118: Attention is All You Need: The World After Capital
Made You Think
“The amount of human attention in the world is finite. We have 24 hours in the day, some of which we need to spend paying attention to eating, sleeping and meeting our other needs. The attention during the remaining hours of most people in the world is taken up by having to earn an income and by consuming goods and services, leaving relatively little time for attention to be freely allocated. A hard limit on available attention also exists for humanity as a whole—as I argued earlier, we are headed for peak population, at which point we will no longer be increasing the total amount of...
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117: Winning and Losing Millions in Crypto Confidential
Made You Think
“I could hardly form the words. My mouth wasn’t working. My heart hammered in my ears and pins and needles burned my hands and feet. I squeezed my fists as hard as I could to get them to stop hurting as I stumbled into my office and fumbled through my laptop password, pulling up the message that had thrown me out of bed: “Nat, someone found a way to hack us. It sounds bad. All of our funds might be at risk.” This was the absolute worst-case scenario. The one I’d pushed to the back of my mind. The one I pretended was impossible so I could sleep at night. I’d always accepted...
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116: What Was It All For? WWI by Martin Gilbert
Made You Think
“If the war was to be over by Christmas, as many believed, or at the latest by Easter 1915, tens of thousands of soldiers might be killed or wounded before the guns fell silent. Every army believed that it could crush its opponents within a few months.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Join us as we dive into The First World War by Martin Gilbert. We'll explore the intricate details of WW1, from the seemingly pointless triggers to the significant aftermath that reshaped the world. We'll also touch on intriguing historical anecdotes, like Germany's return in WW2, and the...
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115: Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
Made You Think
"The tragedy of this world is that no one is happy, whether stuck in a time of pain or of joy. The tragedy of this world is that everyone is alone. For a life in the past cannot be shared with the present. Each person who gets stuck in time gets stuck alone.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we explore the concept of time through the lens of one of the most imaginative books of our time, Einstein's Dreams. The novel portrays Albert Einstein as a young scientist grappling with his dreams as he works on his theory of relativity. This episode promises to spark...
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114: Book vs. Big Screen: 3 Body Problem on Netflix
Made You Think
"But if science tells you that something’s impossible, and it happens anyway, it means one of two things. Either the science is wrong, or it’s a scam.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Today, we're exploring the 3 Body Problem TV series on Netflix, inspired by Cixin Liu's acclaimed novel. Listen in as we discuss Season 1's adaptation from book to screen, analyzing character shifts, narrative changes, and the portrayal of scientific concepts. If you enjoyed The Three-Body Problem book series or consider yourself a sci-fi fanatic, this one is for you! We cover a wide...
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113: Too Much of a Good Thing: Bad Therapy
Made You Think
"We’ve never had a generation more focused on its feelings and, frankly, not one more tyrannized by their feelings.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Today, we're delving into Abigail Shrier's , a thought-provoking book which highlights the impact of therapy on individuals, especially younger generations. Join us as we explore the nuances of therapy, its incentives, and its effects. We cover a wide range of topics including: Challenges of parenting in a therapy-centric culture Unintended consequences of therapeutic incentives The fine line between taking thoughts too...
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112: Thou Mayest: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Made You Think
“I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. . . . There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, Nat, Neil and Adil dive into John Steinbeck's masterpiece, East of Eden....
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111: Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
Made You Think
"All the facts of science aren't enough to understand the world's meaning. For this, you must step outside the world." Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we're adventuring into the world of Logicomix, a graphic novel that takes us on a journey through the intricate life of mathematician Bertrand Russell. From the quest for precision that borders on madness to the historical events Russell was embroiled in, we'll explore the complexities of logic, philosophy, and mathematics. We cover a wide range of topics including: Why seeking precision in understanding the...
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110: Fear of Oozification
Made You Think
"Oozification is the process of recursively replacing systems based on numerous larger building blocks, governed by many rules, with ones based on fewer, smaller building blocks, governed by fewer rules, thereby increasing the number of evolutionary possibilities and lowering the number of evolutionary certainties." Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we're discussing Fear of Oozification, an article by Venkatesh Rao. Get ready to explore the concept of ooziness in technology, learn the signs of oozification, and uncover why the ooze should (or should not) be...
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109: The Pursuit of Intelligence: Flowers for Algernon
Made You Think
“I don’t know what’s worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Today, we're delving into Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Join us as we take you through the journey of an intellectually disabled man who undergoes a procedure with the hopes of increasing his mental abilities. We'll unpack several themes that resonate deeply with the human experience, and seek to get our questions answered on what it truly means to be intelligent. We cover a wide range of topics...
info_outline“It is not the race that makes the civilization, it is the civilization that makes the people: circumstances geographical, economic, and political create a culture, and the culture creates a human type.”
Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! In this episode, we're talking about The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. This concise yet jam-packed book presents pivotal moments and ideas throughout history covering thirteen different areas including religion, progress, government, and character.
We cover a wide range of topics including:
- The progression of humans as a species
- Religious entities being replaced by secular entities
- Why freedom and equality are "enemies"
- War as a constant of history
- How tension is necessary for a society to function
And much more. Please enjoy, and make sure to follow Nat, Neil, and Adil on Twitter and share your thoughts on the episode.
