From DNA to Star Trek: Samuel Arbesman on Reconciling Science with Tradition, Building Personalized “Sims” for Your Body, and What it Means to be a Scientist in VC

On this episode of Invested, Michael hosts Samuel Arbesman, the Scientist in Residence at Lux Capital. In addition, he is an xLab senior fellow at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and a research fellow at the Long Now Foundation. He is the author of The Magic of Code, Overcomplicated, and The Half-Life of Facts, and his writing has appeared in such places as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Wired, where he was previously a contributing writer. He lives in Cleveland with his family. The first computer he used was a Commodore VIC-20.

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KEY TOPICS 

• [00:00:00] The Intersection of AI and Creativity

• [00:03:11] What it Means to Be a Scientist in VC

• [00:05:55] The Frontier of Computation and Biology

• [00:08:51] Biology as a New Computing Paradigm

• [00:11:45] The Future of Personalized Simulations

• [00:15:10] Applying Complexity Science

• [00:17:49] Sci-Fi Ideas in Biotechnology

• [00:21:07] Ethics of Biohacking and Human Enhancement

• [00:24:14] Humility and Personal Values in Science

• [00:36:57] Embracing Uncertainty in Knowledge

• [00:39:20] The Power of Incremental Progress

• [00:40:38] Learning from History and Tradition

• [00:43:59] Reconciling Science with Tradition

• [00:46:01] The Role of Community in Modern Life

• [00:48:41] Individualism vs. Community in Tech

• [00:50:06] Cultural Foundations in Tech Development

• [00:57:09] AI: Evolution or Revolution?

• [01:03:06] Finding Meaning in a Post-Scarcity World

RESOURCES

Follow Samuel on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arbesman/ 

Follow Samuel on X  - https://x.com/arbesman 

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CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider, Yoni Mayer

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi