Infinite Loops

Jim O'Shaughnessy
  • 4.6 (166)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Infinite Loops

In a rapidly changing world, it's too easy to get trapped by the existing models. New problems are met with old solutions, leading to infinite loops of inaction. We're here to change that. By exploring ideas ranging from the Tao Te Ching to cutting-edge advances in AI, we will arm you with the tools & fresh perspectives required to upgrade your HumanOS and thrive in our messy, probabilistic world. Infinite Loops is part of Jim’s new company, O'Shaughnessy Ventures. For in-depth syntheses of our guests' ideas, as well as for additional ideas that make you go Hmm that’s interesting!, subscribe to our Substack at https://infiniteloops.substack.com. Powered by O’Shaughnessy Ventures.

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    Yuk Chi Chan — On Rockets, Dog Years & Robotic Space-Snakes (EP.238)

    My guest today is the human Swiss Army Knife, Yuk Chi Chan, who has packed more into the last decade than many people do in a lifetime. Yuk Chi is the founder of Charter Space, the first British space company to graduate from the Techstars Space Accelerator. Before that, he served as an officer in the Singapore army (hmm, so maybe I should have described him as a Singaporean Army Knife) and practiced as a space lawyer (it’s funny how much cooler being a lawyer becomes when you preface it with the word “space”). Suffice to say, Yuk Chi knows a lot about space. We had a blast discussing how ‘ownership’ of territory really works, why the sector impacts our daily lives FAR more than we think, and the mind-boggling mission of an intrepid robotic space snake. I hope you enjoy the 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: LinkedIn Substack Twitter Charter Website Charter Twitter Show Notes: Yuk Chi Chan: The human Swiss Army Knife The strangely antiquated tools of the space industry Military training, problem-solving, and reframing the challenge The single most important trait in a co-founder Unlearning, cyclical culture, and robotic space snakes The labyrinthine world of space insurance Who owns space? The angry man on Yuk Chi’s shoulder Why Yuk Chi measures his life in dog years Space insurance as Zeno’s Paradox Why the space industry is WAY more ubiquitous than you think Yuk Chi as emperor of the world MORE! Books Mentioned: Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said; by Philip K. Dick Ubik; by Philip K. Dick

    1h 28m

  2. OCT 10

    Dan Shipper — I, Writer (EP.237)

    “Ignoring what is obvious incurs a huge cost. It requires you to go about your day numbing yourself to the reality of who you are and what you want—which is a waste of time for you and everyone around you. By contrast, admitting what is obvious is freeing and motivating. But it’s terrifying to do it. Sometimes the most obvious truths about ourselves are hard to see because the consequences of those truths seem so dire.” Those are the opening lines of one of my favourite essays I’ve read in the last year, written by this week’s guest on Infinite Loops - Dan Shipper. Dan is the Co-founder and CEO of Every, a media company that wants to be an intellectual lighthouse amidst the tempest that is the Age of AI. Every began life in 2020 as a bundle of digital newsletters (almost like a centralised version of Substack with more of an editorial flourish). These days, it’s blossomed into an ecosystem of colourful newsletters, podcasts, courses, and software products, all oriented around the unpacking of a single question - “What comes next?” Every is already one of my go-to destinations for all things interesting. It’s less brain food than brain buffet (the kind of buffet that serves fresh blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup). In our conversation, Dan shares his thoughts on everything from AI companions; his approach to erecting the Every ‘Pyramid’; his playbook for building new media companies; the idea of LLMs as mirrors for humanity; and using content to ‘find your people’. What I love about him is how candidly and thoughtfully he talks about his journey to discover his own truth. His realisation that he didn’t need to hang up his boots as a writer in order to become a founder is something that particularly hit home for me. Dan Shipper is also my underdog pick to eventually wrest the title of Infinite Loops Emperor from reigning clubhouse leader Alex Danco. By which I mean to say, this is most certainly not the last time Dan joins us on the show, so you may as well get to know him better. 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: Dan’s Twitter Dan’s writing on Every Dan’s personal website Show Notes: Dan’s Superhero Origin Story Writers as Founders What Would You Pay To Do? The Every Pyramid The New Media Playbook How To Find Your People Our AI Mirrors From Explanation Problems to Engineering Problems On Intuition From The Knowledge Economy To The Allocation Economy The Reluctance To AI Adoption AI Companions Dan, The Emperor of The World Books and Articles Mentioned: Admitting What Is Obvious; by Dan Shipper *The Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century; by* Howard Bloom Against Explanations; by Dan Shipper The Trial of Socrates; by I. F. Stone The WEIRDest People in the World; by ****Joseph Heinrich The Three Musketeers; by Alexandre Dumas

    1h 26m

  3. OCT 3

    Dr. Gena Gorlin — How to Build a Builder (EP.236)

