, like a seed phrasethat you have, that is this big key to all of this that you can remove and add and remove and add and dowhat you like.And it doesn't change what any of the stuff in the middle does, that's still all these webcomponents and we can still do stuff, but it changes the degree to which you have switching costs,navigating around it, and therefore what people can get away with. Like, what actually are the powerdynamics along these sets of things. And so specifically, actually, this is all very abstract, let me give youa specific example here, which is, right now, you have all these, so there is this NFT collection called theBored Ape Yacht Club, which is one of the most famous/infamous NFT collections, because it has allthese celebrities in it and all these crypto bros.And to a lot of people, they kind of represent the most distasteful, it's high pro behavior. BoredApe does ultra pro behavior and it's one of the richest NFT sets. And these people because they're theseidiots, a lot of them are constantly getting hacked and getting their NFT stolen from them for variousreasons. And so there's this big thing of, oh, go to Opensea and have them freeze the NFT. And so youmight say, "Well, this is crypto. You can't freeze an NFT. It's on the blockchain now. It's like, whoeverowns it now really owns it." It's like, okay, well, what Opensea can do is it can go to any of the...Opensea can say, "Okay, well, we're just going to take that particular smart contract and token ID andsay, 'well, that is not going to appear in any more Opensea search results, you can burn from this thing."So you might cry foul and be like, "Oh my God, wait a minute. This is just central law, what's thepoint of all this? If somebody in the middle can just turn it off, what on earth is the point about this? Thisgets to a really big, important aspect of this, which is that Web3 doesn't mean un-censorable, it doesn'tmean ultimate, it doesn't mean nobody can do anything. It just means it is relatively different. Thepower of what you have versus what you don't have is relatively shifted towards your ability to justmove to another NFT marketplace. You can just move your wallet to somewhere else and maybe ifthey're not censoring it, then you show up there. The thing you fundamentally own, the meaning isalways there.Now other people might decide to not recognize it, that's what censorship is. That's realcensorship and you can never stop that. If everybody agrees to ignore you, that's actually somethingthat nothing can stop, but it doesn't mean that you don't have the original thing, which is that key pairassociated with your ID, this is maybe significantly going into the abstract cloud. But to me, to get backto your original question, though, of what is Web3? It's like Web3 is basically Web2, plus these twobooklets of the blockchain, plus the wallet that give you this web ability to take your informed consent with you and take your idea association with this meaning around with you, such that your freedom tomove is significantly increased. That's Web3. And so Web3 is the set of apps and behavior and stuff thatemerges in this new understanding about your ability to move around. That's Web3.Jim O'Shaughnessy:Bingo. Bingo.Alex Danco:Is that what you wanted?Jim O'Shaughnessy:Yeah, it is exactly what I wanted because, and I put very, very succinctly because that isAlex Danco:I wasn't succinct, that took 10 minutes, but you just take the last 30 seconds, get rid of all the crap at thebeginning.Jim O'Shaughnessy:Succinct for you, Alex. B
Brian Feroldi is the author of the book “Why Does The Stock Market Go Up?: Everything You Should Have Been Taught About Investing In School, But Weren't”. His mission statement is “To Spread Financial Wellness”, and he does exactly that in this episode of Infinite Loops! You can connect with Brian on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BrianFeroldi and get his book from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Why-Does-Stock-Market-Everything/dp/1735066168/ Show Notes: Brian's first exposure to the stock market The power of mission statements Personal finances over investments Paying off your mortgage early Finding high-quality companies (Business) Momentum investing Brian's Investment Checklist Importance of narratives in investments strategies 99% of great investing is doing nothing On being wrong, and learning from mistakes DCA'ing into index funds Capitalism is brutal Knowing Tom Engle Books Mentioned: Why Does The Stock Market Go Up?; by Brian Feroldi The Tao Jones Averages; Bennett W. Goodspeed How To Retire Rich; by Jim O'Shaughnessy The Intelligent Investor; by Benjamin Graham The Psychology of Money; Morgan Housel Just Keep Buying; Nick Maggiulli
Our recurring guest Alex Danco of Spotify, err.. Shopify returns to Infinite Loops for his fifth appearance to discuss all things Web 3! Follow Alex on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco and read his essays at https://alexdanco.com/ Show Notes: Was it un-Canadian for Canada to pass the Emergency Act? Was the MAGA movement monarchist? Social meaning of NFTs What NFTs are not Catholicism — The original blockchain Code that can make commitments Wallets are the new web browsers What really is censorship Blockchains tell you what to ignore Porting from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 NFTs as human readable format of a smart contract Why gamers end up as good decision makers How to identify an extremely online person
Hi everyone.Another week has gone by and the war in Ukraine continues. It feels self-indulgent to even write about investing from the comfort of a safe and warm home. Last weekend, I went to Washington Square Park to a demonstration. It wasn't as big a crowd as I had expected. Some Ukrainian friends went to Washington DC. Many more are active on Instagram, venting their anger, sharing their fears, and raising donations.As I experience the war through the “reality tunnel” of social media, I constantly have to remind myself that that the sheer quantity of attention-grabbing information is not equivalent to getting a high quality picture. It's Kahneman's “what you see is all there is” bias (or availability heuristic?). If my Twitter feed is filled with follies and fumbles by the Russian military (like busted tires, columns stuck in the mud or out of fuel, abandoned vehicles being lit on fire, even the paratroopers not living up to expectations), and yet they're advancing, then I'm probably getting a biased picture.We're witnessing what it's like to disconnect a modern economy from the rest of the world. Garry Kasparov called it the “technological stone age.” Axios had a list of companies withdrawing and the number of global brands participating seems unprecedented? You can find anecdotal evidence of the impact all over Twitter (helpful thread). For example: without Apple Pay and Google Pay you need cash and paper tickets.Marc Rubinstein wrote about the ongoing financial warfare: “as a means of inflicting economic pain, targeting the banking system is a good place to aim. The world learned that accidentally during the global financial crisis, and many European countries learned it again several years later.” With payment flows disconnected and trading on Moscow's exchange halted, Russian stocks crashed in London. There was an offer for Sberbank at stock at literally $0.00. Though I started getting confused when I saw the steep sell-off in Russian energy names. I was also astonished to discover that I own some 150 shares of Yandex in my personal account. As I looked at the stock, its price frozen, I faintly remembered thoughts like “oh, the Google of Russia, probably oversold, and surely Putin wouldn't risk his economy on some absurd 20th century invasion.” It's the kind of braindead trade - no, strike that, mindless gamble - that I unfortunately do from time to time. It was also a mistake that my mind apparently quickly dumped into the memory hole to protect my self image.. Talk about someone studying experts only to act like a complete amateur. It is my hope that by writing about it - by creating a kind of public shaming - I will finally rid myself of this behavior. And I will let Peter Lynch remind us all why compulsive bottom-fishing is treacherous:I was still confused about the price action in Russian stocks and the Russian ETF, RSX, which seemed to trade at a big premium to its NAV. I turned to Dave Nadig (Chief Investment Officer and Director of Research at ETF Trends) who has written about exactly this issue (and who also appeared on Infinite Loops).I hope you enjoy our brief conversation around this topic. For more context and charts check out Dave's writing and Twitter feed (Eric Balchunas is also good and of course Matt Levine has written about the issue as well).A few key takeaways:* There's precedent in an ETF's liquid underlying assets turning illiquid (or a permanent liquidity mismatch such as with junk bonds). The local stock exchange being closed is merely a special case. However, there are few precedents for the uncertainty around Russia given the small number of modern pariah states - think Iran, Cuba, North Korea.* Stock prices collapsing has a lot to do with the uncertainty around the status of the depositary receipts traded abroad. Gazprom's assets are valuable. It's equity is probably valuable. But depositary receipts owned by foreigners may or may not be valuable in the future. As Mark Gutman put it: “The value of a piece of paper that gives you rights to nothing is zero.”* With the underlying market closed, the ETF becomes a proxy for price discovery. But once the creation of new shares is suspended, it becomes disconnected from the value of the underlying, essentially like a close-end fund that can trade at a premium or discount to NAV. * The removal of Russian shares from emerging market indices (and therefore ETFs) at a price “at a price that is effectively zero” was particularly puzzling to me and Dave walked me through the process. Personally, I think these have at least some option value and it's going to be interesting to see if at some point in the future we'll hear about a creative trade.Meanwhile, Russian traders are left with what the Germans call Galgenhumor or gallows humor:“Dear stock market, you were close to us, you were interesting, rest in peace dear comrade.”Personally, I'm encouraged to see that the West is getting serious chasing down the oligarchs. Even Germany seized a $600 million yacht. (Although I'm not quite sure about the legal backdrop of seizing private property of people loosely affiliated with a hostile regime? If someone has a good background piece, I'd be interested). My hope is that pressure on Russia's elite could become Putin's undoing (and I could really use more hope when some people are talking about a 10 percent chance of the world ending).Still, it's worth considering the long-term implications and downside of economic warfare. Russia is going to move closer to China (worst case: a nuclear-armed vassal state?). The world will experience more sustained inflation in energy and food. And it saddens me to think that there are likely a great many people in Russia who don't support the war but can't risk jail or beatings to protest. Who will be fed propaganda and be censored in their speech. Feelings of hostility and bitterness among average people will get entrenched as the hearts harden.Men in my family fought and died in the German armed forces during WW2. My surviving grandparents, now in their late 80s, were children when the war ended and vividly remember the bombings, artillery shelling, and tense final days of fighting and surrender. These memories never leave. It's haunting to think that new ones much like them are being created as I write this. I hope this will be the last time I write about the war, but I doubt it.Stanley Druckenmiller interview with The Hustle in 2021:On the biggest risks to the equity market:Stanley Druckenmiller: Without a doubt: inflation strong enough that the Fed responds to it. No doubt about it. This bubble has gone long enough and it's extended enough that the minute they start tightening, the equity market should go down a lot. Particularly with so much of the cap weighted in growth stocks, which would be hit the worst. And our central case is that inflation occurs, but we're open-minded to something like ‘07-'08 when you never really got to the inflation because the bubble popped. So, inflation never got to the manifestation stage. This week* Letters: Dan McMurtrie on regime change* War Trades* Pod: Eric Mandelblatt of Soroban* Twitter Snacks: Greenblatt, Buffett, Steinberg, Paul Tudor Jones, James ClearDisclaimer: I write for entertainment purposes only. This is not investment advice. I am are not your fiduciary or advisor. Do your own work and seek your own financial, tax, and legal advice before making any investment decisions.
Lily Francus is a risk theorist and a quantitative researcher at Moody's. She is also the author of the ‘Midnight on the Market Momentum' newsletter. Find Lily on her Twitter at https://twitter.com/nope_its_lily and read her newsletter at https://nopeitslily.substack.com Jesse Livermore is an OSAM research partner and a recurring guest at Infinite Loops. You can connect with him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Jesse_Livermore and read more about his work at http://www.philosophicaleconomics.com/ Show notes: Why all the recent focus on bubbles? How the era you grow up in shapes your investment philosophy Intrinsic and Extrinsic value How leverage impacts pricing What is a bubble? And how to identify if you're in one Role of uncertainty in arbitraging What makes a bubble pop How bubbles set a new floor price Do we have enough short sellers? Time arbitrage Information arbitrage in a hyper-connected world Are we currently in a financial bubble? Implications of pseudonymity Is there a free will?
My guest today, Jack Weatherford, is an anthropologist and author of several books, including one on money, a number on indigenous cultures in North America and beyond, and a revisionist and very thought provoking history of Genghis Khan, called “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.” Tom Morgan, who is a successful fund manager, described this book on Jim O'Shaughnessy's podcast Infinite Loops as the best business and investing book that he'd ever read. That got me curious, so I grabbed a copy, changed my mind about almost everything I believed about Genghis Khan, and invited Jack onto the show. In this conversation, rather than talking about investing, we explored the impact that Genghis Khan had on the modern world, how he introduced the rule of law, meritocracy, paper based money, religious freedoms and international trade routes. In fact, even though he was a genuine pioneer in many of these arenas, and this was 800 years ago, listening to the news today, it feels like we're going backwards in a number of these topics. What Is Covered: - How the practical side of Genghis Khan produced revolutionary cultural innovations - The role of Genghis Khan in the evolution of money - How the adaptivity of indigineous people can serve as an advantage in today's world Key Takeaways and Learnings: - Governments are allowing for the development of digital currencies until these systems start to work, and then they'll want to gain control over it. It's not the technology, it's the people. - There was nothing ideological about Genghis Khan, there were a lot of practical decisions, and we can learn from that kind of thinking, because it's not tied to one religion or one way of life. It's more adaptable. - Indigineous people are often better at handling crises and the skills of hunting and gathering can be better for the use of the internet than knowing how to farm. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: - “Genghis Kahn and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FCK206/ - Tom Morgan - Curation in the Age of Information Abundance https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/tom-morgan-curation-in-the-age/ - Mohnish Pabrai: Cloning, Learningg from Charlie Munger, 100 Baggers on OutsideVoices Podcast https://outsidelens.com/mohnish-pabrai-cloning/ - Wade Davis: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in Today's World on OutsideVoices Podcast https://outsidelens.com/wade-davis/ - Anthro-Vision: Shifting the Perspectives on Business and Life with Gillian Tett https://outsidelens.com/gillian-tett-anthro-vision/ Connect with Mark Bidwell: - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbidwell/ - Twitter https://twitter.com/markehb
Infinite Loops In this episode of Infinite Loops we have Sahil Lavingia with us. Sahil is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, and author of the book “The Minimalist Entrepreneur”. The rise, and fall, and rise of Gumroad Physical vs. Digital Communities Befriending ‘volatility' Applications of Web 3 And MUCH more! Follow Sahil on Twitter at https://twitter.com/shl and buy his book from Amazon at amzn.to/2ZnIGOl
Infinite Loops In this episode of Infinite Loops we have Sahil Lavingia with us. Sahil is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, and author of the book “The Minimalist Entrepreneur”. The rise, and fall, and rise of Gumroad Physical vs. Digital Communities Befriending ‘volatility' Applications of Web 3 And MUCH more! Follow Sahil on Twitter at https://twitter.com/shl and buy his book from Amazon at amzn.to/2ZnIGOl
In this episode of Infinite Loops we have Sahil Lavingia with us. Sahil is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, and author of the book “The Minimalist Entrepreneur”. The rise, and fall, and rise of Gumroad Physical vs. Digital Communities Befriending ‘volatility' Applications of Web 3 And MUCH more! Follow Sahil on Twitter at https://twitter.com/shl and buy his book from Amazon at amzn.to/2ZnIGOl
Tren Griffin returns to what is his third appearance on Infinite Loops — with a series of stories on business, investing, and life! Why Gates didn't write an autobiography How “rude” QnAs can be helpful Having a purpose in life Keeping business separate from the personal And MUCH more! Follow Tren on Twitter (https://twitter.com/trengriffin) and read his blog at: https://25iq.com/
Jesse Livermore (pseudonym), a Research Partner at OSAM, is back to Infinite Loops for his second appearance to talk about: Payments in the Metaverse Crypto regulation Incentives of governments vs. corporations Rise of online education Universal Basic Income Follow Jesse on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Jesse_Livermore), and check out his writing here http://www.philosophicaleconomics.com/.
Tom Morgan, Director of Communications & Content at The KCP Group, joins us for his second appearance at Infinite Loops to discuss: The trillion-to-one ratio of attention "Love" as a compass for growth Religions and Traditions Enlightenment vs. Adulthood And MUCH more! Follow Tom on his Twitter at https://twitter.com/tom_morganKCP and read his brilliant essays at https://thekcpgroup.com/insights
Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group, joins us for an almost unprecedented third appearance on Infinite Loops. Our discussion with Rory centers on: The marketing of Saint Paul and religious leaders. Humor as a vehicle for effective messaging. The advantages and drawbacks of remote work. “Category” vs. “brand” advertising. And MUCH more! Follow Rory on Twitter at twitter.com/rorysutherland and get his must-read book 'Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life' from Amazon.com
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways “There's this general idea that's familiar, which is poor people buy status, rich people buy time, which becomes the status” – Alex DancoBreastfeeding is the cheapest option for feeding a newborn but at the same time it's incredibly expensive because it costs you your timeSometimes people get competitive with each other to exhibit status.They do it through proxies. For example, parents use their childrenThis kind of status signaling intensifies as children go through high schoolCanada does not have the concept of Ivy League, but they have the concept of good schoolsThere is still pressure to get into the best schools in Canada but less so than in the US“…college is now not about the four years of college, it's about the 15 years you spend preparing to get into college. Once you're there, it's over”– Alex DancoCOVID accelerated the move to the digital world. Jim calls this the great reshufflePeople no longer have to move to get a job, the idea of the old-style CV will changeThe long term impact of covid will be heterogeneous- different outcomes for different countriesRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgOur recurring guest, Alex Danco, returns to Infinite Loops for his fourth appearance to discuss: Books on social hierarchies Expensive in time vs. money Schooling in Canada vs. the USA The Great Reshuffle Long term impact of COVID And MUCH more! Follow Alex on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco and read his amazing essays at https://alexdanco.com/
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways “There's this general idea that's familiar, which is poor people buy status, rich people buy time, which becomes the status” – Alex DancoBreastfeeding is the cheapest option for feeding a newborn but at the same time it's incredibly expensive because it costs you your timeSometimes people get competitive with each other to exhibit status.They do it through proxies. For example, parents use their childrenThis kind of status signaling intensifies as children go through high schoolCanada does not have the concept of Ivy League, but they have the concept of good schoolsThere is still pressure to get into the best schools in Canada but less so than in the US“…college is now not about the four years of college, it's about the 15 years you spend preparing to get into college. Once you're there, it's over”– Alex DancoCOVID accelerated the move to the digital world. Jim calls this the great reshufflePeople no longer have to move to get a job, the idea of the old-style CV will changeThe long term impact of covid will be heterogeneous- different outcomes for different countriesRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgOur recurring guest, Alex Danco, returns to Infinite Loops for his fourth appearance to discuss: Books on social hierarchies Expensive in time vs. money Schooling in Canada vs. the USA The Great Reshuffle Long term impact of COVID And MUCH more! Follow Alex on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco and read his amazing essays at https://alexdanco.com/
Our recurring guest, Alex Danco, returns to Infinite Loops for his fourth appearance to discuss: Books on social hierarchies Expensive in time vs. money Schooling in Canada vs. the USA The Great Reshuffle Long term impact of COVID And MUCH more! Follow Alex on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco and read his amazing essays at https://alexdanco.com/
Listen to the Infinite Loops podcast: https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/alex-danco-everyones-job-is-world-building-ep53/ (40mins in)Read the full essay: https://alexdanco.com/2021/01/22/the-michael-scott-theory-of-social-class/See tweet reactions: https://twitter.com/swyx/status/1424953927426928646Transcript [00:00:00] Hey everyone today, I'm about to break one of the core rules of this mixed tape, which is that episode should come in at around 10 minutes. Uh, this is a 25 minute rant from Alex Danco, which is still one of the best essays I've read of the year. He posted it on January 22nd, and I think it's still resonating. It basically is a theory of social class that is both entertaining and actually strangely true. Just don't think too hard about it because if you do you will realize how true it is. Maybe this is a good segue into the other thing that I feel like we were theoretically supposed to talk about this podcast episode, which was the Michael Scott theory of social class, which again is like another example of the power of world-building in this case, it's the power of world-building as applied to the phenomenon of middleman. Right, right. Like, what is middle management? If not world built real, because that's all you've got right. Is this world you've constructed. So originally a missile, who's going to fill the forms out. I mean, come on. It's not, it's not anything who's going to fill the firms out. It's like, who's going to create the meaning. It's like I forgot who described middle management as the control rods and a nuclear reactor. It's like, but the point of them is to slow things down so that it doesn't run out of your control and blow up. So, okay. So I wrote this piece, the Michael Scott theory of social class, which is basically a re skinning of Venkatesh Rouse article that your base principle, which itself was a re-skinning of Holly White's book, the organization, man. Oh, so that's the actual source material is the organization, man. Have you read the organization, man? Do you know that book? I don't have notes on it. So that means I didn't take it seriously. It's so good. It's so good. It's in the list of books that I recommend to everybody. So I'm going to have, I'm going to have to read it again. What's remarkable about the organization, man is simultaneously how in a literal sense. It did not get the future. Right. But at a second order sense, it just nailed the future so hard. They got it. So, so, so right, just at a slightly different abstraction layer than people realize. So the general thesis of the organization, man, is that all organizations that survive have stratified into three layers. You have the bottom layer, the middle layer and the top layer. The bottom layer is the people who do the actual work. This is the majority of people. Their lives are spent doing literal things. So these are line workers, frontline people, anybody who is actually producing something. Literally there are the people at the bottom there, the majority of people at the top, you have the exact. They actually have a lot in common with the people at the bottom in the sense that they have very literal roles and responsibilities and very real stakes involved. And they see the world very clearly as it is, but the people at the bottom and the people at the top see the world through clear eyes with clear actions and consequences, but there's this group of people in the middle called middle-management that is really, really different than either of those groups. And their job is to intermediate between the people at the top and the people at the bottom by basically constructing this reality called middle management that does not literally produce anything nor have any literal stakes or consequences, but whose job is effectively to mediate like the control rods in the reactor to say like, look, the goal here is to create a stable system that perpetuate. Regardless of how efficient it is or how complicated it is or anything just like, can you get something to persist? This group of people will always emerge in one form or another. So in the 1950, in the early fifties, when Holly white wrote this book, this was in the era of these mega mega conglomerates, like Dow DuPont, us steel, general motors, like this was the field. Like the current mindset was that. The frontier of progress was mega organizational dynamics. It was scaled to get scaled, to get scaled. This is how everything works. Eventually everything will be run by four corporations because we figured out the science of how management works. And specifically we figured out what middle-management. We created this whole world of middle management that has sense of purpose and a sense of identity. And it was fed through these institutions called business schools and the NBA. And this whole idea that like middle manager was actually this craft more or less independent of the industry. It's like, what do you do? Oh, you're a manager. Oh, like what kind of industry do you manage? It doesn't matter. Like I do manage. Right. That was the thing that you can learn. Do you go to management school and learn management regardless of where you were from? You remember in the office? I'm just sitting here because I love that movie. There was one particular episode of the office where David Wallace, a CFO brings in a new boss for Michael. Who is Idris Elba who comes in as like the professional manager. And Michael's like, where are you from? He's like, oh, steel.[00:05:00] Um, but anyway, so this is idea. It's like, like as Holly white describes it, William H. White, he went by Holly white as he describes it. Right? So the whole book is about this three layer system. And this three layer construct where you have the people at the bar. Who again are doing all the actual work and have no path to leverage. And the people at the top who have all the leverage, but are very deeply suspicious of everything and are perpetually trying to acquire and keep control over this huge sprawling. Basically those two sides in order to not fly apart at a hundred miles an hour, need this mediating influence in the middle called the middle management. But in order for that to exist, there needs to be a purpose for the middle managers to have. And hence, what you have to do is you have to build a world in which management is. So, this is where you get this world of Taylorism and like management as a science, which sort of expanded and grew and grew and grew into this really self perpetuating construct where it's like, where, what happened with middle management is we were able to create a world where management was a challenge that was considered a worthy challenge that people would go into, put all of their identities into, and then it would perpetuate and perpetuating. So, if you look at some of the really good books on how to manage, like Andy Grove, like a high output management, things like that is almost like a return w w Hyatt management, the thesis of that book. If you haven't read it is basically like we figured out how to manage production. It's called factory. Everything can ultimately be understood in terms of like how production management works in terms of buffer capacity, in terms of like how you set challenges and how you like arrange for like, thinking about like how you manage the output of an organization. The whole thesis here was that this is equally applicable to management and like talent and hiring people. And like all these supposedly soft skills that didn't work like factories. Andy is like, I actually, like I made Intel, like I've. But nonetheless middle-management does this construct, which again, if you fast forward to today, you can just replace with product management in a tech company or any of these other venture capital associates, any of these positions where you are not literally in charge of anything, nor are you literally making anything, your job is to intermediate in some way. And hence. You live, this is a very roundabout way to get into the thesis of the article. You live in a world that is entirely a construct of your own creation, right? There's nothing literal in your world. Your world is entirely defined and surrounded by fairly arbitrary challenges and goals and measuring sticks that have been created in a self perpetuating sense and are not the very literal things by which anything is. One of the two core theses of the Michael Scott article was that there is a reason why these worlds, again, always back to world building what makes these worlds perpetuate? What makes Michael Scott's world have purpose and have ongoing perpetuation? That self reinforces is linked. Have you read Venkatesh Rao's original article that your face principle, is that something you're familiar with? Okay. Yeah. So for audience, if you haven't read this, go Google that your base principle, your face, like reheat your face from the office and go read that at some point on your set aside a couple hours, it's really been through this series of articles. It gets really esoteric, but like, it's fantastic. So it's going through the office as a theory, the office, the American TV show the office as a comprehensive cynical theory of management. That is again, it's like, it's a re-skinning of the organization, man. It says like, look like you have these three fundamental groups of people in the TV show the office at the bottom. You have group of people called. We're not uncool, but they're economic losers, no path to leverage. Fundamentally their work output is realized holy by someone else. They are fundamentally paid on cost based pricing, not value-based pricing, et cetera. And this is the majority of the people in the office. They see the world through clear eyes and they cope. This is like Stanley Pam, Darryl. Most of these people they're there at the bottom there, the losers of the office, they occupy most of the positions. At the top, you have the people who are the sociopaths. They are the people in charge. What they care about is power. And they occupy this other role in the show, which is there the other group of people that sees the world through clear eyes. So in the show, this means David Wallace, the CFO, the authority figure Jan, before she becomes Michael's lover and is in a mental breakdown. Ryan, I do need to interject here. I loved that segway for GP. Because she did go from a sociopathic control freak to yeah. Mass complete this complete master Ryan, the temp, right. Is the most important example of somebody who brilliantly grabs real power and then immediately squanders it. And then finally, the last sociopath character is actually the real drama of the show. By the way, is the, will he, or won't he go over to the dark side? Jim is the real villain of the office. Once you realize this, it actually sort of reshapes a lot of the [00:10:00] shows that Jim is the felon. Jim is actually a complete asshole. He's horrible to Dwight. He's really arrogant. He's kind of mean to everybody. He doesn't actually treat Pam very well for that. No. So Jim is actually like the secret sociopath where the real drama of the office, as he will hear, won't he explicitly go over to the dark side. Right. But then, so both of those two groups of people see the world through clear eyes as it is, but then in the middle you have three characters and fundamentally the office is a show about these three people. Yeah. Michael Deno. And Andy, the central drama of the show by the time the office really, really hits a stride. And season three is when it's established this relationship. It is about Michael Dwight and Andy's search for meaning in a world that is entirely their own construct, right? It cannot escape because they are compulsively forced to double down on reaffirming, the meaningless meaning that they are creating for themselves. And each of them expresses this in a different way. Michael it's in the form of like, it's everything about Michael. Everything about Michael's world is this world of his own creation that he's made in this bubble around him. But same for Dwight and same for Andy all in their different. It sort of shows up in all of the, sort of the meaningless talking and the jokes that don't make any sense and the constant, please, for people to pay attention to them. Andy's anger management issues. Dwight's LARPing about like being a first responder, all of these things, but especially about Michael and his self identity that is wrapped up in being in. There was this really notable tweet about there's this argument that happened on Twitter about whether Michael Scott would know how to use chopsticks. Does Michael know how to use chopsticks? Yes or no? And the answer is obviously yes, of course he does. He takes enormous pride in knowing how to use chopsticks and tells everybody. And like, he probably learned it from watching TV or in his apartment by himself. Right. She had this cast of three characters, Michael Dwight, and. And they inhabit this world that they have built for themselves and that other people happily help them build because it helps everybody fulfill their own respective purposes. This senior people up top indulgent support Michael's world-building because they need somebody to oversee the branch and make sure that it stays in more or less the same state as they expect it to be. Whenever they come down to Scranton from New York, the people doing the actual. Pam Darryl in the warehouse, all the salespeople, everybody need Michael to stay in his state of delusion because it gets him out of their way. Pam in the show takes the defacto role of narrator. She's the one who basically narrating to the audience, all of the things that they do to support and create and perpetuate this little delusion inside Michael's little world and also. I remember the point I was getting to, it was around language. The most brilliant part of Venkatesh Rao's piece is the sub chapter in the Jabez principle around language and how people talk to each other and the five different coded languages that are used between different groups of people talking to each other. You have these three. You have the senior sociopath's you have the people at the bottom who do the actual work, both of whom are literal. And then you have the middle managers in the middle who clueless. So there are five possible languages that are spoken in the intersection of these three groups. The first language that's spoken is something called posture talk. That is the language that is spoken by the clueless people who are in this world of their own construction. So it's everything spoken by Michael . To anyone, including themselves. It's basically meaningless babbling that has no grounding in reality whatsoever, but makes sense. Inside this world they've created for themselves. That is what, how they talk both internally and projecting out. Meanwhile, everybody who talks to them speaks the language called baby. Which basically goes there. They're like, you don't know what you're talking about, but like there it's soothing. It's like, just stay in your little box. Like, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. Just please don't screw this up. It's how you talk to kids when they're actually capable of causing danger and you want them to stay. Yes. The other three languages spoken by the way are, um, there's the internal language among all the losers, which is like, you're okay. It's just basically like getting themselves through the day in group self-referencing and self. You have the internal language of the sociopath, which is called Powertalk, which is all about information gathering, right. And retroactive deniability. And then you have the rarest language of all, which is straight talk, which is the only time that language happens. That's not encoded at all, which is the rare instance where the senior execs talk to the line workers, which is unincorporated straight talk like what the fuck happened. Here you go fix it by. It's the only time that's straight talk is the accidental occasions where senior management ends up confronted with frontline [00:15:00] workers because Michael screwed something up in variable, right? That's the only situation in which that happens. So let's look at the office as this little three layer system where you have the Michael Dwight's and Andy's in the middle who live in this world of their own construct, where it is entirely an exercise, both for them. And for those around them of world. Just to create and perpetuate any kind of purpose that maintains coherence sandwiched between the group of people on the bottom and the top who actually have fairly literal roles and responsibilities. No, you can take that and actually extrapolate that onto the American class system, more or less facing. So you have, again, it's like talking in broad strokes here. It's like you have the people at the bottom who is the majority of people, people who earn income through labor and who there's a ladder that you can climb up from at the bottom. It's like working very, very hard hourly or informal jobs. You work your way up through blue collar jobs at the top of this ladder. As you work up, you do own property. You own an F-150. You might own a vacation home. You have a nice life. Like you can work your way up to being well off in this group of people, but fundamentally. Fairly literal. And you have not created any paths to leverage for yourself. That's this group of people. It's the majority of people. It's everybody who doesn't live on the coast basically is in this group of people more or less the coast or core coastal like towns skipping the middle group for a second. The people at the top, who again, are like the elites in power who are sociopath's right. This is just all about, like, I keep saying sociopath. I am a highly functioning sociopath. I'm not sure you're in this group because you're on Twitter. I think you're actually the king of the middle people. We'll get to that in a second. We'll get to that in a second. We'll get to that. The kingdom of the Michael Scott's. So you have the people on the top who are like, this is a path that starts out, like the entry point into this path is either being born rich or being a junior. Either you look into the path or you have to just brutally work your way to the top at either like a white shoe law firm or like investment banking, or now actually starting a startup. Can conceivably get you into this path, although it's still relatively uncommon, but nonetheless it's like, this is also a group of people that when you're in the world of real power, you actually do see the world more or less as it is. And you do see stakes more or less. But in the middle, you have this group of people. This is the Michael Scott group of people, which is the bourgeoisie. This is the upper middle-class who live in the world of whole foods and farmer's market and virtue signal performance saying. And where everything about your life is the statement about values you have that are expensive. Were you in all likelihood people in this job. And then there are some exceptions. So like there are some jobs where like economically speaking would put you in the middle, but socially are not. Doctors are actually one of these groups. Like doctors do something very, very real, but whose jobs put them in the upper middle-class, but mostly if you're an upper middle class person, like. You have some absolutely made up job. You work in digital marketing or you were a product manager or you work actually like many people in law or in various forms of this, or you work in some form of business development or you work in much of sales is not in this group. A lot of sales is very, very real and literal, but some sales is very made up. There's some sales that's very, very much in this world of like upper middle class permissive. We're again, like in this group, the fundamental feature of this group. So if you were to stratify this group along the ladder, as you work your way up the entry point to this group, if you were not born. So the main way you get into this group is you're born there. You're born into upper middle-class parents. And so, hence you are upper middle-class, but you can enter the group by going to. If you're the first in your family to go to college, you can enter this group and you will have quite a culture shock when you do about what people are like in those groups. But as you work your way up, you don't work your way up this ladder by making more money. This cultural ladder definitely does not organize by income. It organizes by how interesting you are and how detached from reality. So like people with, like, if you're pursuing a PhD, very high status absolutely could be a totally meaningless and contrive pursuit. Right. It could just be the most nonsensical thing, but it's very high status to be doing your PhD blue check marks on Twitter. Same thing. It doesn't mean you owe money. It doesn't mean you. It doesn't mean it doesn't mean it's like, if there's a particular kind of. The top of this ladder, by the way, the absolute top of this ladder people I'd say the litmus test is could you write an op-ed for the New York? Would that make sense? Again, people at the bottom group don't do this people in the top group also don't do this because the New York times won't let them because they're bad. Right? It's like someone like Jon Stewart is probably like the absolute top of this group. There's someone like that, right? Like, um, just total cultural relevance and lore among this particular group of people and bringing this back to the principle thing and the office. What [00:20:00] fundamentally defines this group of people of which I absolutely am. One, by the way, like me and everybody in my neighborhood, around me and in my job around me. And like everyone I surround myself with is in this group of people, by the way. So this is a group of people where it's like a Subaru is a higher status car than a capital. And I'd say that's a good litmus test. If you would never be seen dead riding, driving a Cadillac, but you would drive a Subaru and brag about it. That's me. Like I drive a Subaru Outback. That's my car. That's broken that the mechanic had to come fix. Another one is like, would you be mortified showing off a $10,000 watch, but excitedly brag about $150,000 kitchen rental. Then you're in. Because again, it's like, you're not showing off how much money you spent, even though you clearly are. It's all about like, here's how interesting and unique I am. Right. And it's all about like advancing in this group is all about detaching yourself from re. So remember 50 years ago, what this meant was leaving the reality of the dirty cities and moving out to the detached from reality place of the suburbs. Now let's the other way around. It's detaching yourself from the reality of chain, restaurant gas, guzzling, suburban car, hell and moving back to walkable neighborhoods. It's all about detachment from reality. And again, it's like, it's not only like this whole idea of like, oh, I'm detaching myself from reality. This is something that you brag about. If you are like, oh, like I shop at the local farmer's market so I can do a hundred mile diet. That is you detaching yourself from reality and telling everybody about it. Yeah. I think it says something about you. It's a challenge that you're doing. It gives you meaning and it gives you purpose. Or it's like, if you do triathlons, you know, people who do triathlons gym, like I actually shut the fuck up about triathlons. Oh, well, yeah, it's fine. It's fine. But it's like, at some point it's like people who are really, really into these things. Well, you notice about them as they start to talk weird. They develop these speech patterns that at first are only visible when they're talking about whatever it is, they find really meaningful, but eventually it just takes over everything. And the reason why it's not only because they have this internal language that they talk in, that it's all about like validate my pursuit. Meaning that I've constructed for myself. That's meaningless to everybody else, but it's a beg for acknowledgement for the meaning that they've created. And you know how people talk back to them. It's baby talk. It's Uber driver talk. It's like, I'll entertain this conversation, but like, please give me five stars. Like I need it. Please write it. Or like it's all the advertising of prestige. You are so smart for watching Fargo. You are so sophisticated for watching house of cards. Like come on this whole idea of world-building right? It's like the reason why world building is so important and it is especially important in worlds of plenty and worlds of material, abundance and worlds, where everything is basically provided. But what is scarce and valuable is actually meaning it's challenges that you identify with and your sense of accomplishment upon challenging them. That is what people really want when their basic needs are taken care of. And it's in fact, what people are most desperately seeking when you enter this world of upper-middle-class dumb, it becomes entirely about this search for. Not only like ways to find meeting, but like around with like, what is the way that you are going to detach yourself from reality and create this construct of meeting around yourself, the author who wrote about this amazingly? Well, what it was, it was David Brooks a long time ago. Back when David Brooks could really throw fastballs Bobos in paradise, paradise, paradise, amazing black, an incredible line from Bobos. Is that the highest possible compliment in this group is to call someone serious. He's a serious kite boarder, or she's serious about cooking healthy meals. That is the highest possible compliment. You can give someone because this is the ultimate form of validating their. Which is all we just desperately want. Right? So you take, so the thesis of my Michael Scott article was that as you ascend the ladder and the ranks of the upper middle-class more and more of your life becomes the self-defined. Recursive quest for meaning in a construct of your own creation that is reinforced by your language progressively becoming posture talk, please validate my pursuits and other people talking back to you in baby talk. They're there. Like everything you do is made up. It'll be okay. Just stay in your little box and don't cause problems, right? Therefore reinforcing and reinforcing itself until eventually you become Michael Scott. Listen, man, I think you just did a hard close. Yeah. That's Michael Scott. So do you have more than 10,000 followers on Twitter? You're Michael Scott, you have an opinion about what is the right amount of hops in an IPA mascot. You were Michael Scott. Do you, if you drive a Subaru and you are overly concerned with the all wheel drive mechanics between like the new versions versus the old versions for your ability to get to the cross country [00:25:00] ski trails, you're making. I am all these things, by the way, are you pursuing a PhD in anything? Absolutely. Michael Scott, do you read my newsletter? You're Michael Scott. Um, we are all Michael's. If you listened to this mix tape, you're absolutely Michael Scott, if you're entertained by it, you're absolutely Michael Scott and from one Michael Scott to the other, I appreciate you.
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways “What do I need to see to change my view? I'm always actively looking to disprove everything that I know, I'm dogmatically flexible”– Adam RobinsonContinually correct your errors, don't let beliefs overpower reason in your thesesEmbrace the possibility that you're wrong, this leads to an ever-improving thesis“Take a simple idea and take it seriously”– Adam Robinson quoting Charlie MungerThe best learning happens organically, immerse yourself in ideas and mental models to improve the projects you're working on. If you try to learn a little bit of everything, you learn nothing.The Shannon Limit – the amount of information our brains can take in (error-free) before tiltingBeing conscious of the word/information capacity your brain can intake is very valuable for productive learning– everyone is differentRemember, Twitter language is incredibly nuanced with unsaid contextYou and all the users share different and often hidden contexts, filter information in a valuable way for youRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.org In this episode of Infinite Loops, we have not one but two phenomenal guests: Adam Robinson and Bill Brewster! Adam is the co-founder of "The Princeton Review," an author, a rated chess master, and advisor to hedge funds. Bill is the host of "The Business Brew" podcast, a long-form podcast focusing on how investors can improve their decision making. We talk about: Choosing your words carefully How reliable are memories? Chess: Intuitive or Rational? Managing the Shannon Limit Walking with the data and much more! Learn more about Adam on his website: https://iamadamrobinson.com/ and listen to Bill's podcast here: https://www.podpage.com/the-business-brew/
In this episode of Infinite Loops, we have not one but two phenomenal guests: Adam Robinson and Bill Brewster! Adam is the co-founder of "The Princeton Review," an author, a rated chess master, and advisor to hedge funds. Bill is the host of "The Business Brew" podcast, a long-form podcast focusing on how investors can improve their decision making. We talk about: Choosing your words carefully How reliable are memories? Chess: Intuitive or Rational? Managing the Shannon Limit Walking with the data and much more! Learn more about Adam on his website: https://iamadamrobinson.com/ and listen to Bill's podcast here: https://www.podpage.com/the-business-brew/
In this edition of Infinite Loops, we spoke with Rob Henderson. Rob is a veteran and a PhD candidate in Psychology, at the University of Cambridge. We talk about: Growing up in foster care and overcoming a "tough" childhood Role of a military stint in early adulthood Luxury beliefs Role of media in shaping identities America's export of cultural ideas and MUCH more! Follow Rob on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robkhenderson and read his essays about the many aspects of human behavior here: https://www.robkhenderson.com/
In this episode of Infinite Loops, we speak with Packy McCormick, author of the Not Boring newsletter. We discuss many aspects of the Great Reshuffle like: UBI with crypto Designing new money How to increase crypto adoption Will NFTs go mainstream? Future of work and workspaces And MUCH more! Follow Packy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/packyM and subscribe to his newsletter at https://www.notboring.co/
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways “The things that are going to happen, are going to happen. There is nothing unsovereign about allowing nature to take you forward.”– Chris WilliamsonEmbrace your weirdness, release the tiller, love yourself unconditionally, and life will take you to the right placeMany of the things you value about yourself, you didn't choose. Take advantage of what you do have!In business, if you do what everyone else is doing, you guarantee average resultsUnderstand the difference between good ideas/policies andconceptual inertiaModern Wisdom Takeaways:“The persona is incapable of receiving love, it can only receive praise”–Aubrey MarcusDon't let your value be dependent on your roleLet the good shit stick – Idea from Tim FerrissYou never know what idea or conversation is going to turn into a profound experiencePeople on Twitter are very prematurely certain and quickly bind an idea to their sense of self, and will aggressively defend themselves due to lack of ‘skin in the game' and direct social costsPeople like Sam Harris and Joe Rogan are great examples of having high social costs for supporting their own opinionOur institutions are continuously losing public trust by not respecting the responsibility associated with the social costs of their information distribution & communicationOn the internet, if you sell your integrity, you can't buy it backThe internet's grift radar is so fine-tuned, your own audience will come after youRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgChris Williamson is the host of the Modern Wisdom podcast, a YouTuber, TEDx Speaker, and an ex-professional Party Boy! We have a wide ranging discussion with Chris in this episode of Infinite Loops, including topics like: The need to explore different ideas Impact of The Great Reshuffle Genetic Behaviorism Cultural difference in US vs UK Getting good at 'Networking' And a LOT more! Follow Chris on his Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx and listen to his podcast on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaH-gZIVC432YRjNVvnyCA
Chris Williamson is the host of the Modern Wisdom podcast, a YouTuber, TEDx Speaker, and an ex-professional Party Boy! We have a wide ranging discussion with Chris in this episode of Infinite Loops, including topics like: The need to explore different ideas Impact of The Great Reshuffle Genetic Behaviorism Cultural difference in US vs UK Getting good at 'Networking' And a LOT more! Follow Chris on his Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ChrisWillx and listen to his podcast on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaH-gZIVC432YRjNVvnyCA
In this episode of Infinite Loops we have Tom Morgan with us. Tom is the Director of Content and Communications at the The Knall/Cohen/Pence Group and a stellar knowledge curator. We speak about: Following your interests Operating in complex adaptive systems Winner-take-all effects in the creator economy Rethinking 'Education' Flaws in binary thinking And a LOT more! Follow Tom on his Twitter here: https://twitter.com/tomowenmorgan and read his articles at: https://thekcpgroup.com/resources
I'm a chronic overthinker. I like to tell myself that it's a new feature of my life thanks to the uncertainty of the times. But if I'm honest with myself and everyone listening right now, I've been this way for as long as I can remember. When I overthink, my ability to take action on tasks and projects dwindles until I worry about everything. Decision-making becomes daunting and fraught with over-analysis. Perfectionism and fear hide around every corner until I lose momentum. Then, a miracle occurs! I get a beautiful fresh idea, and suddenly I'm back in business. The old melt away in favor of the new, that is, until I begin overthinking, yet again.
I'm a chronic overthinker. I like to tell myself that it's a new feature of my life thanks to the uncertainty of the times. But if I'm honest with myself and everyone listening right now, I've been this way for as long as I can remember. When I overthink, my ability to take action on tasks and projects dwindles until I worry about everything. Decision-making becomes daunting and fraught with over-analysis. Perfectionism and fear hide around every corner until I lose momentum. Then, a miracle occurs! I get a beautiful fresh idea, and suddenly I'm back in business. The old melt away in favor of the new, that is, until I begin overthinking, yet again.
