Vantage Point with Eli Amdur

Eli Amdur
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Philosophy

This is … VANTAGE POINT The podcast for critical thinkers. Where we make sense of – and excel in – our lives, our jobs, and our world. We’re not political, just critical. **************** Thanks for joining in the first of our inaugural episodes. I’m your host, Eli Amdur. VANTAGE POINT, the podcast for critical thinkers, will bring you: 1. One major commentary. 2. Timely, relevant observations and advice. 3. Eli’s aphorisms – short, pithy, and insightful. 4. Thoughts from great minds in history – and a question to ponder. 5. “What if?” Exciting contemporary ideas. Additionally, from time to time we’ll interview exciting thought leaders from many fields. VANTAGE POINT has one objective: To help make you better, more competitive, and more fulfilled by constantly improving your critical thinking.

  1. 6d ago

    A Critical Status Report

    Vantage Point - the podcast for critical thinkers. Ed Koch used to stop New Yorkers in the subway and ask, "How am I doing?" Nearly five months and 27 episodes in, Eli asks the same question, shares what he has heard, explains why the show keeps changing its approach, and asks you for one favor. In this episode How far the show has come, what listeners are saying, why the show keeps changing its approach, two of Eli's aphorisms, Gandhi on Western civilization, and a favor to ask. Eli’s Aphorisms “The gambling we call business is no better than the business we call gambling.” “Time is our only irreplaceable asset. Creativity is our only sustainable asset. It makes sense then, does it not, to devote as much time to creativity as we possibly can.” From Great Minds “I think it would be a good idea.” — Mahatma Gandhi, on Western civilization “I never try to teach my pupils. I always try to put them in an environment in which they can learn.” — Albert Einstein What If? Gandhi was once asked what he thought of Western civilization. He said he thought it would be a good idea. You didn't know Gandhi did stand up, did you? This episode is supported by Vantage Point's Executive Sponsor, Stephen Bozer, SVP of Human Health at Flavine. Also supported by SingleTask, the team that produces this show. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. More at eliamdur.com.

  2. Oct 26

    What Hath God Wrought? Three Questions for the Leaders of AI

    Vantage Point - the podcast for critical thinkers. In 1844 Samuel Morse tapped out "What hath God wrought?" and changed civilization, and he knew it. Eli asks whether the people now running and regulating AI understand the weight of what they hold, and locks them in a room until they answer three brutally tough questions. In this episode Samuel Morse's "What hath God wrought?", three tough questions for the people running and regulating AI (Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics among them), three conditions from Anne Sullivan, Albert Einstein and M.C. Escher, 2 of Eli's aphorisms, and a What If built on Escher's lithograph Relativity. Eli’s Aphorisms “Collectively, we need to do less reasoning and more thinking.” “Why is Zoom easier to deal with than most of your co-workers? Zoom has a mute button.” From Great Minds “You who choose to lead must follow.” — Robert Hunter “Unless you attempt the absurd, you cannot achieve the impossible.” — M.C. Escher What If? Eli puts Great Minds and What If together: what if Albert Einstein and M.C. Escher were in a room with one piece of Escher's work, the lithograph Relativity, and Einstein were asked to interpret it? Eli could explain it, but he won't. Go look up Relativity by M.C. Escher, take a good close look, and you'll see why the question is worth asking. Plus a bonus aphorism from Eli's friend Joe, newly retired, in his thank-you note for a bottle of his favorite scotch: "Drink whiskey. The nap will do you good." This episode is supported by Vantage Point's Executive Sponsor, Stephen Bozer, SVP of Human Health at Flavine. Also supported by Major Sponsor Bergen Volunteers, neighbors serving neighbors across 70 towns in Bergen County since 1966. Also supported by Major Sponsor Kardam Consulting, strategic counsel for the business of making medicine. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. More at eliamdur.com.

  3. Oct 19

    Intuition in the Age of Analytics

    Vantage Point - the podcast for critical thinkers. Chances are you don't know who Alexander Fleming was, or who discovered penicillin. Now you know both. Eli takes on the point of greatest contention between artificial and natural intelligence, intuition in the age of analytics, and asks whether Fleming would discover penicillin if he worked for your company today. In this episode How a hunch and an uncleaned Petri dish gave the world penicillin, why today's metrics-run organizations might never let it happen again, plus 2 of Eli's aphorisms, Jonas Salk from great minds, and a "What If?" to ponder. Eli’s Aphorisms “We can no longer depend on what we know or knew, or what anyone else knows or knew. We must be able to figure things out as they happen. It takes guts to do, but it has to be done.” “If we had to pay a fee to have an opinion, a lot of people would be getting along with each other very well all of a sudden.” From Great Minds “Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors.” — Jonas Salk “I've had my dreams and I've had my nightmares, but I've conquered my nightmares because of my dreams.” — Jonas Salk What If? Alexander Fleming was a neat freak. He hated clutter, he hated disorder, and he hated things that didn't make sense, and because of that he mused over that Petri dish. So what if Fleming had not been a neat freak? He probably would have picked up the dirty, unruly Petri dish in disgust, washed it out and gone about his business for the day. He did not. Think that one through. This episode is supported by Vantage Point's Executive Sponsor, Stephen Bozer, SVP of Human Health at Flavine. Also supported by Major Sponsor Bergen Volunteers, neighbors serving neighbors across 70 towns in Bergen County since 1966. Also supported by Major Sponsor Kardam Consulting, strategic counsel for the business of making medicine. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. More at eliamdur.com.

  4. Oct 15

    Prepositions Are Now Okay to End Sentences With

    Vantage Point - the podcast for critical thinkers. Merriam-Webster announced, on Instagram of all places, that it is now okay to end a sentence with a preposition. Eli's earth shattered. Then he found out why the rule had to go, and why the same flexibility explains how a language that nearly went extinct a thousand years ago came to dominate the world. In this episode Why the rule against ending a sentence with a preposition had to go, how English came to dominate the world, plus 2 of Eli's aphorisms, Dwight D. Eisenhower from great minds, and a "What If?" to ponder. Eli’s Aphorisms “Focus not as much on what your eye can see, but on what your mind can imagine.” “When opportunity knocks, it doesn't wait around very long for your answer.” From Great Minds “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower “Pessimism never won any battle.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower What If? What if Eisenhower had not had the trust of Roosevelt, Marshall, Churchill and King George VI, the way Adolf Hitler would not give his trust to any of his own commanders? Think that one over. This episode is supported by Vantage Point's Executive Sponsor, Stephen Bozer, SVP of Human Health at Flavine. Also supported by Major Sponsor Bergen Volunteers, neighbors serving neighbors across 70 towns in Bergen County since 1966. Also supported by Major Sponsor Kardam Consulting, strategic counsel for the business of making medicine. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. More at eliamdur.com.

  5. Oct 12

    Why Is Everything Either Awesome or Amazing?

    Vantage Point - the podcast for critical thinkers. A thousand years from now, linguists will look back and ask what happened to all but two adjectives. Eli takes on "amazing" and "awesome," the lazy words crowding out the richest language on earth, and explains why communication remains the one skill that separates those who move forward from those who don't. In this episode A definition and a hard look at the episode's theme, plus 2 of Eli's aphorisms, Eleanor Roosevelt from great minds, a "What If?" to ponder. Eli’s Aphorisms “Problems are really opportunities poorly dressed.” “The first person to live to 150 has already been born, so don't make decisions lightly. You'll live with them for a very long time.” From Great Minds “If life were predictable, it would cease to be life.” — Eleanor Roosevelt What If? This time Eli calls it the Mind Stretcher, and hands it to Galileo Galilei: "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." Look at it optimistically, pessimistically, skeptically, humorously or empathetically, but one way or another, Galileo was right, and that, in part, is why this podcast exists. This episode is supported by Vantage Point's Executive Sponsor, Stephen Bozer, SVP of Human Health at Flavine. Also supported by Major Sponsor Bergen Volunteers, neighbors serving neighbors across 70 towns in Bergen County since 1966. Also supported by Major Sponsor Kardam Consulting, strategic counsel for the business of making medicine. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. More at eliamdur.com.