Links from the Episode:
Mentioned in the Show:
- No Agenda Show (55:01)
- Moore’s Law (1:15:00)
- Three Generations Theory (1:18:49)
Books Mentioned:
- The Lessons of History (Nat's Book Notes)
- The Psychology of Money (3:05) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Atomic Habits (3:51) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Antifragile (4:50) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Fooled by Randomness (4:52) (Nat's Book Notes)
- The Black Swan (5:05) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Skin in the Game (5:15) (Nat's Book Notes)
- The Story of Civilization (7:41)
- The Story of Philosophy (7:47) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Gödel, Escher, Bach (10:37) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Getting Things Done (11:58)
- Hooked (13:24) (Nat's Book Notes)
- The Art of Seduction (14:26) (Nat's Book Notes)
- The Art of War (14:29)
- The 48 Laws of Power (15:12) (Nat's Book Notes)
- The 50th Law (15:21) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Mastery (15:34) (Nat's Book Notes)
- The Firm (18:57)
- A Time to Kill (19:01)
- Where Is My Flying Car? (28:22)
- On China (35:13)
- The Alchemy of Finance (38:47)
- The Fourth Turning (1:04:09)
- Permutation City (1:17:03)
- The Three-Body Problem (1:23:50) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Snow Crash (1:25:45) (Nat's Book Notes)
- Seveneves (1:26:00)
People Mentioned:
- Nassim Taleb (2:18)
- Morgan Housel (3:06)
- James Clear (3:50)
- David Allen (11:57)
- Robert Greene (14:15)
- John Grisham (18:56)
- Tim Ferriss (56:25)
Show Topics:
(0:00) In this episode, we're discussing The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. On brand with Made You Think, we start the episode with a good 'ol tangent!
(4:19) The difference between fiction and non-fiction authors in the development of their writing and storytelling over time. For nonfiction writers who tend to write about the same few ideas, it can be hard to keep it novel when delivering those ideas.
(10:33) What makes a book the best of that author’s career- the quality of their writing or the ideas in the book itself? Nat, Neil, and Adil talk about different authors and books that were the peak of the author’s writing career.
(16:59) Authors always seem to be competing with their earlier work or their most popular book. There are also cases where a successful book later on in your career can kickstart the popularity of an earlier book that didn’t get any previous traction.
(23:23) Why people tend to avoid books that are commonly recommended by everyone.
(27:14) The last chapter talks about progress, where progress refers to our species rather than scientific progress. In many ways (ex: communication, technology) we have progressed, but if you look at it from another viewpoint, more problems stem over time from some of the solutions that we have found.
(30:45) No matter how great our lives are, we always find something to be unhappy about.
"Our capacity for fretting is endless, and no matter how many difficulties we surmount, how many ideals we realize, we shall always find an excuse for being magnificently miserable; there is a stealthy pleasure in rejecting mankind or the universe as unworthy of our approval."
(35:53) The existence of healthy tension- You need a healthy amount of debate and disagreement in order to find the line of best fit.
(40:22) “The fear of capitalism has compelled socialism to widen freedom, and the fear of socialism has compelled capitalism to increase equality."
We are somewhere in the middle of capitalism and socialism. Freedom vs. equality in opportunity.
(47:55) "There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religion. France, the United States, and some other nations have divorced their governments from all churches, but they have had the help of religion in keeping social order."
Everybody believes in something whether it's formal religion or not. There are many alternatives to religion where people gather over a common interest or practice.
(52:28) Different groups come with different depths of relationships. We give the example of depth of religious relationships vs. relationships with those you meet in a CrossFit gym.
(57:40) It tells you a lot about someone when they have more obscure interests rather than mainstream interests.
(1:00:54) Are influencers taking on the role of 'idols'?
(1:07:26) When it comes to making predictions, it's hard to be completely accurate when there’s always a variable that changes. One thing that has been standard and constant over the years: War.
(1:12:12) Though it's statistically unlikely to encounter a violent revolution in each given year, it's beneficial to have a baseline level of preparedness to survive.
(1:14:05) As the population grows, we find more ways to make food. With more food, we grow more as a population. When we think we may hit max population or another ceiling, new discoveries are made.
(1:16:10) Without death, can the species still progress? While many may desire the choice of their own immortality, it may not be good for human civilization.
(1:21:30) That concludes this episode! Stay tuned as we gear up for our next episodes on Peloponnesian War and The Three-Body Problem. Plus, we talk about other fascinating science fiction books that may pique your interest as this episode winds down.
If you enjoyed this episode, let us know by leaving a review on iTunes and tell a friend. As always, let us know if you have any book recommendations! You can say hi to us on Twitter @TheRealNeilS, @adilmajid, @nateliason and share your thoughts on this episode.
You can now support Made You Think using the Value-for-Value feature of Podcasting 2.0. This means you can directly tip the co-hosts in BTC with minimal transaction fees. To get started, simply download a podcast app (like Fountain or Breez) that supports Value-for-Value and send some BTC to your in-app wallet. You can then use that to support shows who have opted-in, including Made You Think! We’ll be going with this direct support model moving forward, rather than ads.
Thanks for listening. See you next time!