In this episode of Infinite Loops we speak with Linda Lebrun, Director of Finance & Investing Writer Recruitment at Substack. We talk about: Writing and earning on Substack Going from 'Platform owning people', to 'People owning platforms' The end state of publishing Tips for new writers Getting good at cold outreach And a LOT more! Follow Linda on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/SubstackLinda and kick start your own Substack here: https://substack.com/investing-and-business
In this episode of Infinite Loops we speak with Johnny Nelson, @generativist, on the state of Social Media and the Internet. We discuss about: Managing your attention Algorithms: Good or bad? Censorship on social media What will make people adopt a new social platform? Is history an accurate predictor of the future? And a LOT more! Follow Johnny on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/generativist and read his essays here: https://generativist.falsifiable.com/
In this episode of Infinite Loops we speak with Brian Muraresku, New York Times Best Selling author of "The Immortality Key: the Secret History of the Religion with No Name". We discuss: Role of women in early Christianity Mysticism of the ancient wine The political war on drugs The rise of Archeochemistry Classical education in the 21st century And a LOT more! Know more about Brian and his work from his website: https://www.brianmuraresku.com/ and follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BrianMuraresku
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Check out the Episode Page and Show Notes Emotions are powerful and are required even for making investing decisionsInvestors often make decisions, not on the data, but on how confident they feel about the implications of the data“Everybody in the market has like fear of missing out or fear of future regret” – Denise ShullThe Two Stages of Portfolio Management:Stage 1: Use your observations and experiences to decide what you believeStage 2: Take those beliefs and use them to determine your portfolioA fundamental conflict between two emotions often creates a problem both in investing and in lifeAfter a failure, you need to go through a kind of grieving process – ask yourself: What am I feeling and why am I feeling it?Research shows that if athletes write about a failure and their feelings, they get over it more quickly than when as coaches say, they try to ‘shake it off'Writing is a great mechanism for releasing emotionRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgIn this episode of Infinite Loops we speak with Denise Shull, a Performance and Strategy advisor and Founder at The Rethink Group. We talk about: Role of emotions in trading and investing Could Daniel Kahneman be wrong? Imprinting and Emotional Granularity Standing up for yourself (Denise vs. Billions) And a LOT more! Follow Denise on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DeniseKShull and learn more about The Rethink Group here: https://therethinkgroup.net/
In this episode of Infinite Loops we speak with Dan Rasmussen, founder and CIO of Verdad Advisers. We discuss: Bubbles vs. Crises Investing in Emerging Markets Identifying when "value investing" works, and when it doesn't Theory vs. Practice And a LOT more! Follow Dan on Twitter at https://twitter.com/verdadcap and learn more about Verdad Advisers here: https://verdadcap.com/
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Check out the Episode Page and Show Notes Two make-or-break marketing questions1. How good is your product?2. How well are you selling it?Minority rule is where a small boycotting minority can change the consumption patterns of a much larger group by simply refusing to consume somethingIf you want support, ask for advice – when you ask for an opinion, you turn on a person's critic mode“The worst mistake you can make in a social setting is to appear not to understand the implicit rules of the game, like dress codes” – Rory SutherlandPeople use the ambiguity around a rule set to exclude other people If you have subtle normative rules, it's a nasty way of practicing exclusion“The objective of nearly all of woke speech is more or less compatible with anybody's aspiration to be a civilized and decent human being. To be honest, a decent, reputable human being is generally a pretty woke human being.”- Rory SutherlandPeople stop making intelligent decisions about risks when they allow the regulatory rules to take the place of judgment – their reasoning: if it's regulatorily approved, the blame will fall somewhere elseRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgRory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group, comes back for his second appearance at Infinite Loops! We discussed various marketing strategies and behavioral tics, including: In-group vs. Out-group Fractal nature of behavioral science Pricing heuristics "Woke" persuasion Barbra Streisand effect, Canada, And a LOT more! Follow Rory on Twitter at twitter.com/rorysutherland and get his must-read book 'Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life' from Amazon.com
In this episode of Infinite Loops we speak with Denise Shull, a Performance and Strategy advisor and Founder at The Rethink Group. We talk about: Role of emotions in trading and investing Could Daniel Kahneman be wrong? Imprinting and Emotional Granularity Standing up for yourself (Denise vs. Billions) And a LOT more! Follow Denise on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DeniseKShull and learn more about The Rethink Group here: https://therethinkgroup.net/
James O'Shaughnessy is the founder, chairman, and co-chief investment officer at OSAM (O'Shaughnessy Asset Management). In this episode, we discuss the changes that have come about in the world post-COVID, mainstream media, politics, navigating the future as a society, the law of attraction, and much more. You can catch Jim's podcast, Infinite Loops, at www.infiniteloopspodcast.com. Enjoy. 1:58 - How covid accelerated the evolution of work meetings 6:47 - What is quantitative analysis? And how is it different from hedging bets? 13:36 - The world, especially after covid, has changed with respect to investing and decision-making, what do these changes look like? What will they result in? 19:08 - The crazy thing about Silicon Valley 21:24 - A rule of thumb for filtering who to have political discussions with 22:07 - How mainstream media in America is committing suicide 31:12 - How to deal with self-deception and how it is easier for intelligent people to fall prey to self-deception. 36:47 - How do you navigate the differences between eastern and western philosophy? 48:04 - The dangers of premature certainty 48:43 - The truth behind the law of attraction 54:01 - What is negative compounding and why should you be wary of it? 1:00:50 - Why free societies do better than unfree societies. 1:12:31 - Why you should see life as a “choose-your-own-adventure” game 1:20:44 - Why the atomization of society, the destruction of geographical boundaries by the internet, and addiction to social media outrage all work to serve a healthy purpose. 1:31:20 - Why marketing is the bedrock of all of humanity's greatest institutions.
Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group, comes back for his second appearance at Infinite Loops! We discussed various marketing strategies and behavioral tics, including: In-group vs. Out-group Fractal nature of behavioral science Pricing heuristics "Woke" persuasion Barbra Streisand effect, Canada, And a LOT more! Follow Rory on Twitter at twitter.com/rorysutherland and get his must-read book 'Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life' from Amazon.com
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways The biggest difference between the physical and digital world is the reorientation of value from production scarcity to demand/attention scarcity‘world building' – you can't speak to every customer all of the time but you can create an environment for the community to be connected and explore new challenges“The ability to create new challenges on the internet is unlimited” – Alex DancoMiddle management are the building blocks for world creating – the intermediary by constructing a reality that does not literally produce anything, maintaining the meaning to workThe Office is a great example of the comprehensive cynical theory of management and world-building to create a sustainable and meaningful workplaceMichael, Dwight, and Andy are in charge of ‘world building' and perpetuating meaning to themselves and Dunder MifflinStatus is relative to the nature of the ‘world' you reside inRich is not always interesting or unique, value and cultural relevancy is detached from reality but exclusively attached to your worldRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgAs our recurring guest, Alex Danco of Shopify returns to Infinite Loops for the third time! We talk about: Age of Scarcity vs. Abundance Everyone's job is World Building Early days of the Internet 'The Office' — and it's parallels with the real world Hierarchies in corporate and cultural America and a LOT more! Follow Alex on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco and read his amazing essays at https://alexdanco.com/
