Pre Silicon Valley - Claude Shannon & Bell Labs w/ Jimmy Soni - AZ TRT S04 EP49 (212) 12-10-2023

Pre Silicon Valley - Claude Shannon & Bell Labs w/ Jimmy Soni 

AZ TRT S04 EP49 (212) 12-10-2023

 

Revisit the Show w/ Clips From:

PayPal Mafia - The Founders Story & Their Battle w/ EBAY w/ Jimmy Soni 

- BRT S03 EP36 (135) 8-7-2022

 Full Show: HERE 

 

What We Learned This Week

• PayPal Mafia – alumni created or involved many other co’s – Tesla, SpaceX, Palantir, Yelp, Yammer, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube & more
• PayPal had may contributors & a real long shot to happen during the DOTCOM Crash of 2000
• Claude Shannon – creator of Information Theory, predecessor to the modern computer age, & algorithms
• Bell Labs was a classic Tech Incubator like Fairfield Semiconductor, Xerox Parc, Menlo Park – Edison / GE, Manhattan Project, Tuxedo Park
• PayPal sold to EBAY in 2002 for $1.5 Billion, prior to this, the two companies were rivals as EBAY wanted a different payment system

 

Full Show: HERE

 

 

Guest: Jimmy Soni, Author

https://jimmysoni.com/

https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmysoni/

My books are passion projects. My topics come because I look for a book to buy on the subject and can’t find one. I know it’s supposed to be fancier than that, or that there must be some grand theory of my work, but there isn’t one. That said, my readers seem to enjoy what I’ve written, so maybe it’s fine?

I am inspired by my literary heroes, including Robert Caro, Laura Hillenbrand, Candice Millard, Daniel James Brown, and Barbara Tuchman, among many others. They are all rigorous researchers—but reading their books doesn’t feel like doing homework. That’s what I’m going for, and hopefully I hit the mark a few times.

For me, books are all-consuming projects, leaving little other time for the things that should populate this section like hobbies, interests, and even the ability to remain in basic touch with people. I enjoy obsessing over a subject for years, and my goal is to find as much information as possible and then make the material readable for a general audience. 

When not writing or reading, I spend time with my daughter in Brooklyn, NY.  If you’d like to connect, please drop me a line at hello [@] jimmysoni.com.

 

https://jimmysoni.com/books/

 

The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley

A definitive, deeply reported look at the origin of PayPal and its founding team, including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, Max Levchin, and others whose stories have never before been told.

They defined the modern world.
This experience defined them.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal_Mafia

Paypal Mafia  

Elon Musk – Tesla, Space X, Boring Co.

Peter Thiel – 1st FB Investor, AirBnB Investor, Founders Fund, Palantir

Reid Hoffman – LinkedIn (sold to Microsoft)

Max Levchin – Affirm, Investor in Yelp

David O. Sacks – Geni.com & Yammer

Chad Hurley – YouTube

Russel Simmons – Yelp

 

https://fintechboomer.com/guide-evaluate-the-founders-the-story-of-paypal-and-the-entrepreneurs-who-formed-silicon-valley/

 

https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-hindu-business-line/20220620/281758452959411

 

https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni/status/1488992532268732419

 

 

 

A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age

In this elegantly written, exhaustively researched biography, Soni and Goodman reveal Claude Shannon’s full story for the first time. With unique access to Shannon’s family and friends, A Mind at Play brings this singular innovator and always playful genius to life.

 

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-claude-shannons-information-theory-invented-the-future-20201222/

QUANTIZED COLUMNS

How Claude Shannon Invented the Future

Today’s information age is only possible thanks to the groundbreaking work of a lone genius.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9hfWiQKhcs&t=2s

A Mind at Play | Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman | Talks at Google

 

 

Life in Code and Digits: When Shannon met ... - ScienceOpen

 Shannon is credited with the invention of signal-flow graphs, in 1942. He discovered the topological gain formula while investigating the functional operation of an analog computer. For two months early in 1943, Shannon came into contact with the leading British mathematician Alan Turing.

 

Ed Thorp, Claude Shannon and the World's First ... - Winton

https://www.winton.com › technology › 2018/07 › ed-t...

Jul 13, 2018 — Thorp, 85, is a former American mathematics professor and hedge fund manager, who became a New York Times bestselling author in 1962 with his ...