  6. Oct 8

    The Ethics of Progress

    Vantage Point - the podcast for critical thinkers. Every invention humans have ever made, from flight to dynamite to penicillin, has been put to both constructive and destructive use. Now AI is moving faster and reaching farther than anything before it. Eli's warning: the greatest challenge of this century isn't technology. It's ethics. In this episode The ethics of progress versus the progress of ethics, the three dimensions of change, and six leadership lessons, plus 2 of Eli's aphorisms and Cicero and Andrew Carnegie from great minds. Eli’s Aphorisms “We fail only because we allow ourselves to fail.” “When you make plans, tomorrow is more important than today. When you take action, it's just the opposite.” “If something becomes possible, it becomes expected.” “With a set of deeply held principles, you will never have to make a decision. Good decisions make themselves.” “Making no decision is worse than making a bad one.” From Great Minds “What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation?” — Cicero This episode is supported by Vantage Point's Executive Sponsor, Stephen Bozer, SVP of Human Health at Flavine. Also supported by Major Sponsor Bergen Volunteers, neighbors serving neighbors across 70 towns in Bergen County since 1966. Also supported by Major Sponsor Kardam Consulting, strategic counsel for the business of making medicine. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. More at eliamdur.com.

  7. Oct 6

    Are You Really Listening?

    Vantage Point with Eli Amdur

  8. Oct 1

    When Does Determination Beat Exhaustion?

    Vantage Point - the podcast for critical thinkers. On May 26, 1953, Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans came within 328 feet of the summit of Everest - about a football field - and turned back, citing exhaustion. Three days later Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made it. Same mountain, same weather, same supplies. Eli argues the difference was never exhaustion but determination, and what Hillary meant when he said it is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. In this episode • How close Bourdillon and Evans came to the summit of Everest - and why they turned back • Why the same climb ended differently for Hillary and Norgay three days later • What Hillary meant by "It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves" • The difference between exhaustion and a lack of determination • How determination, once it pays off, becomes a habit • Aphorisms on attitude, delivering the cargo, and responsibility for the future Eli’s Aphorisms “A bad attitude is like a flat tire. You're going nowhere until you change it.” “Don't tell me about the storm. Did you deliver the cargo?” “We must have infinite gratitude for all things past, infinite service for all things present, and infinite responsibility for all things future.” From Great Minds “If you don't know something well enough to explain it to a six-year-old, you don't know it well enough at all.” — Albert Einstein “One of the great problems with communication is the illusion that it has occurred.” — George Bernard Shaw This episode is supported by Vantage Point's Executive Sponsor, Stephen Bozer, SVP of Human Health at Flavine. Also supported by Major Sponsor Bergen Volunteers, neighbors serving neighbors across 70 towns in Bergen County since 1966. Also supported by Major Sponsor Kardam Consulting, strategic counsel for the business of making medicine. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. More at eliamdur.com.

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About

This is … VANTAGE POINT The podcast for critical thinkers. Where we make sense of – and excel in – our lives, our jobs, and our world. We’re not political, just critical. **************** Thanks for joining in the first of our inaugural episodes. I’m your host, Eli Amdur. VANTAGE POINT, the podcast for critical thinkers, will bring you: 1. One major commentary. 2. Timely, relevant observations and advice. 3. Eli’s aphorisms – short, pithy, and insightful. 4. Thoughts from great minds in history – and a question to ponder. 5. “What if?” Exciting contemporary ideas. Additionally, from time to time we’ll interview exciting thought leaders from many fields. VANTAGE POINT has one objective: To help make you better, more competitive, and more fulfilled by constantly improving your critical thinking.

Information

  • Creator
    Eli Amdur
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Vantage Point with Eli Amdur
  • Show Website
    Vantage Point with Eli Amdur