#162

Mentioned in 85 episodes

Snow Crash

Book • 1992

Neal Stephenson

Published in 1992, 'Snow Crash' is a science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson that delves into a future where the United States has fragmented into corporate city-states and the internet has evolved into a virtual reality called the Metaverse.

The story follows Hiro Protagonist, a pizza delivery driver and part-time hacker, and Y.T.

, a teenage skateboard courier, as they navigate a complex world threatened by a mysterious computer virus and a powerful drug known as Snow Crash.

The novel explores themes of history, linguistics, anthropology, and computer science, and is noted for its prescient vision of the metaverse and its influence on Silicon Valley innovators.

Mentioned by

Balaji Srinivasan

Mark Zuckerberg

Neal Stephenson

Charles C. Mann

Mentioned in 85 episodes

Mentioned by

Lex Fridman

when discussing books he read during his teenage years.

#438 – Elon Musk: Neuralink and the Future of Humanity

Mentioned by

Balaji Srinivasan

in the context of the Network State and its inspirations.

#331 – Balaji Srinivasan: How to Fix Government, Twitter, Science, and the FDA

Mentioned by

Rich Barton

as one of his favorite authors.

#806: How Rich Barton Built Expedia and Zillow from $0 to $35B — Audacious Goals, Provocation Marketing, Scrabble for Naming, and Powerful Daily Rituals

Mentioned by

Bill Gurley

as a book that influenced his thinking on the metaverse.

#651: Legendary Investor Bill Gurley on Investing Rules, Finding Outliers, Insights from Jeff Bezos and Howard Marks, Must-Read Books, Creating True Competitive Advantages, Open-Source Strategies, Adapting Mental Models to New Realities, and More

Mentioned by

John Carmack

as a formative book that influenced his thinking about the metaverse.

#309 – John Carmack: Doom, Quake, VR, AGI, Programming, Video Games, and Rockets

Recommended by

Tim Ferriss

as a prescient book.

#542: Chris Dixon and Naval Ravikant — The Wonders of Web3, How to Pick the Right Hill to Climb, Finding the Right Amount of Crypto Regulation, Friends with Benefits, and the Untapped Potential of NFTs

Mentioned by

Mark Zuckerberg

as a seminal work in virtual reality science fiction.

#582: Mark Zuckerberg on Long-Term Strategy, Business and Parenting Principles, Personal Energy Management, Building the Metaverse, Seeking Awe, the Role of Religion, Solving Deep Technical Challenges (e.g., AR), and More

Mentioned by

David Deutsch

as a favorite sci-fi author, highlighting his phenomenal research and diverse genre exploration.

The Deutsch Files I

Mentioned by

Eric Ries

in relation to the cyclical nature of hype around metaverse technologies.

Reflections on a movement | Eric Ries (creator of the Lean Startup methodology)

Mentioned by

Seth Godin

as required reading.

Seth Godin on AI, Branding, and Attention

Mentioned by an Australian attendee when discussing the metaverse and its influence, referencing Stephenson's work.

Palmer Luckey on the Next Wave of Military Tech Powered by AI | EP #158

Mentioned by

Jeffrey Ladish

when discussing a dystopian future where corporations rule the world.

Reward Hacking by Reasoning Models & Loss of Control Scenarios w/ Jeffrey Ladish of Palisade Research, from FLI Podcast

Mentioned by

Lex Fridman

as a book he recommends.

#132 – George Hotz: Hacking the Simulation & Learning to Drive with Neural Nets

Mentioned by

American HODL

as a source of inspiration to Balaji's network state theory.

BITCOIN ENDGAME | AMERICAN HODL & ERIK CASON

Mentioned by

Seth Godin

as a good book that is harder to appreciate after being exposed to the internet.

#376: How Seth Godin Manages His Life — Rules, Principles, and Obsessions (Repost)

Mentioned by

Matei Zaharia

when discussing a question about the author of the book.

The Future is Small Models, with Matei Zaharia, CTO of Databricks

Mentioned when talking about someone builds VR because of snow crash or whatever.

#087 Nat Eliason: From Blogging to Sci-Fi Novels, Writing Books That Last, and Owning Your Audience

Mentioned by

Joscha Bach

when discussing the evolution of dystopian themes in Stephenson's novels.

AGI, Sci-Fi, and Storytelling | Neal Stephenson, Ken Liu, & more

Mentioned by

Cal Newport

in a discussion about the future of virtual reality and the metaverse.

Ep. 164: LISTENER CALLS: Training for Hard Intellectual Work

Mentioned by

Neal Stephenson

and

Charles C. Mann

as a science fiction book, and discussed in relation to adaptations for Hollywood.

Neal Stephenson: Polostan

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