Infinite Loops

Hello everyone, Jim here. We're taking a brief two-week break from new episodes to spotlight a couple of golden oldies from the Infinite Loops archive. Years later, these remain some of my favorite conversations. We'll be back soon with fresh episodes, but in the meantime, enjoy this trip back to November 2023, when we welcomed the one and only Roon.

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AI researcher, memelord extraordinaire, and techno-optimist Roon joins the show to discuss coming up with the shape rotator vs. wordcel meme, what an AGI world could become, and why Tenet is Christopher Nolan's best movie.

Important Links:

• Roon's Twitter
• Roon's Substack
• AGI Futures

Show Notes:

• Shape Rotators Vs. Wordcels
• Why AGI is Possible
• AI in Science Fiction
• AGI Future #1: Neuralink Third Impact
• AGI Future #2: Simulation Theory
• AGI Future #3: Dumb Matter
• AGI Future #4: Balrog Awakened
• AGI Future #5: Ultra Kessler Syndrome
• AGI Future #6: The Tragedy of Taiwan
• AGI Future #7: For Dust Thou Art
• AGI Future #8: CEV Super Intelligence
• Why Tenet is Christopher Nolan's Best Movie
• Roon as Emperor of the World
• MORE!

Books Mentioned:

• The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History; by Howard Bloom
• The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom
• The God Problem: How a Godless Cosmos Creates; by Howard Bloom
• William Blake vs the World; by John Higgs
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; by Douglas Adams

Hello everyone, Jim here. We're taking a brief two-week break from new episodes to spotlight a couple of golden oldies from the Infinite Loops archive. Years later, these remain some of my favorite conversations. We'll be back soon with fresh episodes, but in the meantime, enjoy this trip back to August 2024, when we welcomed the one and only Gurwinder Bhogal.

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"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

What happens when a self-described "not very good" venture capitalist discovers he has an extraordinary gift for coaching the world's most successful CEOs? Joe Hudson joins Infinite Loops to share his unconventional journey from Alaska fishing boats to Hollywood directing to Silicon Valley boardrooms, ultimately finding his calling in helping high-performers unlock their deepest potential.

This conversation dives deep into Joe's revolutionary three-center approach to human development—working with the head, heart, and nervous system simultaneously to create lasting transformation, and MORE!

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. 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:

• Sign up for a complimentary transformation guide: artofaccomplishment.com
• Listen to the Art of Accomplishment Podcast on Spotify
• Listen to the Art of Accomplishment Podcast on YouTube
• Joe Hudson's Twitter
• Joe Hudson's LinkedIn

Show Notes:

• Opening
• Joe's Unconventional Coaching Philosophy
• The Artist in the Art
• The "Should" Trap & The Trash Can Experiment
• Game Rules & Emotional Decision-Making
• The Curiosity Override
• The Big Five & CEO Personality Patterns
• The Three-Center System
• The Disinterested Observer & Emotional Suppression
• John Sarno & The Mind-Body Connection
• Fear & Gratitude
• Escaping the Logic Box
• Invest in Great Entrepreneurs
• The Tennis Ball & Quarter Analogy
• Micro Expressions & Unconditional Love
• Buddhist Monks & The last Taboo
• Trustafarians & Multi-Generational Wealth
• AI, Wandering & The Rat Park
• Joe as Emperor of the World

Authors & Books Mentioned:

1. Prometheus Rising; by Robert Anton Wilson
2. Quantum Psychology; by Robert Anton Wilson
3. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; by Robert Pirsig
4. Mind Over Back Pain; by John Sarno
5. Molecules of Emotion; by Candace Pert
6. Adventures of a Bystander; by Peter Drucker
7. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock; by T.S. Eliot
8. The Enlightened Brain; by Andrew Newberg

Michael Gibson and Danielle Strachman, co-founders of 1517 Fund, join the show to discuss their rebellion against higher education, why universities stifle creativity, why IQ doesn't correlate with innovation, and how betting on "misfit toys" is the way to go—plus we explore Girardian mimesis, the perishable nature of creativity, the laziness of pessimistic storytelling and MORE!

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. 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:

• 1517 Fund
• Michael's Twitter
• Danielle's Twitter
• 1517 Substack

Show Notes:

• Why 1517 Fund Rebels Against Higher Education
• Giving Individuals a Shot
• "It's cool to be building stuff, it's not cool to be a Thiel Fellow"
• The 'ATM Founder' and 'Rich Too Early' Syndrome
• The Power of Predictive Character Traits
• Flipping Credentialist Thinking
• "How do we become Spielberg? How do we do something truly great?"
• Simple Memes and Powerful Narratives
• Avoiding a Monoculture of Misfits
• The Incestuous Universities Scene
• Choosing Your Own Path
• People Contain Multitudes
• Michael and Danielle as World Emperor and Empress

Books & Essays Mentioned:

• A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age; by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman
• Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions; by Todd Rose
• "A Gift for My Daughter"; by Harry Browne (Full text available here)
• Paper Belt on Fire; by Michael Gibson
• The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation; by Jon Gertner
• The Right Stuff; by Tom Wolfe
• The Status Game; by Will Storr
• The Two Cultures; by C.P. Snow
• What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy
• White Mirror: Stories; by Tinkered Thinking
• Zero to One; by Peter Thiel
• The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley; by Jimmy Soni
• Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar; by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman
• How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World; by Harry Browne

Ed Latimore: boxer, physicist, and author of Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business makes his third appearance on the show to discuss hard-won wisdom about impulse control, self-forgiveness, the challenges of modern parenting and why being discerning (not judgmental) about your social circle might be the simplest rule for a better life.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. 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:

• Ed's Twitter
• Ed's Website
• Ed's Substack
• Ed's Previous Appearances: #1, #2

Show Notes:

• Punctuality and Impulse Control
• Ed's Parenting Philosophy
• The Dilemmas of Raising Kids
• Having Socratic Dialogues with Six Year Olds
• Exposure to Different Realities
• The Journey to Getting Sober
• Learning from Experience
• How Stories Transmit Values
• Justice and Forgiveness
• Self-Talk and Internal Narratives
• Race, Merit, and Cultural Double Standards
• Falsifiability and Rational Thinking
• Ed as World Emperor

Books Mentioned:

• The Triple Package; by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld
• Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business; by Edward Latimore
• What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy
• Boxing and the Art of Life; by Edward Latimore

Sam Arbesman, complexity scientist, author of "The Magic of Code," and scientist in residence at Lux Capital, joins me for a wide-ranging exploration of how we navigate an increasingly complex world that often exceeds human comprehension.

We dive into the oral traditions that preserve crucial scientific knowledge, why cognitive diversity trumps demographic diversity, the forgotten innovations hiding in technological history, and Sam's vision for "Maxis 2.0".

This conversation had everything—from science fiction's cultural impact to the philosophy of intellectual humility. Sam and I discovered we're remarkably simpatico on how to think about complex systems, the importance of historical context, and why saying "I don't know" is the foundation of genuine learning.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. 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:

• Personal Website
• Book Page: The Magic of Code
• Sam's X Profile

Show Notes:

• Sam's Sci-fi Origins
• The Oral Tradition in Science and Technology
• Cultivating the Unexpected
• Open-Endedness and Large Language Models
• "All Models Are Wrong, but Some Are Useful"
• Culture's Role in Shaping Everything
• Patching Bugs in HumanOS
• Tech History and Forgotten Innovations
• A Tech Archaeology Fellowship
• Humility and Knowledge
• Learning Via Negativa
• The Complexity of Our World
• Sam's Current Obsessions in Science and Gaming
• Sam As Emperor of the World

Books Mentioned:

• Dune; by Frank Herbert
• Foundation trilogy; by Isaac Asimov
• Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension; by Sam Arbesman
• The Half-Life of Facts; by Sam Arbesman
• When We Cease to Understand the World; by Benjamín Labatut
• White Mirror; by Tinkered Thinking
• Nonzero; by Robert Wright
• The Evolution of God; by Robert Wright
• God and Golem, Inc.; by Norbert Wiener
• The Road; by Cormac McCarthy
• The Guide for the Perplexed; by Moses Maimonides
• The Story of Civilization; by Will and Ariel Durant
• Mistakes Were Made, and Yes, by Me; by Jim O'Shaughnessy

Nick Maggiulli, data scientist turned financial writer and COO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, joins me to discuss his latest book,The Wealth Ladder, which presents a six-level framework for building and managing wealth.

Warning: this episode will upend what you think you know about money. We explore why atypical results require atypical actions, how income and not budgeting is the real unlock for wealth mobility, and how many financial myths persist simply because they feel good. Nick also shares the personal rules he lives by, how wealth changes meaning, and why being rich doesn't guarantee happiness.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. 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:

• Of Dollars and Data
• Nick's Twitter
• Nick's LinkedIn
• Nick's Instagram
• Ritholz Wealth Management

Show Notes:

• Money May Magnify Happiness But Can't Manufacture It
• Atypical Results Require Atypical Actions
• The Risk of Financial Generalization
• The Loneliness Tax
• Some Legacies Can Be Built Without Capital
• The Plateau Between Wealthy and Wealthier
• When the Job Becomes a Side Hustle
• The Spending Myth
• The Baby Bond Idea
• The Universal Basic Income Debate
• Markets Evolve Faster Than Us
• Kindness is Rare and Needed.

Books and Papers Mentioned:

• What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy
• Just Keep Buying; by Nick Maggiulli
• The Wealth Ladder; by Nick Maggiulli
• Portfolios of the Poor; by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, and Orlanda Ruthven
• Invest like the Best; by Jim O'Shaughnessy
• Experienced well-being rises with income, even above $75,000 per year; by Matthew A. Killingsworth, Daniel Kahneman, and Barbara Mellers

Lawrence Yeo — writer, illustrator and author of "The Inner Compass" — joins the show to discuss the power of intuition in an uncertain world.