    My guest today is Dr. Gena Gorlin, a psychologist specializing in the unique needs of the ultra-ambitious. Unlike many in her field. Gena doesn’t aim to simply lift the floor of her clients’ ambitions — she wants to raise the ceiling. In this episode, she breaks down the “Builder Mindset” - a way of thinking that empowers people to live to healthier, happier, and more fulfilled lives. Over on our Substack, we dig deeper into Gena’s ideas, exploring the perils of perfectionism, the allure of complacency, and why psychological perfection might be more achievable than you think. Important Links: Gena’s Website Building the Builders (Gena’s Substack) Gena’s Twitter Show Notes: The Unique Needs of the Ultra Ambitious Death is the Default The Rigid Authoritarianism of Your Inner Drill Sergeant The Sweet, Stagnant Embrace of the Zen Master Agency & the Enlightenment Historical Ignorance as a Bottleneck Human Beings as the Base Unit of Action Fight, Flight or Freeze How to Build a Builder Perfectionism is not Perfect What to Do When Surrounded by C Players Persistence, Passion & Personality Reframing FTW Gena as Empress of the World MORE! Books Mentioned: The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America; by John D. Gartner

    1h 44m

  4. SEP 26

    Nir Eyal — How To Become An Indistractable Force (EP.235)

    “Most people don’t want to acknowledge the uncomfortable truth that distraction is always an unhealthy escape from reality.” My latest guest, Nir Eyal, writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. In our conversation, Nir gives it to us straight. Distraction is killing us, and stopping us from reaching our full potential. In a world that is constantly conspiring to keep us distracted, Nir provides an alternative: we can take back control. We can regain our agency. All of these ideas are presented in his book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life (co-authored with Julie Li). This book is a clear guide to understanding the psychology behind our impulses and is chock-full of great anecdotes and peer-reviewed studies to help you better manage your time, and your life. Nir’s framework is not only interesting, it is practical, so I suggest you check out our Substack, where you’ll find the episode transcript and some actionable takeaways. I also encourage you to buy Nir’s excellent book and start applying his strategies to your own life.  I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! Important Links: Nir’s personal blog Nir’s LinkedIn Nir’s Twitter Nir’s YouTube channel Nir’s Habit Tracking Tool Nir’s Schedule Maker Tool Show Notes: What Being Indistractable Is All About Etymology of the Word Distraction The Strong Pull of Internal Triggers The Tyranny of the To-Do List The Difference Between High Performers and Low Performers The Dangers of Labelling Ourselves Using the Psychology of Identity Using Self-Determination Theory to Diagnose Distraction The Perils of Snowplow Parenting Believe the Good Science Nir as Emperor of the World Books / Articles Mentioned: Indistractable; by Nir Eyal (+ bonus content) Nir’s articles on Timeboxing, Values, FOMO and Wage slavery Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life; by Peter Gray

    1h 10m

  5. SEP 19

    Alex Danco — Finding Mystery in the Margin (EP.234)

    As the saying goes, only three things in life are certain: death, taxes & Alex Danco. Armed with sizzling hot takes on the sad death of Twitter likes and a new secret weapon in the form of his catchphrase-turned-episode theme (“Without mystery, there is no margin”), Alex returns for his eighth episode. Despite our intentional lack of preparation, somehow this ended up as one our most cohesive conversations yet. As usual, we’ve included links and an episode transcript over on our Substack, where we’ve also made the foolhardy attempt to distil one overriding theme from eight episodes of fiercely unstructured, defiantly unplanned, proudly meandering conversation. Important Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alex_Danco Website: https://alexdanco.com/ Previous episode: https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/alex-danco-on-self-delusion-sancho-panza-safe-words-seinfeld-ep156/ Show Notes: What the fuck is going on? & the sad death of Twitter likes Where are the journalists? Without mystery, there is no margin Why aesthetics are underrated Friction is good, actually Make things to gain agency Empowering small firms to access the mysterious margin Everything is positioning How to learn effectively Alex as emperor of the world MORE! Books Mentioned: The Fifth Science; by Exurb1a What Works on Wall Street: A Guide to the Best-Performing Investment Strategies of All Time; by Jim O’Shaughnessy The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to “The Office”; by Venkatesh Rao The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom

    1h 28m

  6. SEP 12

    Mike Maples, Jr. — How To Become a Pattern-Breaking Founder (EP.233)

    Mike Maples, Jr., co-founding partner of the VC firm Floodgate, is the veteran seed investor behind some of the 21st-century’s great success stories, including Twitter, Twitch, and Applied Intuition. His book, Pattern Breakers (co-authored with Peter Ziebelman), articulates a new model of foundership, one built on the simple premise that transformative startups upend rather than improve current practices. My company, OSV, is built around my belief that the collapse of the old models presents enormous opportunities to those savvy enough to seize them, so I had a blast quizzing Mike on the nuts and bolts of pattern-breaking foundership, from finding true believers to waging asymmetric war on the status quo. If Mike’s theory sounds as interesting to you as it did to me, check out our Substack, where we’ve distilled some pattern-breaking insights and shared the episode transcript. I also encourage you to buy Mike’s excellent book. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! Important Links: Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future; by Mike Maples, Jr & Peter Ziebelman Twitter Substack (Starting Greatness) Floodgate LinkedIn Show Notes: Seagull mode: an unexpected founder paradigm How to wage asymmetric war on the present Evading the comparison trap Finding your people: how to build a movement Why we should continually seek the truth The customer isn’t always right, but the ones living in the future are Why disagreeableness is undervalued How to fix a pitch Franckendeck Don’t use jargon as a substitute for clear thinking How to find the true believers How to live in the future How founders are like trainspotters Why wanting to be a founder is a bad reason to start a company Reading habits of a pattern-breaker The unreliability of memory Mike as emperor of the world MORE! Books Mentioned: Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A story; by Richard Bach The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform The World; by David Deutsch What Works in Wall Street; by Jim O’Shaughnessy Poor Charlie’s Almanac: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger; by Charles T. Munger

