Ben Reinhardt — Speculative Technologies (EP.248)
Infinite Loops
Ben Reinhardt is the founder of Speculative Technologies “a nonprofit industrial research lab that’s working to unlock a wonderful, abundant future through technologies that don’t have a home in other institutions.” He has previously worked at NASA and Bay Area startups/VC firms, founded a startup building robotics for eldercare, and helped entrepreneurs start companies in Singapore. Oh, and he has a Ph.D. in space robotics from Cornell University and is one of the few people with a . in history! Ben, who brings his expertise in emerging technologies to the OSV advisory council, joins...
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Jay Reno — Making A Point (EP.247)
Infinite Loops
My guest on Infinite Loops this week knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur from the time he was buying and selling things on eBay. Jay Reno claims he didn’t know what the word ‘arbitrage’ meant back then, but if you tug on the colourful threads of his career, you’d reveal the kind of tenacity and resourcefulness that allows special founders like him to repeatedly find value in places that have long been deserted by everybody else. If you listen in on today’s episode, it will become apparent why O’Shaughnessy Ventures invested in Jay and his current venture. Jay is the CEO and...
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Michael Garfield — Play the (Mind) Jazz (EP.246)
Infinite Loops
My guest today is Michael Garfield, a paleontologist, futurist, writer, podcast host and strategic advisor whose “mind-jazz” performances — essays, music and fine art — bridge the worlds of art, science and philosophy. This year, Michael received a for his “Humans On the Loop” discussion series, which explores the nature of agency, power, responsibility and wisdom in the age of automation. This whirlwind discussion is impossible to sum up in a couple of sentences (just look at the number of books & articles mentioned!) Ultimately, it is a conversation about a subject...
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Max Meyer Launched a Print Magazine in 2024. Here’s Why. (EP.245)
Infinite Loops
My guest today is Max Meyer, the proprietor of Arena Magazine, a new quarterly publication exploring technology, capitalism and civilization. Arena’s aim? To “make it okay to dream in public again.” Max and I discuss why he launched a print magazine in 2024, WTF happened to legacy media, the wisdom of Ratatouille and MUCH more. 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 . Important Links: Show Notes: What is...
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Parmita Mishra — How to Think About Biology (EP.244)
Infinite Loops
Parmita Mishra is a computational biologist and the founder & CEO of Precigenetics, a company aiming to become a rocket to precision medicine. Parmita is deeply knowledgeable about cutting-edge biology, particularly epigenetics — how behavior and environment can affect gene function without altering genetic code. Her passion for advancing our understanding of diseases is inspiring (and contagious: OSV is an investor in Parmita’s company!) In our conversation, Parmita and I discuss everything from the curious case of male baldness to how her parents have saved 50,000 lives. I hope...
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Luis Seco — On Mathematical Beethovens, Decentralized Education & the Voyage to the Human Brain (EP.243)
Infinite Loops
Professor Luis Seco is a mathematician, educator, and investor. Among many other titles and achievements, he is the Professor of Mathematics at the University of Toronto, Director of the quant research hub Risklab, Chair of the Centre for Sustainable Development at the Fields Institute, and co-founder of the asset management firm Sigma Analysis & Management Ltd. Got all that?! This one was really fun, and not just because Luis is a fellow quant. We discuss how maths resembles Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, the future of the ‘metaversity’, the most important lesson Luis gives his...
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Anthony Pompliano — How to Live an Extraordinary Life (EP.242)
Infinite Loops
Anthony Pompliano — investor, entrepreneur, and media powerhouse — returns four years and 228 episodes later to discuss his new book, , a collection of 65 heartfelt letters to his two children. At just 36, Anthony has already invested in circa 200 companies, served in Iraq with the U.S. Army, built and sold multiple businesses, and created one of the world’s largest independent media platforms. You don’t accomplish all that without learning a thing or two, and in this episode we dig into his hard-earned insights — from the uniting traits of the world’s smartest people, to the...
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Sajith Pai — Exploring Indus Valley (Ep.241)
Infinite Loops
There’s a quote I heard a long time ago that goes something like this - “India has consistently disappointed both the optimists and the pessimists”. It is equal parts pithy and profound, and does a somewhat passable job of summarising the multitudes contained in 21st century India. It’s a quote that was brought to life for me numerous times in my conversation with this week’s guest on Infinite Loops - Sajith Pai. Sajith is a GP at Blume Ventures, one of India’s largest homegrown VC firms. He's known for his prolific writing and sharp frameworks that have become part of Indian...
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Scott Aaronson — Quantumania (EP.240)
Infinite Loops
My guest today is Scott Aaronson, a theoretical computer scientist, OG blogger, and quantum computing maestro. Scott has so many achievements and credentials that listing them here would take longer than recording the episode. Here's a select few: Self-taught programmer at age 11, Cornell computer science student at 15, PhD recipient by 22! Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin. Director of UT Austin's Quantum Information Center. Former visiting researcher on OpenAI's alignment team (2022-2024). Awarded the ACM prize in computing in 2020 and...
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Danny Crichton — Player of Games (EP.239)
Infinite Loops
Danny Crichton is a man of many talents. He’s got a background in computer science, has worked in the worlds of foreign policy, was a managing editor at Techcrunch, and now serves as Head of Editorial at Lux Capital. As Lux’s de-facto games master, Danny also devises their Riskgames: strategic simulations that immerse players in complex scenarios reflecting real-world challenges and dynamics. These games – whose players include senators, major generals, congressmen and, think-tank CEOs – include scenarios like ‘Hamptons at the Cross-Roads’ (that deals with climate change and...
info_outlineMy guest today is Michael Garfield, a paleontologist, futurist, writer, podcast host and strategic advisor whose “mind-jazz” performances — essays, music and fine art — bridge the worlds of art, science and philosophy.
This year, Michael received a $10k O’Shaughnessy Grant for his “Humans On the Loop” discussion series, which explores the nature of agency, power, responsibility and wisdom in the age of automation.
This whirlwind discussion is impossible to sum up in a couple of sentences (just look at the number of books & articles mentioned!) Ultimately, it is a conversation about a subject I think about every day: how we can live curious, collaborative and fulfilling lives in our deeply weird, complex, probabilistic world.
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:
Show Notes:
- What is “mind jazz”?
- Humans “ON” the loop?
- The Red Queen hypothesis and the power of weirdness
- Probabilistic thinking & the perils of optimization
- Context collapse, pernicious convenience & coordination at scale
- How organisations learn
- Michael as World Emperor
- MORE!
Books, Articles & Podcasts Mentioned:
- The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves; by W. Brian Arthur
- Pharmako-AI; by K Allado-McDowell
- The Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century; by Howard Bloom
- The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom
- One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson
- Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There; by Lewis Carroll
- The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch
- Scale Theory: A Nondisciplinary Inquiry; by Joshua DiCaglio
- Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders and the Rise of Social Engineering; by Malcolm Gladwell
- The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous; by Joseph Henrich
- Do Conversation: There's No Such Thing as Small Talk; by Robert Poynton
- Reality Hunger: A Manifesto; by David Shields
- The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture; by William Irwin Thompson
- The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science; by Robert Anton Wilson
- Designing Neural Media; by K Allado-McDowell
- Pace Layering: How Complex Systems Learn and Keep Learning; by Steward Brand
- Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots; by Bonnie Docherty
- What happens with digital rights management in the real world?; by Cory Doctorow
- The Evolution of Surveillance Part 1: Burgess Shale to Google Glass; by Michael Garfield
- An Introduction to Extitutional Theory; by Jessy Kate Schingler
- 175 - C. Thi Nguyen on The Seductions of Clarity, Weaponized Games, and Agency as Art; Future Fossils with Michael Garfield
- 🎶⚔️👏🏼 205 - Greg Thomas & Stephanie Lepp on Jazz Leadership & Antagonistic Cooperation; Future Fossils with Michael Garfield
- 🌏🚜🫀212 - Manfred Laubichler & Geoffrey West on Life In The Anthropocene & Living Inside The Technosphere; Future Fossils with Michael Garfield