We explore why embracing uncertainty leads to greater curiosity, how social conditioning pulls us away from our true north, why doing things for their own sake builds authentic conviction and how journaling the "whys" rather than the "whats" can transform your self-awareness.

This conversation flowed so naturally we jumped right in without a formal introduction! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 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:

• Lawrence's Website
• Twitter
• The Inner Compass

Show Notes:

• The Co-Creator Mentality
• Writing a Letter to Your Child
• The Root of All Suffering
• The Proximity of Envy
• The Inevitability of Social Conditioning
• How to Hone Your Intuition
• Escaping the Illusion of Certainty
• What Looks Like a Leap is Actually a Series of Small Steps
• Mistakes Are Portals of Discovery
• Can You Learn Self-Confidence?
• If Everyone Says Your Book is Great, Something is Wrong
• Journals > Diaries
• Lawrence as World Emperor

Books & Articles Mentioned:

• The Inner Compass: Cultivating the Courage to Trust Yourself; by Lawrence Yeo
• Two Thoughts: a Timeless Collection of Infinite Wisdom; by Jim O'Shaughnessy and Vatsal Kaushik
• A Letter to my Newborn Daughter; by Lawrence Yeo
• Mistakes were Made. (And, Yes, by Me.); by Jim O'Shaughnessy
• Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing); by Lao Tzu
• Death; by Thomas Nagel

Hello everyone, Jim here. We're taking a brief two-week break from new episodes to spotlight a couple of golden oldies from the archive. Years later, these remain some of my favorite conversations. We'll be back soon with fresh episodes, but in the meantime, here's my September 2022 chat with the always interesting Will Storr.

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Will Storr is an award winning journalist and author. His book 'The Status Game' transforms our understanding of human nature by demonstrating how our unconscious desire for status ultimately drives our behaviour. Important Links:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/wstorr?s=21&t=ZdtIqP9eE3_a5qZocDjEXQ
• Website: https://willstorr.com
• The Science of Storytelling: https://www.thescienceofstorytelling.com

Show Notes:

• Will's origin story
• The strange case of David Irving
• The fundamental nature of status games
• The Stanford prison experiment and dominance games
• The status games played by cults
• Luxury beliefs
• Why we are all moral hypocrites
• The importance of being funny
• Social status and socioeconomic status
• Human OS and the education system
• How status seeking leads to the "very best of human nature"
• The murderous nature of reputation destruction
• The post WW1 humiliation of Germany
• Loaded magazine
• Finding the true reason behind seemingly crazy beliefs
• The value of religion
• Trading status
• Spreading humility
• Why we could be wrong about our closest beliefs

Books Mentioned:

• The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science; by Will Storr
• The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History; by Howard Bloom
• The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom
• The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous; by Joseph Henrich
• The Science of Storytelling; by Will Storr
• Slaughterhouse-Five; by Kurt Vonnegut
• Selfie: How We Became so Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us; by Will Storr
• The Status Game: On Social Position and How We Use It; by Will Storr

Hello everyone, Jim here. We're taking a brief two-week break from new episodes to spotlight a couple of golden oldies from the Infinite Loops archive. Years later, these remain some of my favorite conversations. We'll be back soon with fresh episodes, but in the meantime, enjoy this trip back to February 2024, when we welcomed the one and only Rupert Sheldrake.

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Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of 9 books and over 100 scientific papers. A critic of what he sees as the scientific establishment's dogmatic dedication to materialism, he is perhaps best known for his theory of "morphic resonance," via which information and activity can be transferred across space and time. Rupert joins the show to discuss being branded a heretic, how to test for telepathy, his advice for young scientists, and MUCH more!

Important Links:

• Rupert's Website
• Rupert's Banned TED Talk
• The Science Delusion; by Rupert Sheldrake
• A New Science of Life; by Rupert Sheldrake
• Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home: And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals; by Rupert Sheldrake
• Is The Sun Conscious?; by Rupert Sheldrake (Journal of Consciousness Studies)

Show Notes:

• The Apostate of Scientism
• The Origins of Scientism
• How to Achieve a Phase Change in the Sciences
• Testing for Telepathy & Incentivizing Intuition
• Structural Resistance to Panpsychism
• When Science Gets Personal
• Loosening the Grip of Determinism
• Advice for Young Scientists
• Rupert as Emperor of the World
• MORE!

Books & Articles Mentioned:

• The Science Delusion; by Rupert Sheldrake
• New Science of Life; by Rupert Sheldrake
• Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home: And Other Unexplained Powers of Animals; by Rupert Sheldrake
• Is The Sun Conscious?; by Rupert Sheldrake
• The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science; by Robert Anton Wilson
• Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters; by Steven Pinker
• The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature; by Steven Pinker
• Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures; by Merlin Sheldrake
• The End of Faith; by Sam Harris
• The Fifth Science; by Exurb1a
• What the Tortoise Said to Achilles; by Lewis Carroll
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; by Robert M. Pirsig
• The (Mis)Behaviour of Markets: A Fractal View of Risk, Ruin and Reward; by Benoit B. Mandelbrot & Richard L. Hudson
• The Structure of Scientific Revolutions; by Thomas Kuhn