Writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and master of mental models, George Mack, returns to discuss the top 0.1% of ideas he’s ever come across, from treating life as a video game to spotting high-agency individuals.  Important Links:  George’s Twitter The Lindy Library Roy: A Life Well Lived (Rick and Morty) How to Spot High Agency People The Mack Meditation What is ignored by the media — but will be studied by historians? The Early-Late Razor  Show Notes:  Treating Life as a Video Game Finding the Important Metrics Embrace Momentum; Embrace Constraints How to Spot High Agency People How to Increase Your Agency The Mack Meditation & Silence as Alpha Why Pessimism vs Optimism is the Wrong Debate The Future of Media What is Ignored by the Media but will be Studied by Historians? The Reddit to Facebook Continuum George’s Most Midwit Opinion Randomness & Feeding the Algorithm How to Retain Curiosity George as Emperor of the World  Books Mentioned:  The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (a Little) Craziness and (a Lot Of) Success in America; by John Gartner Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine; by Derren Brown What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O’Shaughnessy The Secret; by Rhonda Byrne Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid; by Douglas Hofstadter The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World; by David Deutsch 

George Mack — The Game of Life (EP.195)

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Arjun Khemani is a 17-year-old writer and podcaster who dropped out of high school to help lead support at Airchat, the social network co-founded by Naval Ravikant. As the host of the Arjun Khemani podcast, Arjun has spoken to a wide range of guests including David Deutsch, David Perell and Naval Ravikant. His Substack, Progress Good, “serves as a defense against the anti-Enlightenment tradition, exploring progress, rationality, and optimism.” Arjun joins the show to discuss why education should be voluntary, the moral case for selfishness, the pessimism of ultimacy and MUCH more! Important Links:  Arjun’s Twitter Progress Good (Arjun’s Substack)  Show Notes:  The Myth of the Good Old Days The Citadel of Science Generational Warfare Why Education Should Be Voluntary Misunderstanding Money Escaping the Altruism Trap: the Case for Selfishness Coercion & Moral Righteousness The Pessimism of Ultimacy The Hunt for Better Problems Arjun’s Leap Into the Unknown Reimagining Education What’s Next? Arjun as Emperor of the World MORE!  Books Mentioned:  One Summer: America 1927; by Bill Bryson The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science; by Robert Anton Wilson The Road to Serfdom; by Friedrich Hayek The Lessons of History; by Will & Ariel Durant Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour; by David R. Hawkins Deschooling Society; by Ivan Illich 

Arjun Khemani — The Hunt for Better Problems (EP. 213)

Eddy Elfenbein is an OG finance blogger, ETF manager, and FinTwit legend, with over 25 years of experience working in and around Wall Street. Eddy joins the show to discuss the story behind his longtime blog - Crossing Wall Street (CWS), the origins of his famous Buy List, his ETF journey, his philosophy as an investor, and much more! Important Links:  Eddy’s Twitter Eddy’s Blog (Crossing Wall Street) Eddy’s Substack The Myth of 1926  Show Notes:  Origins of a Wall Street Blogger Bypassing the Gatekeepers Eddy’s Buy List Many Paths to Stock Market Success The Last Sustainable Edge in Public Markets The Great Truths of Investing Stocks Don’t Know You Own Them The Market and the Casino Debating Academic Finance Major League Buy List Down with Perma-Bears Unpacking ETFs The Next Avatar of Market Intelligence The Moat of the Stock Picker MORE!  Books Mentioned:  What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O’Shaughnessy THE MISBEHAVIOR OF MARKETS: A Fractal View of Financial Turbulence; by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard L Hudson Stocks for the Long Run; by Jeremy Siegel The Myth of 1926: How Much Do We Know About Long-Term Returns on U.S. Stocks?; by  Edward F. McQuarrie Fama and French Three Factor Model Definition: Formula and Interpretation (Investopedia)  

Eddy Elfenbein — On Crossing Wall Street (EP. 212)