Infinite Loops Podcast Notes Key Takeaways The biggest difference between the physical and digital world is the reorientation of value from production scarcity to demand/attention scarcity‘world building' – you can't speak to every customer all of the time but you can create an environment for the community to be connected and explore new challenges“The ability to create new challenges on the internet is unlimited” – Alex DancoMiddle management are the building blocks for world creating – the intermediary by constructing a reality that does not literally produce anything, maintaining the meaning to workThe Office is a great example of the comprehensive cynical theory of management and world-building to create a sustainable and meaningful workplaceMichael, Dwight, and Andy are in charge of ‘world building' and perpetuating meaning to themselves and Dunder MifflinStatus is relative to the nature of the ‘world' you reside inRich is not always interesting or unique, value and cultural relevancy is detached from reality but exclusively attached to your worldRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgAs our recurring guest, Alex Danco of Shopify returns to Infinite Loops for the third time! We talk about: Age of Scarcity vs. Abundance Everyone's job is World Building Early days of the Internet 'The Office' — and it's parallels with the real world Hierarchies in corporate and cultural America and a LOT more! Follow Alex on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco and read his amazing essays at https://alexdanco.com/
As our recurring guest, Alex Danco of Shopify returns to Infinite Loops for the third time! We talk about: Age of Scarcity vs. Abundance Everyone's job is World Building Early days of the Internet 'The Office' — and it's parallels with the real world Hierarchies in corporate and cultural America and a LOT more! Follow Alex on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco and read his amazing essays at https://alexdanco.com/
In this episode of Infinite Loops we unravel the mystery around the Meme King of Wall Street — Litquidity Capital! We talk about: Meme-ing: As a finance insider and outsider Wall Street's culture Current state of financial education Growing the "Liquidity" brand Elon Musk's meme game And a LOT more! Follow Litquidity on Twitter at https://twitter.com/litcapital and sign up for their newsletter at: https://execsum.co/
In this episode of Infinite Loops we spoke with Jack Butcher, creator of Visualize Value — "The operating system for value creators". We talk about: Journey from employment, to consulting, to entrepreneurship. Productizing yourself Building a brand Overcoming fear and imposter syndrome Process vs. Goals And a LOT more! Follow Jack on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jackbutcher and get Visualize Value products from https://shop.visualizevalue.com/
Volvemos con un nuevo popurrí en el que empezamos debatiendo uno de los temas recurrentes del mundillo comiquero: ¿Qué pasa con los superhéroes? ¿Tienen futuro? ¿Por qué han perdido atractivo entre las nuevas generaciones de lectores? Y para terminar, como siempre, un montón de recomendaciones de tebeos que hemos leído últimamente: Hedra, Ragnarok, Hay algo matando niños y muchos más. Sabed, oh-yentes, que entre los años del hundimiento de Atlantis y sus brillantes ciudades, tragadas por los océanos, y los años del nacimiento de los hijos de Aryas, hubo una edad no soñada donde podía escucharse el podcast 203 de ELHDT. Selección musical: 🎶 Your Heroes Are Dead, de Elvenking 🎶 Infinite Loops, de Fjokra 🎶 Immigrant Song, de Led Zeppelin
In this episode of Infinite Loops we spoke with Luke Burgis, author of the book 'Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life'. We talk about: Needs vs. Desire The current state of social media 'Celebristan' and 'Freshmanistan' How to identify fake "experts" Scapegoating and Mimetic Violence And a LOT more! Follow Luke on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lukeburgis and get his newly-released book 'Wanting' from: https://lukeburgis.com/wanting/
For this episode of Infinite Loops, Michael S. Falk, CFA and partner at the Focus Consulting Group joins us. We talk about: Different careers in Finance Succession Planning Michael's books on sustainable economic growth ALS Luck, Resilience, Gratitude, and a LOT more! Follow Michael on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MSFalk and get his books from Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Get-Work-Future-Michael-Falk/dp/1704375827
In this unique episode of Infinite Loops, Tren Griffin returns to the podcast, but this time as the co-host. Tren asks Jim a series of thought-provoking questions that cover topics like (Jim got a few questions to Tren as well): The importance of asking "why" Treating failures as lessons How writing helps in detecting blind-spots in your thinking Courage, and to go all-in! Munger, Buffett, Gates, Jobs, and A LOT more! Follow Tren on Twitter (https://twitter.com/trengriffin) and read his blog at: https://25iq.com/
In this episode of Infinite Loops we spoke with Paul Craven, an expert in behavioral biases and decision making. In this conversation we discuss: What behavioral science is Building trust and relationships Temporal discounting and reframing Managing emotions in investing Surviving is winning And A LOT more! Follow Paul on Twitter (https://twitter.com/CravenPartners) and his website https://www.paulcraven.com/
This is “ReSolve’s Riffs” – live on YouTube every Friday afternoon to debate the most relevant investment topics of the day, hosted by Adam Butler, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo of ReSolve Global*. Jim O’Shaughnessy (chairman and co-CIO of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management) is a Wall Street legend. He is one of the “OGs” of quantitative investing, a best-selling author, and more recently also turned podcaster with his Infinite Loops channel. Jim joined us for a roller-coaster of a conversation that covered: The beauty of marrying science fiction with real science Interviewing people you look up to, and why “no man is a hero to his valet” A fast-changing world requires non-linear thinking Aspirational leadership and nurturing self-confidence Acquiring knowledge, mental models and the future of education How openness to failure can set us up for success Unrelenting optimism – buying the call option on mankind We also discussed the future of the wealth advisory industry, which Jim is confident will be highly dependent on client customization, and we could have easily gone on for a few more hours. But Jim lost his connection towards the very end, mid-laugh (a memorable snapshot for those of you also watching), leaving Adam, Mike and Richard to riff by themselves for the last few minutes. Thank you for watching and listening. See you next week. *ReSolve Global refers to ReSolve Asset Management SEZC (Cayman) which is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator. This registration is administered through the National Futures Association (“NFA”). Further, ReSolve Global is a registered person with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.
In this episode of Infinite Loops, we speak with Jeremiah Lowin, CEO at Prefect. In this conversation we cover: Overcoming inertia When information challenges your beliefs Choosing the right words for expression Narratives and decision-making Building a culture that appreciates uncertainty And A LOT more Follow Jeremiah on Twitter (https://twitter.com/jlowin), and learn more about Prefect at https://www.prefect.io/
In this episode of Infinite Loops we spoke with OSAM Research Partner Jesse Livermore (pseudonym). In this conversation we chat: MMT and valuations Bitcoin: Bull & Bear Cases Transactional valuation Intrinsic valuation Managing future crises And MUCH more Follow Jesse on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Jesse_Livermore), and check out his writing here (http://www.philosophicaleconomics.com/).
In this episode of Infinite Loops we spoke with Daniel Jeffries, futurist and author. Daniel’s newest book is Mastering Depression and Living the Life You Were Meant to Live. In this conversation we chat: The multiverse Why Dan wrote his newest book Mimetic desires and human behavior Questioning everything And MUCH more Follow Daniel on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Dan_Jeffries1), check out his writing (https://medium.com/@dan.jeffriescheck), and find his new book here.
How To Use Shame To Your Advantage (Ep. 591) “The best way to change behavior that is happening naturally is to publicly shame it and to make it uncool.” - Tim Urban Podcast Notes FOLLOW AUXORO (INSTA): https://www.instagram.com/auxoro/FOLLOW AUXORO (FB): https://www.facebook.com/auxoromag/FOLLOW AUXORO (TWITTER): https://twitter.com/AuxoromagFOLLOW AUXORO (TikTok): https://www.tiktok.com/@auxoroAUXORO NEWSLETTER: https://www.auxoro.com/thesourceAUXORO MERCH: https://www.auxoro.com/storeWEBSITE/BLOG: https://www.auxoro.com/AUXORO PODCAST (guest conversations): https://www.flow.page/auxoro
Podcast: Infinite Loops (LS 48 · TOP 1% what is this?)Episode: Morgan Housel – The Psychology of Money (EP.06)Pub date: 2020-04-23In this episode of Infinite Loops we spoke with Morgan Housel, a Partner at the Collaborative Fund. Our conversation covered: The content of Morgan's upcoming book Whether money is the ‘last taboo' Money as a hierarchal system What shapes the role of money in different societies Investor psychology and self-inflicted problems If you'd like to pre-order Morgan's book, you can find more information here: https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Money-Timeless-lessons-happiness/dp/0857197681The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jim O'Shaughnessy, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
Podcast: Infinite Loops (LS 47 · TOP 1% what is this?)Episode: Morgan Housel – The Psychology of Money (EP.06)Pub date: 2020-04-23In this episode of Infinite Loops we spoke with Morgan Housel, a Partner at the Collaborative Fund. Our conversation covered: The content of Morgan's upcoming book Whether money is the ‘last taboo' Money as a hierarchal system What shapes the role of money in different societies Investor psychology and self-inflicted problems If you'd like to pre-order Morgan's book, you can find more information here: https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Money-Timeless-lessons-happiness/dp/0857197681The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jim O'Shaughnessy and Jamie Catherwood, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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