The Armen Show

We bring it live on episode 229 of the show with a fellow podcaster – Mark Metry of the Humans 2.0 Podcast. He has had wonderful guests like Robert Greene, Mark Manson, Safi Bahcall(previously on my podcast as well), and more.

Mark brings a lot of momentum to the table, across his episodes, speaking engagements, social media postings, and more. He has a company called VU Dream, which is focused on application of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.

Show notes:

• how Mark started his speaking engagements, and where he sees it going
• who some of Mark’s memorable guests are, and what he took from his discussions with them
• how a podcaster can improve their reach
• what one can do to avoid the life of quiet desperation
• why one should keep exploration in their mind when making daily decisions, so as not to stick in an exploitative pattern
• what some goals are that Mark has regarding his upcoming career

Glad to have Mark on the show. You can check out his podcast on podcast services under the name Humans 2.0. He is also on Twitter at @markymetry.

Professor Bill Sullivan of Indiana University School of Medicine joins on episode 228 of the show, and we discuss his book Pleased To Meet Me: Genes, Germs, And The Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are, along with related topics.

He is a Professor with a Ph.D. in Molecular & Cell Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, who had focused on genes for drug-resistance in a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. He has experience with epigenetics, parasites, germs, gene expression, and more. Professor Sullivan also has written for numerous outlets like Scientific American and What Is Epigenetics.

I enjoyed speaking with Bill here, and we covered a variety of topics from the book, as well as some extended questions I had from the book’s framework.

Show notes:

• how taste can be different in different people based on ability to be a “super taster”
• why your gut bacteria is so important in assisting regulation of your mood and well-being
• what makes some people more prone to addiction, and the percentages associated with some levels of addiction
• what type of environments contribute to drug use, versus the ones that make drug use seem less appealing
• how mood requires a balance of many different parameters
• why a polygenic trait like height is desired, and what it represents of the person who has it
• what epigenetics has to do with adverse childhood experiences and their lasting impact on an individual

Professor Sullivan’s material is available on his website, and his new book is available on Amazon.

Do you heal someone by handling their frantic responses to life, or do you look to respond to their inner child who isn’t fulfilled? Therapist and healer Jordan Satya joins on episode 227 to discuss healing and the inner person that we can respond to.

Satya brings both a healing practice and a matching style to the framework. I first noticed her having what might be called a chic jungle type of look, and it matches her larger scale message of connecting. She comes from Israel, and was recently in Peru and Brazil in relation to setting up her practice.

Show notes:

• how healing is like getting to some of the inner layers of an onion or one of those Russian dolls
• where Satya came from, and how that influences her personality or connection with people of that area and elsewhere
• why you are only able to see as far as you have traveled mentally or physically thus far
• how adults can either be like their inner child or be trapped in a crippling comfort zone
• who you should try to change, and whether that should only be you
• how rationalization might be a method to keep away from feeling one’s own internal emotions

Glad to have Satya on the show~. You can check out her site at Open To Love.

We bring the stream of consciousness on episode 226. This one covered a variety of topics I had not planned for before the episode started. I handled a few things during the episode, which was nice to add variety, and I mentioned them during.

Part of this episode was about how I’m prepping differently for when I interview Dr. Christakis, in connection with understanding people more holistically. People are not one-faceted individuals, but have layers of experiences and connections.

We don’t do things in a vacuum, and the collective of humanity traveling through time has no unknowns that have been added during the process of entropy reduction. Enjoy the episode~

Show notes:

• why looking through all the interviews of one of my upcoming guests is a great way for my interview to go better
• how each person is not just a single element, but a combination of their experiences and connections and happenings
• what planning the next week or month can do for personal productivity, management of highs and lows, and fulfillment
• how things can be light now and heavy later depending on when you handle them
• why you can’t think away a feeling that you are in, and how you roll in a feeling until you get out of that headspace
• how figuring something out clears an issue, while leaving it untouched lets it show up as soon as possible

The show continues forward with Scott H. Young on episode 225, coming out on the launch day of his book Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career. The book is a guide to master hard skills quickly in any category, including languages, science, programming, and more.

Knowing of Scott for many years, this was a great opportunity to connect with him around the same time that his current book was coming out for people to read and take note of. I first found Scott’s blog when I was writing on my blog Timeless Information, and his content always made sense to me as valuable material, and this was only the case with a few blogs at the time.

We had a great chat here, and Scott is thoughtful about all the content he has put out in text, audio, video, and illustrated form.

Show notes:

• how ultralearning methods can lead you more quickly through the process of understanding than conventional learning methods
• what the MIT Challenge that Scott created was about, and how he documented his process through the experience
• why the likely improvement or adjustment to the general school system is likely to come from outside the built-in system that exists
• what it is that leads to the title of the book being Ultralearning, instead of just the title Learning
• how you distill and refine the essence of learning well, by looking at individuals who have learned a lot quickly
• what it can take to see problems from a broader perspective that sees the macro features and gives less weight to micro details
• what languages Scott has learned, and how he would quickly learn a language in a new country
• how the feel you have during learning can be more important than a specific method you should use to learn
• and more

You can check out Scott’s content across the internet. His book Ultralearning is available on Amazon. Separate from that, his blog that I read from back in 2009 continues to have great content that he writes, his Twitter @ScottHYoung includes his quick insights or thoughts (along with series’ of tweets), and his YouTube channel showcases some of his learning adventures and interviews or discussions about books. I see Scott continuing to put out content in the learning and growth categories for years to come, growing his audience and reach. To more great things~.

We all process things a bit differently, and I like to look at what I missed and what I can work on. I like to keep my ego from building, by sharing and talking and thinking through times. I like to come out a more understanding person who is more connected.

