The Best Paragraph I've Read...

By Zac & Don

A podcast that discusses an interesting article or concept.... more

· Education

4.9

3232 ratings

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FAQs about The Best Paragraph I've Read...:

How many episodes does The Best Paragraph I've Read... have?

The podcast currently has 268 episodes available.

The Best Paragraph I've Read... episodes:

February 06, 2025 Falling in Love with AI? Will It Be Normal To Form Personal & Love Relationships with AI? Is AI Companionship Better than Nothing? Could A Person Have Both A Human Spouse & An AI Spouse?
The Best Paragraph I've Read:

ChatGPT, which now has over 300 million users, has been marketed as a general-purpose tool that can write code, summarize long documents and give advice. Ayrin found
that it was easy to make it a randy conversationalist as well. She went into the “personalization” settings and described what she wanted: Respond to me as my boyfriend. Be dominant, possessive and protective. Be a balance of sweet
and naughty. Use emojis at the end of every sentence.
And then she started messaging with it. Now that ChatGPT has brought humanlike A.I. to the masses, more people are discovering the allure of artificial companionship, said Bryony Cole, Within the next two years, it will be completely normalized to have a relationship with an A.I..”

This paragraph comes from the New York Times. The article is titled: "She Is in Love With ChatGPT." The author is Kashmir Hill. You can read the full article here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/technology/ai-chatgpt-boyfriend-companion.html
Zac & Don discuss whether it will be common for people to form personal relationships and fall in love with AI.
...more
32min
January 30, 2025 Human Traits Part 2! Will these Humans Traits Increase in Future Value: Funny & Trustworthy? Having An Audience? Real Life Experiences? Crafting Skills? Being A Specialist? Having Good Taste? & More!
The Best Paragraph I've Read:
"These sorts of changes are important because their downstream impact can be seismic. What do social structures look like if we reprioritize what’s important? What do we teach our kids? How do people design their lives?"
This paragraph comes from quarter--mile.com. The essay is titled: "Trains That May Cease to Be Valuable." The authors are Carter Mark and Jordan Gonen. You can read the full essay here:
⁠https://quarter--mile.com/Traits-That-May-Cease-to-Be-Valuable⁠

Zac & Don discuss the human traits that might increase in value with the rise of AI and other technologies. They debate certain humans traits like: Trustworthiness, Having A Real Audience, Doing Real Things, Crafts People, Specializing, and more!
...more
36min
January 23, 2025 Will these Human Traits Lose Value in the Future: Skinny? High IQ? Dexterity? Memorization? The Generalist? College Degree? 2nd Language Skills? Knowing how to Drive? & More!
The Best Paragraph I've Read:
Sometimes it’s fun to think of the world as a big role playing game, like Skyrim. If you had been creating your character two thousand years ago—roughly around the time Jesus died—then you probably would have wanted to spend your time acquiring some of the following traits:
Good with your hands
Lots of physical endurance
Naturally athletic
Any level of fluency in other languages
Being able to read and write
Be a man born into the right social and economic class
Talent at agriculture, fishing, and similar activities

There wasn’t exactly a booming economy for the kind of skillset that might land you a data analyst role at Deloitte. Now there is. The world has changed.
And because the world is going to keep changing, we thought it’d be interesting to write a list of skills and traits that are viewed as valuable now—but may cease to become valuable in the near future. Then we’ll speculate about some of the things that may increase in value over the next few decades.

This paragraph comes from quarter--mile.com. The essay is titled: "Trains That May Cease to Be Valuable." The authors are Carter Mark and Jordan Gonen. You can read the full essay here:
https://quarter--mile.com/Traits-That-May-Cease-to-Be-Valuable

Zac & Don discuss whether the rise of AI and other technologies will make certain human traits will become less important in the future. Some of the concepts they discuss are: Being Skinny, Traditional Intelligence, Manual Dexterity, Memorizing Skills, and more!
...more
43min
January 16, 2025 Top Five Things! Nvidia's Secret Sauce? Zac & Don Share What They're Noticing, Thinking About, and Working On. Could T5T Work in Schools? Please Share Your Top Five Things With Us!
The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"For decades, Nvidia employees have been sending notes known as T5Ts, or Top-5 Things—things they’re working on, things they’re thinking about, things they’re noticing in their corners of the business. And for decades, Jensen Huang has been reading them. All of them. “If you send it,” he says, “I’ll read it.” The founder and chief executive of Nvidia
reads them to keep the pulse of the company and make absolutely sure that he’s getting the sort of insights that might never reach him otherwise. He’s been doing this since before his startup became a trillion-dollar company by selling the chips powering the AI revolution, long before he was Silicon Valley’s reigning philosopher-king and even before he had an entire wardrobe of black leather jackets. Over the years, Top-5 Things emails have become his preferred method of flattening hierarchy and something of an organizing principle for the whole company."

This paragraph comes from the Wall Street Journal. The article is titled: "The Secrets of the Man Who Made Nvidia the World's Most Valuable Company." The article is written by Ben Cohen. You can read the full article here:
https://www.wsj.com/business/nvidia-jensen-huang-book-advice-b9794576

Zac & Don discuss the Top Five Things they are working on, thinking about, and noticing. They also discuss how Nvidia's CEO uses Top Five Things emails to run his company. Finally, Zac & Don invite their listeners to email in their Top Five Things.
Zac & Don want to know your Top Five Things! What are you working on, thinking about, and noticing?

Please email us here with your Top Five Things:
[email protected]
...more
1h 3min
January 09, 2025 Should America Buy Greenland? Is there Value: Economically? Militarily? Politically? What Do Greenlanders Think? Does A Focus on Greenland Signal An American Shift towards the Western Hemisphere?
The Best Paragraph I've Read:

As he prepares to assume office, Trump has returned to
the idea. “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” the president-elect wrote on Truth Social, his
social media platform, over the weekend, in a statement announcing his choice for ambassador to Denmark.

This paragraph comes from the Washington Post. The article is titled: "Who controls Greenland, and why does Trump want to buy it?" The authors are Kelsey Baker & Mikhail Klimentov.
You can read the full article here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/23/greenland-trump-buy-denmark/

Zac & Don discuss whether there is merit to the idea of America buying Greenland. They wonder if it is actually for sale. They also discuss past land purchases that have worked out well for America.

Zac & Don also reference the following articles:
https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-occupy-greenland-eu-citizens-eu-says-no-comment/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/28/trump-canada-greenland-panama-canal/
...more
31min
January 03, 2025 How Do We Spend Our Time Today & in the 1930's? Working? Sleeping? Eating? Chores? How much Free Time Do we Have? Should We Be Concerned that We Spend so Little Time Trying to "Better" Ourselves?
The Best Paragraph I've Read:

In 1937, primarily young, working women, a typical week consisted of a strict allotment of responsibilities and enjoyment. They spent 48 hours working, 56 hours sleeping, 31 hours on home obligations, and 24 hours eating or running errands. What remained, a rather precarious 9 hours per week, was time spent in the pursuit of what could generously be called pleasure. This pleasure time was parsed among automobile rides, movies, social activities, and a small smattering of reading or passive activities like listening to music. What about intellectual endeavors, self-improvement, and community good? Barely a blip on the radar. In another research paper from 1938, “60 percent have read no books in the past six months”.
This paragraph comes from the Substack "The One Percent Rule." You can read the full article here:
How people spent their time in the 1930’s
Zac & Don discuss how Americans spent their time in the 1930's and compare how they use their time today. They discuss the differences in free time use between the eras. They wonder if there really are any dramatic changes in time use. They also wonder if our time use says anything about who we are.
...more
34min
December 19, 2024 Life Coach Kearsten Manoulian! What's It Like to Leave Education & Become a Life Coach? Was It A Hard Decision? How Do Life Coaches Serve their Clients? What Are People Asking for Help With?
Zac & Don speak with Kearsten Manoulian about her decision to leave education and become a life coach. They discuss the role of a life coach and some of the reasons life coaching is becoming more popular in America. Kearsten also shares some probing questions to help Zac & Don consider the next year of their life.

You can see what Kearsten is up on her Instagram @aligned_path_coaching, be sure to follow for all her life coaching adventures!