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html

The No-Stats All-Star

 

 

Notes:

Claude Shannon Bio – A Mind at Play (2017)

Claude Shannon – mathematician & MIT professor created Father of Information Theory –

How do you make info transferrable, & secure in wartime?

Friend of Alan Turing (British Mathematician), both worked on coding in WW2,

German code breaking scientists became celebrities in WW2 and raised funding

The science behind compressing info, digitizing info and MP3 files, transfer data

Mathematics Theory of Communication, Shannon’s paper and theory considered the Magna Carta of information age. Great paper theoretically and practically. Shannon created algorithm called sigsally.

Imitation Game – WW2 bio movie about Alan Turing

Shannon’s work used for Gun torrents on Navy ships, target projectiles

Bell Labs – math group that Shannon was a part of

Famous Groups of Genius - Menlo Park – Edison/GE, Manhattan Project – Built the A Bomb

Fairfield Semiconductor – predecessor to Intel and other Silicon Valley tech co’s

Bell Labs had money and started as R&D Dept. in Bell Telephone

Bell Telephone ran all land lines in America, had a Fed guaranteed monopoly on the phone system

Bell invented touch tone dialing, transistor, satellite tech, cell tech, communication networks

We are all affected by Bell tech and inventions, modern age owes a solid to Bell

Had big group of talent and could afford all of it, leading scientists of the time.

During WW2 many major U.S. corporations – Bell, Ford were recruited by the US Government.

War effort created urgency – math used to shoot down the enemy.

The Founders – story of PayPal (2022)

Dot Com burst created urgency to Pay Pal, bleeding money, had to survive.

Dotcom crash – companies started 1 day, & BK out of business next day.

Rise like a rocket and crash in 2 years

Next Gen of Genius Teams - Xerox Parc, Microsoft, Apple

Music Producer – Brian Eno coined the term “scenious”

Scene meets genius - Clusters of talent

American Revolution – Hamilton, Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Franklin all together for 1 cause

Inklings, Fugitive Poets, 1960’s British Music scene, Bill Walsh 49ers Coaching staff of the 1980s

Paypal is the story of many – Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Reed Hoffman

Alumni of Fairchild Semi led to Intel, Atari and Xerox Parc led to Apple.

Post WW2 Bell Labs pressure decreased compared to PayPal.

Bell Labs allowed free wheeling, could work on a project for 10 years.

 

PayPal Mafia - The Founders Story & Their Battle w/ EBAY w/ Jimmy Soni 

- BRT S03 EP36 (135) 8-7-2022

Full Show: HERE

 

More on Bell Labs:

 

'The Idea Factory': How Bell Labs invented the future – Article HERE        

 

Bell Labs: The research center behind the transistor, and so much more – Article HERE

 

 

 

 

Best of Biotech from AZ Bio & Life Sciences to Jellatech: HERE

 

Biotech Shows: HERE

 

AZ Tech Council Shows: 

https://brt-show.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=az+tech+council

*Includes Best of AZ Tech Council show from 2/12/2023

   

‘Best Of’ Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+of+BRT

 

  

Thanks for Listening.

Please Subscribe to the BRT Podcast.

 

 

AZ Tech Roundtable 2.0 with Matt Battaglia

The show where Entrepreneurs, Top Executives, Founders, and Investors come to share insights about the future of business. 

AZ TRT 2.0 looks at the new trends in business, & how classic industries are evolving. 

Common Topics Discussed: Startups, Founders, Funds & Venture Capital, Business, Entrepreneurship, Biotech, Blockchain / Crypto, Executive Comp, Investing, Stocks, Real Estate + Alternative Investments, and more… 

 

AZ TRT Podcast Home Page: http://aztrtshow.com/

‘Best Of’ AZ TRT Podcast: Click Here

Podcast on Google: Click Here

Podcast on Spotify: Click Here                   

More Info: https://www.economicknight.com/azpodcast/

KFNX Info: https://1100kfnx.com/weekend-featured-shows/

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the Hosts, Guests and Speakers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent (or affiliates, members, managers, employees or partners), or any Station, Podcast Platform, Website or Social Media that this show may air on. All information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes. Nothing said on this program should be considered advice or recommendations in: business, legal, real estate, crypto, tax accounting, investment, etc. Always seek the advice of a professional in all business ventures, including but not limited to: investments, tax, loans, legal, accounting, real estate, crypto, contracts, sales, marketing, other business arrangements, etc.