This episode is one where I present a few quick messages about things I got to understanding. There might be future content to go deeper into the topics I mentioned here, or I might go into other ones. This is my way of solidifying what I figured out, sharing with someone it could help, and bringing some energy forward.

Here are some show notes:

• why you should do for yourself what you seek out for others to fulfill
• how light can become heavier when you don’t handle your end
• when you should over-communicate and what kind of person it might help
• where you can take things when you include the other person
• how I process a relationship or experience to come out more whole on the other side of it
• what it means to give yourself the love that you seek outside
• how you can look at growth experiences in a smooth light

There may be more across these topics or alternate ones. These are the more analytical end, but part of the message here is about handling that part so the warmth and connection can persist.

We all try our best along the way.

Physical therapy and home health is one thing, but empowering others mentally by countering their loneliness is another thing. My friend since high school Brian joins on episode 223 of the show to discuss his interest in putting out content, speaking, empowering people, and battling widespread loneliness.

Brian Dy (PT, DPT, CKTP, CSCS) is a Doctor of Physical Therapy practicing in Seattle, Washington, and he works with patients on their physical ailments. He has recently had an interest in a light transition to forms of speaking and writing in the personal development space. This is a space I have resided in for some time, and so it only makes sense for him to join on the show.

Show notes:

• what Brian has been doing in recent years, and what he seeks to do for others
• how listening is important, and what makes him a good listener
• what the loneliness epidemic is doing, and why it is a category worth responding to
• where Brian has been posting articles, and where he may spread his content in the future
• how I have known Brian, and things I like about his personality
• what a breakup can do to a person, and where it might leave them for months or even years
• how loneliness pervades our society, and how it leads to damage beyond the momentary pain
• and more

Glad to have Brian on the show. He says things more directly than most, and this is an appreciated feature. Check out his recent articles at Living Your Life. Look out for more~. Onward we go.

The Bay area is a region of technology, higher-level education, and much creativity. There is soul and flair and venture capital. A lot is going on in a small and dense space, and this ignites stories of results, challenges, and struggles. Author Cary McClelland interviewed and collected stories from numerous individuals across the region, and presents a message about what Silicon City is.

From his bio, “Cary is a writer, filmmaker, lawyer, and rights advocate whose work has taken him around the world. He met his wife in San Francisco, where they settled down and built their first home. They now live in Brooklyn with their son.” From talking with him, he is an individual with consideration for the people around him, who is able to feel what the conditions can be like. He also has the ability to present what he sees and feels in text and video form, so as to relay a message over.

I enjoyed my talk with Cary, and list the show notes here:

• what led up to the ability and interest in speaking with and interviewing numerous individuals in the Bay area
• how much the Bay was headed to by individuals looking to jump on a quick rush without a long-term vision
• where the soul of the Bay comes from, and how it connects to adversity
• what leads to Balkanization of segments of the region, and if it is more of a decision by the wealthy or a dynamic process
• how the merging of the two worlds in each city, with one being better off, can be looked at
• why individuals have to decide whether to commute or stay in their cars to live and work around the bay
• and much more articulation provided by Cary

There is a lot to learn from this episode. The region of San Francisco and its local counties has a lot of weight attached to it, in terms of energy, activity, money coming in and being transferred, and creativity. It is important to look at where it is headed, how its people are doing, and what this says about cities elsewhere.

You can check out Cary on Twitter or the book on Amazon.

People pushing a risky or new message are in a difficult spot, because the support for their moment is not high. They have to work well with others who do things in a more steady form. In the book “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries”, Safi Bahcall discusses the importance of and ideas behind keeping innovative ideas from being lost into the abyss.

Safi is a technologist, business executive, and author. He got his BA summa cum laude from Harvard, and his PhD from Stanford. He worked as a consultant for McKinsey, and then co-founded a biotech company Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. developing cancer drugs, which he served as CEO at for thirteen years. He also worked with President Obama’s council of science advisors for future national research.

Here are the show notes for my episode with Safi:

• how Loonshots are separated into two types based on product or strategy
• what it takes to get an innovative idea through an organization
• how Vannevar Bush was a big part of the basis for research and development in the United States
• where the 150-person rule for groups comes from, and why it applies to both social networks and corporations
• what Dr. Bahcall learned from his school and work experience throughout the recent years
• when to listen to others and take their message into account as a CEO
• how a lone individual can only do so much based on the structure of the scenario they are placed in
• how structure trumps culture as far as application

Understanding risk is an economic way to understand the decisions and systems in our communities and finances. Economist Allison Schrager looks at risk in fields at the more extreme ends of the spectrum, to understand it with less noise in place.

Professor Allison Schrager teaches at NYU, and has a PhD in Economics from Columbia University, with her Bachelors from the University of Edinburgh. She is an economist, journalist at Quartz, and cofounder of LifeCycle Finance Partners, LLC. She has contributed to The Economist, Reuters, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Show notes:

• what sex work can teach about risk management, and how Allison looked at a specific brothel to understand the value proposition
• where in life you have your risks managed, whereas you have them completely ignored in other categories
• when to take a risk and when to lean towards the safer option
• why you should define what risk and reward mean to you, so that you can take and seek levels complementary to your nature
• how to include your human irrationality into your risk modeling
• what it takes to get the most bang for your buck in the department of risk-taking
• how hedging and insurance are methods used to master your domain
• what you can expect in your assessments, and what type of room you need to leave for unanticipated events
• where the perspective of the world has gone, in terms of having control of the world you live in

I was glad to have Professor Schrager on episode 220. You can check out her articles on Quartz, home page, or her book on Amazon.