Friend-of-the-show Anna Gát returns to discuss… well… pretty much everything!  On April 13th, O’Shaughnessy Ventures and Interintellect are co-hosting a Future of Publishing event at the beautiful Pratt Mansion in NYC. We’re bringing together established publishers, online writers, new publishing houses, journalists, technologists, authors and more to rethink and reimagine how ideas are spread in our changing world. Confirmed speakers include Coleman Hughes, Tara Isabella Burton, Tamara Winter, Sahil Lavingia and many more! Here’s the best part - we want YOU to be there! To buy in-person tickets and for more information on live-streaming, scheduling, speakers, and more, just follow this link. We hope to see you there!  Important Links:  Interintellect Anna’s Twitter Anna’s Website Interintellect Substack  Show Notes:  The Shock of Losing a Parent Interintellect & the Post-Tribe Internet How to Facilitate Better Conversations Surprising Salons Faker Spotting & the Temptations of Power Avoiding Audience Capture The Humanness of Casablanca Greatness, Co-Creation & Doing the Work Misconceptions About Leadership The Personality of Language What’s Next for Anna Cities as Ideas Anna as Empress of the World MORE!  Books Mentioned:  The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity; by David Graeber and Wengrow Adventures of a Bystander; by Peter Drucker Mating; by Norman Rush The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York; by Robert A. Caro Power vs. Force; by David R. Hawkins Tao Te Ching; by Lao Tzu The Number Sense: How the Mind Creates Mathematics; by Stanislas Dehaene Embers; by Sándor Márai The Hunger Games; by Suzanne Collins 

Anna Gát — We Digress (EP. 211)

The inimitable Visakan Veerasamy returns for a characteristically wide-ranging discussion… Important Links:  Visa's Website Visa's Twitter  Visa's Youtube  Visa’s Previous Episode Visa’s Post-Episode Thread  Show Notes:  Life as a Dad A Conversation With David Deutsch Change, Courage, Curiosity & Creativity Possibility Space & the Problem of Wretchedness A Good Blog Post Can Change the World The Outdated Language of Counterculture Colliding Our Reality Tunnels Imperfection Breeds Creativity We Are Co-Creators Status Quo Soldiers The Power of Noticing Visa as Emperor of the World MUCH more!  Books & Articles Mentioned:  Friendly Ambitious Nerd; by Visakan Veerasamy Introspect; by Visakan Veerasamy status quo soldiers lose in the long run; by Visakan Veerasamy The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch The Thinker and The Prover; by Jim O’Shaughnessy Leonardo Da Vinci; by Walter Isaacson Ninety-five Theses; by Martin Luther Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; by Lewis Carroll The News: A User’s Manual; by Alain de Botton Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man; by Marshall McLuhan Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour; by David R. Hawkins How I Accidentally Started The Sixties; by Howard Bloom One Summer: America 1927; by Bill Bryson 

Visakan Veerasamy —  Expanding Our Possibility-Space (EP. 210)

Brendan McCord is the founder of Cosmos Institute — a non-profit dedicated to exploring the intersection of AI and philosophy. Brendan joins the show to discuss Cosmos’ origins, the pursuit of philosophy as a technologist, the different schools of thought in AI, complex adaptive systems and MUCH more! Important Links:  Brendan McCord’s Reading List Cosmos Institute Substack Brendan’s Twitter  Show Notes:  The Genesis of the Cosmos Institute Philosophy as a Quixotic Pursuit The Man of the System Dilemma Existential Risk & Scenario Agnosticism The AI Schools of Thought The Religious Nature of the E/Acc Movement What Tocqueville Can Teach Us About AI The Philosophy-to-Code Pipeline “Cars ignited the Sexual Revolution” and Other Unexpected Occurrences The Best Systems are Adaptive Heterogeneity & Resilient Systems Open Source and the US-China Situation Automation, Augmentation & Open-Ended Generation The Underrated Nuance of Russian Realism Cinematic Visions of the Future Great Talent & the Risk of the Tasmanian Devil Brendan as Emperor of the World MORE!  Books Mentioned:  Murray Rothbard, “For A New Liberty” David R. Hawkins, “Power vs. Force” Jung Chang, “Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China” Jung Chang, “Mao: The Unknown Story” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “The Gulag Archipelago” Arthur Koestler, “Darkness At Noon” Adam Smith, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” Lewis Carroll, “What the Tortoise Said To Achilles” Eliezer Yudkowsky, “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality” Marc Andreessen, “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto” Alexis De Tocqueville, “Democracy in America” 'Pericles's Funeral Oration' quoted in Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War”. Plato, “Theaetetus” Plato, “The Republic” Nietzsche, “The Gay Science” C.P Snow, “The Two Cultures” Elinor Ostrom, “Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action” James M. Buchanan, "Freedom in Constitutional Contract: Perspectives of a Political Economist” Iain M. Banks, “Consider Phlebas” (Culture Series #1) Chen Qiufan and Kai-Fu Lee, “AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future” Christopher Buckley, “Thank You for Smoking” John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty”   

George Mack — The Game of Life (EP.195)

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