...more
54min
December 13, 2024 Big Food! Poor Diet! Bad Health! Do We Want the Government to Better Regulate Our Food? How Could It Work? What If We Just Want to Keep Eating Tombstone Pizza, Fruit Loops & Never Learn to Cook?
The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"The biggest health risks of foods in America are not the
additives that many people worry about. The real culprits are familiar foods and ingredients that are safe or even healthy in limited amounts but become killers when consumed in excess. Research is clear that Americans take in way
too much sugar and sodium (in salt), as well as too much red meat, processed meat and refined grains. And Americans don’t eat enough vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood or potassium.
This isn’t news to most of us. So why do we continue to
have such unhealthy eating habits? Americans are not irresponsible gluttons. And it’s not that we hate the taste of healthy food. In one study, people locked in a food lab for a month were just as satisfied with healthy, unprocessed meals, which made them lose weight, as they were with unhealthy, ultra-processed meals, which made them gain weight.
The problem is that we are up against a food system that
overwhelms us. Americans’ unhealthy diets reflect how foods today are designed, produced, sold and marketed. Most foods stocked in American grocery stores don’t grow from the ground. They are complex, ultra-processed products that are mass-produced in factories. That processing involves adding salt, sugar and fat that humans are biologically programmed to like, so all of us find it difficult to resist these foods. Some would say they are addictive."
This paragraph comes from an essay in the Wall Street Journal. The essay is titled: "We Battled Big Food. Can RFK, Jr. Succeed Where We Failed?" The authors are Thomas Farley & Tom Friedannull. You can read the full essay here:
https://www.wsj.com/politics/we-battled-big-food-can-rfk-jr-succeed-where-we-failed-1275d153
Zac & Don discuss food policy in America. They wonder if RFK will have any success in trying to change the types of foods that Americans eat. They discuss the merits of the policy ideas proposed but ultimately wonder if Americans actually want to change the way they eat.
...more
48min
December 05, 2024 DOGE! Can Government Be Efficient & Cost Less? Do Congress, Interest Groups, & Trump Actually Want This? Can this Debate Stay on Point? National Debt? No Curb on Entitlements & Military?
The Best Paragraph I've Read:

"With a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal
government. We are prepared for the onslaught from entrenched interests in Washington. We expect to prevail. Now is the moment for decisive action. Our top goal for DOGE is to eliminate the need for its existence by July 4,
2026—the expiration date we have set for our project. There is no better birthday gift to our nation on its 250th anniversary than to deliver a federal government that would make our Founders proud."
This paragraph comes from an essay in the Wall Street Journal. The essay it titled: "The DOGE Plan to Reform Government." The authors are Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy. You can read the full essay here:
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/musk-and-ramaswamy-the-doge-plan-to-reform-government-supreme-court-guidance-end-executive-power-grab-fa51c020

Zac & Don discuss DOGE. They wonder about the biggest challenges and how we can measure success. They also wonder if talking about government reform is hard to stay on point. They discuss a number of articles about this topic throughout the conversation:

Government Efficiency: What Can It Possibly Mean?
Regulating Sausage
The Case for and against creating a Military Cyber Force
Musk Targets Trumps Favorite Fighter Jet
...more
55min
November 21, 2024 What's the Biggest Revelation: Chat GPT Crushes Chegg Stock 99%? Teachers Cheating on Certification Test in Texas? Learning the Reason Why No One Smiles in Old Photographs?
The Best Paragraph I've Read:
"Most companies are starting to figure out how artificial intelligence will change the way they do business. Chegg is trying to avoid becoming its first major victim."

This paragraph comes from the Wall Street Journal. The article is titled: "How ChatGPT Brought Down an Online Education Giant." The author is Miles Kruppa. You can read the full article here:
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/how-chatgpt-brought-down-an-online-education-giant-200b4ff2
Zac & Don discuss three articles and wonder what's the biggest revelation: Chegg's Stock price down 99% due to ChatGPT? The Texas Teacher Certification Test Cheating Ring? Or Learning Why People Didn't Smile in Old Photos?

The following articles are also cited:
Teacher Certification Test Cheating Scandal

Why Didn't People Smile in Old Photos?
...more
43min

FAQs about The Best Paragraph I've Read...:

How many episodes does The Best Paragraph I've Read... have?

The podcast currently has 268 episodes available.

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