Random Talkers Adam Walker

This week we review Skin In The Game: Hidden Asymmetries In Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Taleb may hate (professional) book reviewers, but we both really enjoyed this book: the man is never dull! Timestamps below:

0:08 - Taleb is angry on Twitter...
0:59 ...but calm and collected here

Part 1: Intellectuals vs Risk-Takers
3:11 - The Intellectual Yet Idiot
6:43 - Taleb on education
11:22 - Why duels are good
12:44 - Trump’s appeal

Part 2: The Power of Intransigent Minorities
15:06 - Why lemonade is kosher
17:40 - NIMBYs, regulation, and early adopters

Part 3: Taleb Is A Conservative
20:21 - The precautionary principle
21:37 - Are GMOs dangerous?
26:18 - How religion helps us survive

Part 4: Academics Need Skin In The Game
32:34 - Equality and hypocrisy
35:08 - Why Thomas Picketty is wrong
38:00 - Taleb hates economists

44:26 - Final thoughts

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This week we review "Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps" by Daniel Drescher. Blockchain hype may have waned, but we're still aboard the blocktrain destined for untold crypto riches. Look below for timestamps:

Part 1: How The Blockchain Works
1:55 - The blockchain is a plain old transaction ledger...
2:34 - ...but with no central authority
5:00 - To write to it you must solve math problems
6:58 - Transactions are verified using cryptography
8:17 - Distributed consensus enables consistency

Part 2: Blockchain Flaws and Exploits
11:40 - 51 Percent Attacks
13:58 - Excessive power consumption
15:40 - Dependence on private keys
16:50 - Transactions can't be reversed
17:45 - The blockchain is so slooooooooow

Part 3: Blockchain Applications
19:50 - Money transfers
20:57 - Disintermediation and eliminating middle-men
22:28 - Smart contracts
25:24 - Corporations and the private, permissioned blockchain
27:30 - Blockchain and the shipping industry
29:08 - Tokens and incentivizing network effects
30:10 - DISRUPTION (may be a few years away)
33:30 - Expect incumbents to fight back

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This week we review "Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy" by Cathy O'Neil. From terrible teacher evaluations to dodgy credit decisions, algorithms make plenty of mistakes - but are they really worse than the alternative? Timestamps:
0:23 - Three traits of a bad model
1:48 - Terrible teacher evaluations
6:50 - Personality tests and hiring
11:50 - Bad algorithms disproportionately hurt the poor
15:45 - Clopening and schedule optimization
18:19 - Life before algorithms: redlining
25:11 - Limits to model accuracy
26:21 - The rigor of sports analytics is not a panacea
28:07 - Predictions vs. privacy
32:37 - The stop and frisk analogy
35:35 - China's social credit system and research ethics

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This week your Random Talkers Matt and Adam review Ray Kurzweil's epic 2004 treatise, “The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology.” This book has everything, from nanobot-fueled virtual reality to the enticing possibility of life and no death. Timestamps below:
1:47 - Exponential growth fuels Kurzweil's bold predictions
5:43 - Always look for S-curves
7:41 - Do we really need to reverse engineer the brain?
10:12 - Genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics are key
16:54 - The Singularity and living forever
19:22 - Will you be “you” after the Singularity?
26:58 - What happens if and when everything goes horribly wrong
29:26 - Asymmetric risk tolerance, self-driving cars, and the conundrum of regulation
35:20 - Final thoughts

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You can check out this episode and more on the Random Talkers YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/RandomTalkers. Peruse our old segments, leave an Internet comment, and admire the new soundwave effect Adam spent far too long making.