    1h 33m

  7. SEP 5

    Ben Orlin — Math As Universal Language (EP.232)

    As a former quant with six grandkids, my spidey-senses started tingling as soon as I heard about Ben Orlin’s mission to make math fun. A native of St.Paul, Ben is a math educator and popularizer who is known for his “Math With Bad Drawing” blog and book series. Today’s conversation revolves around his excellent, original new book Math for English Majors: A Human Take on the Universal Language, which reframes math as a language, complete with nouns, verbs and grammar. Like any mathematician worth his salt, Ben loves games, which he sees as ‘puzzle engines’. No wonder then that our conversation meandered and unfolded like a satisfying puzzle, touching upon rich concepts. We discussed making sense of sampling through fantasy towns where 70% of inhabitants are lawyers (not a town I’d like to be in), threw in a bit of Lewis Carroll to discuss the assumptions built into propositional logic (sometimes it really is turtles all the way down) and pitied the Welsh kids learning how to count (keep listening to know what that means). I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! For more thoughts on the episode, the full transcript, and bucketloads of other stuff designed to make you go; “Hmm, that’s interesting!” check out our Substack. Important Links: Ben’s Blog Ben’s Twitter Ben’s LinkedIn Show Notes: A Mathematician’s Obsession The Language of Algebra What the Tortoise Said to Achilles The Concrete and the Abstract Games As Puzzle Engines We’re not Built to Understand Base Rates Why We Always Think About Samples Incorrectly Randomness and Wikipedia Rabbit-holing Counting in Different Languages The Concept of Zero Negatives as the Mathematical Language of Opposites Mathematical Escape Rooms Why Is the World Comprehensible? Discussing Infinity on Infinite Loops The Deep Mathematics of Music Ben As Emperor of the World Books Mentioned: Math for English Majors: A Human Take on the Universal Language; by Ben Orlin Math with Bad Drawings: Illuminating the Ideas That Shape Our Reality; by Ben Orlin Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea; by Charles Seife Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid; by Douglas Hofstadter Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain; by Oliver Sacks

    1h 31m

  8. AUG 29

    Gurwinder Bhogal's Guide to Modern Survival (EP.231)

    “We have created for ourselves a world that we didn't evolve for.” Gurwinder Bhogal is, for my money, one of the most independent, original and insightful thinkers you’ll find in our corner of the internet. He returns to discuss how willpower and good old-fashioned human agency can help us reclaim our mental sovereignty and escape the “constant avalanche of concerns that are being vomited over us through our laptop screens, our phones, our TV screens, and in conversations.” For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other stuff designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!” check out our Substack. Important Links: Gurwinder's Substack  Gurwinder's Twitter Gurwinder’s previous Infinite Loops appearance Show Notes: “We have created for ourselves a world we didn’t evolve for” The dogged persistence of our stubborn beliefs Gamification; generational differences in agency The societal impact of the education system’s changing priorities How to zombify a population Skin in the game: Gurwinder’s guide to reclaiming agency LLMs, bullshit, and the atomization of culture How to play better games Willpower is the bottleneck Gurwinder as emperor of the world MORE! Books Mentioned: Why Everything is Becoming a Game; by Gurwinder Bhogal Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know; by Adam Grant The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements; by Eric Hoffer Why the Mental Health of Liberal Girls Sank First and Fastest; by Jonathan Haidt (After Babel) America’s Colleges Are Reaping What They Sowed; by Tyler Austin Harper (The Atlantic) Joe Biden and the Common Knowledge Game; by Ben Hunt (Epsilon Theory) The Emperor’s New Clothes; by Hans Christian Andersen Futarchy Details; by Robin Hanson (Overcoming Bias) The Enlightenment Trilogy; by Jed McKenna The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous; by Joseph Henrich

    1h 40m
See All (239)

Hosts & Guests

4.6
out of 5
166 Ratings

About

In a rapidly changing world, it's too easy to get trapped by the existing models. New problems are met with old solutions, leading to infinite loops of inaction. We're here to change that. By exploring ideas ranging from the Tao Te Ching to cutting-edge advances in AI, we will arm you with the tools & fresh perspectives required to upgrade your HumanOS and thrive in our messy, probabilistic world. Infinite Loops is part of Jim’s new company, O'Shaughnessy Ventures. For in-depth syntheses of our guests' ideas, as well as for additional ideas that make you go Hmm that’s interesting!, subscribe to our Substack at https://infiniteloops.substack.com. Powered by O’Shaughnessy Ventures.

Information

  • Creator
    Jim O'Shaughnessy
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2024
  • Episodes
    239
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Infinite Loops

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada