The Interplay of Magic and Science in Historical Contexts

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:14) - The magic of code

(00:05:30) - The wonder of early computing

(00:11:13) - The evolution of computing: From analog to digital

(00:18:45) - The personal computer revolution

(00:32:36) - The future of computing: Beyond silicon

(00:36:59) - The importance of computing history

(00:40:53) - AI and human uniqueness

(00:50:46) - The future of AI and computing interfaces

(01:02:13) - The intersection of playfulness and utility in computing

(01:11:17) - Conclusion and final thoughts

Links:

Books: God & Golem, Inc. — https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262730065/god--golem-inc

In the Beginning... Was the Command Line — https://www.harpercollins.com/products/in-the-beginning-was-the-command-line-neal-stephenson

I, Robot — https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/180504/i-robot-by-isaac-asimov

The Half-Life of Facts — https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/310285/the-half-life-of-facts-by-sam-arbesman

The Magic of Code — https://themagicofcode.com

Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet — https://www.harpercollins.com/products/tubes-andrew-blum

People:

Eric Jorgenson — https://www.ericjorgenson.com

Sam Arbesman — https://arbesman.net

Podcasts:

The Orthogonal Bet — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-orthogonal-bet/id1682641800

Companies:

Lux Capital — https://www.luxcapital.com tldraw — https://www.tldraw.com

Websites / Tools / Platforms:

Arbesman.net — https://arbesman.net

Internet Archive Spacewar Emulation — https://archive.org/details/spacewar_202301

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We discuss:

• Why software can be seen as ACTUAL MAGIC

• The combination of history and science fiction for more accurate prediction

• The phases of computing technology, and what might be next after silicon

• The creative opportunities for the future of software

Quotes from Sam:

1. “Software is absolutely magic. It's wizardry. It's sorcery. Nobody gets it.”

2. “We actually can use text and code to affect the world around us.”

3. “Computing should almost be this humanistic liberal art—it should connect to language and philosophy and art.”

4. “Code is not a substance, but it operates in the world.”

5. “Computers are weird everything machines.”

6. “We’re shielded from the vast complexity of computing—until something goes wrong.”

7. “People used to build computers in their garages. Now we can’t even open them.”

8. “Unix is like the Epic of Gilgamesh of computing—it’s been around for decades and it’s still foundational.”

9. “AI is powerful, but it’s part of a much longer conversation around tools for thought.”

10. “Biology is a wildly different computer than anything we would ever use to compute with.”

11. “Science fiction doesn’t always predict well, but it gives us worlds we can aim toward.”

12. “I want more weird, playful experimentation in computing—something beyond the chat interface.”

13. “Computing history is so young that many of the pioneers are still around to email.”

14. “Ultimately, all these tools were developed for people. They’re meant to be in service of humans.”