This podcast explores how the Internet, social media, television, and technology are negatively impacting our ability to think and reason. It covers topics such as fake news, technology's effect on attention spans, psychological aspects of media and commercials, and minimizing technological distractions. The podcast also discusses the shift from written to visual communication, the impact of social media on content consumption, and the influence of television on political campaigns. It highlights the absurdity of living through our phones and the association of Corona beer with racist stereotypes. The podcast concludes with a discussion on the decreasing attention span in younger generations and the potential consequences for society.

There’s not a big third-party in the middle taking thirty, fifty, or whatever percent of the cut on the way, it’s just directly from one individual to another individual. In this episode of Made You Think we mixed it up by bringing in two guests: Taylor Pearson and Adil Majid, to ask them all of our burning questions about cryptocurrency. Neil came into the episode completely fresh and asked them everything he could think of, so if you’re new to bitcoin, ethereum, and cryptocurrency, or have a basic understanding but want to learn more, this is the crash course you’ve been looking for. We cover a wide range of topics, including: The history and the creation of cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies pros, cons, and uses Various types and forms of cryptocurrencies The major benefits of cryptocurrencies usage Long and short-term price speculations Reliable sources of cryptocurrency news and information And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure check out Taylor and Adil online! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our launch episodes on Antifragile by Nassim Taleb to learn how to profit from chaos, and on The Sovereign Individual, to better prepare yourself for the cyber-economic future. Mentioned in the show: Spire [1:28] Cypher Punks [13:37] E-Gold [13:57] Dropbox [17:22] Filecoin [17:38] Source Wifi [17:42] Uber [19:21] Nick Szabo’s Blog - Unenumerated [23:19] Steem Crypto-Reddit [38:54] Made You Think: The Sovereign Individual [48:35] Coinbase [50:05] JP Morgan [54:11] JP Morgan trading Bitcoin after fraud claim [54:11] The Silk Road marketplace [1:10:00] Bitcoin forums [1:11:05] Ethereum [1:15:30] The DAO [1:18:45] (the DAO hack) Alibaba [1:23:14] Inneo [1:23:23] Belaji’s article on quantifying decentralization [1:24:20] Bitcoin Whitepaper [1:29:10] Vitalik Buterin’s blog [1:30:56] Social Scalability article [1:35:55] Nick Szabo’s Tim Ferriss Podcast episode [1:36:43] Cryptocurrency on Medium [1:37:03] Books mentioned: The Dictator’s Handbook [4:18] The Master Switch [4:46] Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital [57:37] Digital Gold [1:08:11] The Sovereign Individual [1:30:22] (Made You Think episode) (Nat’s Notes) The Internet of Money [1:34:59] People mentioned: Taylor Pearson [0:49] (Twitter) Adil Majid [1:21] (Twitter) Tim Wu [4:46] Satoshi Nakamoto [11:19] Nick Szabo [14:02] Kevin Kelly [34:05] Gandhi [51:38] Jamie Dimon [54:11] Carlota Perez [57:37] Ari Paul [1:07:47] Chris Burniske [1:07:47] Balaji Srinivasan [1:07:47] Barry Silbert [1:07:47]    Vitalik Buterin [1:07:47] Laura Shin [1:07:47] Elizabeth Stark [1:07:47] Fred Wilson [1:07:47] Naval Ravikant [1:07:47] Hal Finney [1:12:13] Bruce Mesquita [1:34:47] Andreas Antonopoulos [1:35:09] Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:36:20] (Antifragile Made You Think episode) Tim Ferriss [1:36:43] Useful resources: Taylor’s articles on cryptocurrency (here and here) Nat’s articles on cryptocurrency (here and here) 0:00 - Intro to the show and some information on what the episode will be about. 0:49 - Taylor Pearson and Adil Majid’s introductions and how they both got into cryptocurrency. 5:32 - Some of the ways that cryptocurrency is useful due to it being decentralized and free from governmental control. 8:45 - The two types of cryptocurrencies: currencies and tokens, and some key differences between them. 10:13 - What makes cryptocurrencies able to be decentralized and free from governmental control. Also, why people can’t create more bitcoins, info on the blockchain, and info on mining cryptocurrencies. 13:15 - Cryptocurrency creation attempts that came before the creation of Bitcoin. 14:26 - Who is creating cryptocurrencies, how they are created, and how they attain value. 16:23 - Some more information on tokens and some examples of these tokens. 18:11 - Why we would want to use tokens for transactions instead of traditional currency. 23:00 - What the customized contract aspect of cryptocurrencies is and how it is much more beneficial to all parties involved compared to traditional contracts or transactions. 30:59 - The international commerce aspect of cryptocurrencies and the huge impact they can have on minimizing transactional fees. 35:21 - How cryptocurrency is possibly going to affect tech and non-banking companies in the future. 39:18 - The potential of decentralized autonomous organizations in the future and huge impacts these can have on our daily lives. 41:20 - The difference between protocols and applications in cryptocurrencies. 44:49 - Some things that are holding cryptocurrencies back right now. 48:32 - Cryptocurrency regulation and the issue with governmental opposition to cryptocurrencies. 50:39 - Exchanges facing opposition, crypto being free of regulations, and some thoughts on governmental intervention. 54:11 - An example of large companies manipulating the price of cryptocurrencies and how the market cap increasing may help stabilize the currencies. 59:14 - Thoughts on the fluctuations of cryptocurrencies and whether or not it’s going to be valuable long-term or short-term. 1:03:15 - What’s been going on with the Chinese regulations and how that may play out with the different coins in the future. 1:05:45 - Some excellent sources of cryptocurrency information and news, and what types of sources to avoid. 1:08:05 - The backstory of Bitcoin and its creation. Also, some speculations on who the creator actually was. 1:16:10 - The creation of Ethereum, who the creator is, some benefits it has over Bitcoin, and the DAO hack. 1:22:01 - The Bitcoin fork, where Bitcoin split into Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash, and the differences between them. 1:23:29 - Quantifying the decentralization of these various cryptocurrencies. 1:26:28 - The energy arbitrage with Bitcoin, the possible environmental impacts, and Bitcoin mining. 1:30:08 - What you should check out after this episode to learn more about cryptocurrency. 1:32:58 - Where to go to learn more about the application aspect of crypto rather than the currency aspect. 1:38:40 - Wrap-up and where to find Taylor and Adil online. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com Part of what makes it so complex is also part of what makes it so interesting. There’s political philosophy, geopolitics, no regulations, network effects, incentivizing people to participate in a network, a kind of economics, and then, there’s the technical standpoint involved.

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” In this episode of Made You Think, we read through “In Praise of Idleness” by Bertrand Russell and discussed some of its main ideas. This episode was fun since we were able to read the whole essay throughout the show, stopping and starting as topics caught our interest. Whether you’ve read Russell before, or this is your first introduction to him, this essay is full of ideas that will make you think about whether you need to spend more time goofing off and relaxing. We covered a wide range of topics, including: Reducing the guilty feeling of wanting to work all day Balancing work, leisure, and spending Cultivating creativity by increasing leisure time Spending your leisure time more wisely Increasing your productivity Reading books to for pleasure, instead of just knowledge Issues with overworking in today’s society And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of In Praise of Idleness and to check out Nat’s notes on the book!  If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to our episode on The Sovereign Individual, to better prepare yourself for the cyber-economic future, and to listen to our episode on Antifragile, to learn how to turn chaos to your advantage! Mentioned in the show: YMCA [0:54] Principia Mathematica [1:55] Antifragile Made You Think episode [10:30] Mastery Made You Think episode [10:30] The Sovereign Individual Made You Think episode [11:22] Parkinson’s Law [27:19] Taylor Pearson’s time management article [27:44] Patagonia [31:08] It’s Okay to “Forget” What You Read [1:00:34] Y Combinator [1:03:12] Y Combinator universal income experiment [1:03:12] Stoicism [1:14:08] France’s lower hour work week [1:19:35] Neil’s Newsletter [1:23:20] (Nat’s Newsletter) Books mentioned: In Praise of Idleness [0:00] (Nat’s Notes) Antifragile [10:30] (Nat’s Notes) Mastery [10:30] (Nat’s Notes) The Sovereign Individual [11:22] (Nat’s Notes) Sapiens [18:01] (Nat’s Notes) Let My People Go Surfing [31:08] The 4-Hour Workweek [38:04] (Nat’s Notes) Revolt of the Masses [46:55] How to Win at the Sport of Business [58:19] The Black Swan [1:01:38] (Nat’s Notes) You’re A Badass [1:13:54] The Secret [1:13:55] People mentioned: Mussolini [0:36] Bertrand Russell [1:15] Mark Cuban [58:16] Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:01:38] Wolf Blitzer [1:05:51] Charles Darwin [1:08:58] 0:00 - Intro to the discussion on In Praise of Idleness. Some background on the author Bertrand Russell and on the book itself. 4:56 - Continuation of the essay. Some perspective on spending and saving money, working, and the work system of society. Some of the issues that Bertrand sees in the world. 7:52 - Thoughts on spending money on leisure compared to spending money on business or work. 13:00 - The next passage of the book, discussing the prospect of working less, adding more idleness to your life, and balancing both of those in today’s society. 16:28 - The history of work systems throughout time and in various geographic locations. How these systems of long work hours have impacted us today and how aspects of wealth have changed. 20:40 - Thoughts on how high work hours have negatively impacted our creativity and some extreme issues in the modern workforce. 27:09 - An important technique that you can use to improve your daily productivity and to prioritize your work. 29:48 - Issues with modern companies regarding high work hours and employee productivity. Also, the mentality of people wanting and promoting hard work and long hours, and the stigmas regarding these. 37:28 - Idleness possibly leading to chaos and the importance of having meaningful leisurely time. Some thoughts on the transition from high works hours to lower work hours. 41:01 - Russell’s thoughts on keeping the idle occupied by producing munitions and objects of war. Companies doing this currently as well, by promoting spending. 48:29 - The next passages on dismissing work as nobility, keeping people contented with work, people not knowing what to do with excess leisure time, teaching people how to better spend their leisurely time, and more. 57:03 - Losing creative energy due to doing unfulfilling work and instead, doing work that you enjoy to save that creative energy for other things. Also, doing things for enjoyment rather than trying to gain something out of it, especially with reading books. 1:01:20 - Getting hooked on reading by reading books that radically change your conception of the world and reading more books to gain those types of experiences again. 1:02:39 - Thoughts on what may happen with giving people unlimited free time and discussing the issue with people who are used to receiving bite-sized pieces of information. Also, untraining yourself from stimulus to get out of passive leisure and getting into active leisure. 1:08:10 - Russell’s thoughts on leisurely time being where our greatest ideas and inspirations come from, and on needing that time to think and to study. Also, a bit on the flaws of college with original ideas and intellectual exploration being ignored. 1:14:43 - Last passage from the book. His utopian vision for the twenty hour work week and some thoughts on what would happen if this was implemented. Also, changing our viewpoint on war and the military. 1:22:13 - The challenge of defining what work and leisure actually are and how they are not well defined today compared to Russell’s days. 1:24:58 - Wrap-up, some closing thoughts, and some key takeaways. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com “The pleasures of urban populations have become mainly passive: seeing cinemas, watching football matches, listening to the radio, and so on. This results from the fact that their active energies are fully taken up with work; if they had more leisure, they would again enjoy pleasures in which they took an active part.”

“When money can be earned anywhere, you won’t obligated to live in or subjugate yourself to high taxation.” In this episode of Made You Think, we discussed “The Sovereign Individual,” a book published in 1996 predicting how the Internet would change our lives and work over the following decades. Some of it’s come true, some of it is yet to come, but no book has made either of us think so much about how technology might destroy what we think of as citizenship, work, travel, community, and life. We talked about: The increasing popularity of self-education over college How to prepare yourself for the future cyber-economy The future of job automation and subsequent unemployment The decreasing demand for people with degrees and job experience The four stages of cultural and societal advancement The future of cryptocurrency and online wealth The necessity for finding meaning in your life and work And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Sovereign Individual and to check out Nat’s notes on the book! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our episode on Mastery by Robert Greene to learn how to become a master at your craft, and our episode on The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell on using the power of mythology to positively influence our lives. Mentioned in the show: 14,000-Year-Old British Columbian Village [5:54] Stonehenge [6:15] Internet lines being cut article [18:53] Bitcoin [19:14] (Nat’s article on Bitcoin) Upwork [29:01] MomTrusted [30:36] Loose Threads Death of the Supply Driven World [34:07] (Podcast) WellnessFX [35:21] Inflammation and Depression link [40:02] Nat Chat Podcast [50:27] Fake News article [52:49] Swift [56:40] Cryptocurrency and Blockchain [56:47] (Nat’s article on learning about cryptocurrency) Ron Paul - What if the government didn’t fund healthcare [1:02:57] NomadList [1:10:07] Wealthfront [1:21:20] Zapier [1:26:15] How to Legally Own Somebody [1:29:14] Medium [1:30:53] Estee Lauder [1:34:04] Indochino [1:38:57] Adidas [1:40:28] Under Armour [1:40:28] Estonia U-Visa [1:41:35] Game of Thrones [1:52:06] Community [1:52:07] Lost [1:52:08] Books mentioned: Antifragile (Made You Think episode) [0:33] (Nat’s Notes) The Sovereign Individual [0:37] (Nat’s Notes) Snowcrash [16:57] Ready Player One [17:21] Revolt of the Masses [1:08:57] The End of Jobs [1:25:52] People mentioned: James Dale Davidson [0:37] Lord William Rees-Mogg [0:37] Eduardo Saverin [15:17] Neal Stephenson [16:57] Al Capone [22:19] Connor Grooms [35:18] (Nat Chat episode) Malcolm Gladwell [57:15] José Ortega y Gasset [1:08:57] Arnold Schwarzenegger [1:13:58] Peter Thiel [1:16:33] Larry Page [1:19:19] Taylor Pearson [1:25:52] (Nat Chat episode) Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:29:09] (Antifragile Made You Think episode) GE [1:31:18] Elon Musk [1:56:34] Adil Majid [1:56:54] (Nat Chat episode) Justin Mares [1:58:20] (Nat Chat episode) Show Topics 0:00 - Intro to the podcast and discussion of The Sovereign Individual. Some history on the book and what it’s about. 2:52 - Some predictions for the future that the book made in 1996, detailing some of the four stages of civilization that the book describes, and some various cultural examples. 9:00 - Some bits on the informational age, the possible future of wealth, and financial independence. 12:40 - Digital nomading and taking advantage of work that’s based online for more money. 16:40 - The shift to the majority of things moving towards being online and us moving towards living just as much online as we do offline. 19:53 - Businesses moving online, money becoming harder to track, Bitcoin, and avoiding taxes. 22:44 - The potential backlash of a digital economy, from taxes being easier to avoid, and people losing their jobs due to companies automating those jobs in the future. 26:57 - With more companies becoming easier to find online, companies will have much more competition, and the consumer will have better pricing. 28:27 - The diversity of people you find when outsourcing work and the affordability aspect of outsourcing. 31:48 - The decline of the parallels with the church and the state, the ease of fact-checking people with degrees and learning nearly anything online, and the declining need for certain degrees. 34:39 - Finding the bulk of medical knowledge online, getting health consultations online, and some thoughts on healthcare and its future. 40:02 - The link between inflammation and depression, and some obvious health strategies that have been known for centuries that we now have the research to back up. 42:07 - Some flaws and some examples of the parallels with the church and the state, the perspective shift on income that comes with entrepreneurship, and the benefits of saving much more money than you spend. 50:20 - People beginning to realize they can self-educate themselves rather than going to college and more employers looking for skills rather than degrees. 52:45 - The rising issue with fake news and popular websites promoting false information. 55:15 - More discussion on employers realizing it’s not about the degree or the years spent working, it’s more about what someone has done. 57:31 - The life and death of the nation-state. Transitioning from the taxation based state to becoming more of a customer and paying for what you want. 1:05:19 - The unique aspects of America being exported a lot and making other places just as important, and the sustainability aspect of the large intellectual diversity in America. 1:08:52 - A community being formed more on a shared idea of a future, rather than a shared past or shared blood. Also, living in different countries and the future of various countries economies. 1:17:00 - Discussing the return of violence mentioned in the book. Governments, companies, and employees fighting any opposition. 1:20:00 - How some large companies are evading American taxes by routing income in different countries. 1:24:03 - Employee owned versus investor-owned companies and hiring contractors rather than employees. 1:34:19 - The book’s predictions on how the cyber-economy will be evolving, most of which we’ve already seen. Also, some thoughts on how the last shift to a fully based cyber-economy may happen. 1:36:40 - The future of cryptocurrency, some impediments with them, and some thoughts on the inflation of cryptocurrencies. 1:38:44 - Some other prediction’s the book made on what will happen when the economy shifts to being fully online and some thoughts on this from Nat and Neil. 1:43:04 - This risk of unemployment due to job automation and higher skill levels being required. Also, some of the issues with this happening and possible revolts. 1:52:45 - The need for finding work you that you truly enjoy doing and finding meaning for your life. 1:57:52 - Wrap-up, some last thoughts on the book and in general, and some last pieces of advice. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com “If you can teach yourself to solve problems, you have a bright career ahead. No matter where you live, you will find problems galore in need of solving. Those who would benefit from solutions of their problems, will pay you handsomely to solve them.”

“Picking a path, even if it’s not the right path, will get you closer to finding the path that will work for you.” “The Power of Myth” is a series of interviews conducted over two years between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, originally meant for television, but eventually repackaged into this book covering Campbell’s lifetime of research on the power of mythology to influence our lives and thinking. It made both of us seriously think about the value of mythology, stories, religion, and how historic lessons can be carried across time. If you’re someone who normally prefers actionable information, and reading non-fiction, The Power of Myth makes a strong case for how timeless stories can teach us more than a bulleted list ever can. We cover a lot in the episode, including: How mythology can influence your work and pursuing your passions Using mythology and theology as a guide for your life Finding your path to bliss and maintaining that bliss Promoting growth by welcoming your challenges and enemies Balancing the necessary sacrifices in everything that you do Gaining inspiration from ancient mythology and theology And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Power of Myth!   If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our launch episodes on Mastery by Robert Greene to learn how to become a master at your craft, and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca to learn ancient wisdom for a better life. Mentioned in the show: Skywalker Ranch [1:02] Sarah Lawrence College [1:31] Jordan Peterson’s Podcast (biblical series) [3:35] Maasai Tribe People [9:48] Tim Ferriss Podcast (dating heuristic episode)  [14:57] Masculine/Feminine Personality Traits [15:43]  (Three related articles: first, second, and third) Jocko Podcast [17:46] The Optionality Trap [28:29] Bonobos [29:41] Andy Dunn’s VC blog post [29:45] Zappos [35:05] Twilight Zone (episode mentioned) [35:38] Made You Think Mastery podcast episode [38:35] Nat Chat Podcast [39:48] DiscMan [41:14] Nat and Neil’s Nat Chat episode [43:46] Bitcoin [50:02] Nike [52:55] Adidas [52:56] Wall-E [57:19] Dota 2 [58:26] World of Warcraft [58:31] Starcraft [58:32] Hardcore History Podcast [1:06:10] Biblical Series Podcast on Cain and Abel [1:14:33] Made You Think Letter’s From a Stoic podcast episode [1:20:55] Made You Think Antifragile podcast episode [1:20:56] Books mentioned: The Power of Myth (Nat’s Notes) [0:44] Harry Potter [3:51] Sapiens (Nat’s Notes) [8:32] The Way of the Superior Man (Nat’s Notes) [16:17] The Odyssey [28:02] The Alchemist (Nat’s Notes) [28:34] The Secret [28:40] Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh’s book) [35:07] Play It Away [38:07] The Sovereign Individual (Nat’s Notes) [40:42] The Quran [49:14] American Indian Myths and Legends [1:07:58] The Selfish Gene [1:11:48] The Bhagavad Gita (Nat’s Notes) [1:16:34] The Way of Zen [1:17:05] Words That Work (Nat’s Notes) [1:17:58] The Joseph Campbell Companion [1:19:34] People mentioned: Joseph Campbell [0:55] Bill Moyers [0:55] George Lucas [1:36] J.K. Rowling [3:54] Yuval Noah Harari [8:35] Tim Ferriss [14:57] Jocko Willink [17:46] Plato [22:00] Andy Dunn [29:40] Tony Hsieh [35:03] Mark Cuban [38:06] Dan Carlin [1:06:10] Richard Dawkins [1:11:48] Carl Jung [1:12:02] Alan Watts [1:17:05] Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:17:26] Frank Luntz [1:17:58] 0:00 - Introduction, some background information on The Power of Myth, and some popular modern-day mythological references. 4:26 - The ease of remembering myths and some thoughts on our memorization abilities hundreds of years ago. 6:20 - Mythology in the modern world and using mythology to steer you towards better and more authentic desires. 9:30 - Campbell’s philosophy with having to earn your adulthood and having a clear demarcation for adulthood. 13:30 - The more mythological aspect of love and lust that was more prominent in the past. Also, speaking on the dynamic of masculine and feminine energy. 19:05 - The significance of various symbols found in the world, speaking about theology versus mythology, and using both as personal guidelines for a better life. 26:58 - Campbell’s thoughts of self-actualization, following your bliss, and using that bliss to find the right path in life. 34:26 - Maintaining a creative outlet, having a meaning to live, and making sacrifices to maintain that bliss. 38:35 - Advice for finding your bliss, trying many different things, and taking different paths. 45:24 - Using mythological stories and their characters, challenges, and motivations to help you with your own journies. 48:17 - Balancing the sacrifice and payment for each thing you do and realizing you’ll most likely have to put in the same amount of work as everyone one that path before you. 52:02 - Loving your struggles and enemies, as they are the instruments for your destination. Looking for competitors and challenge to promote growth. 57:43 - The false sense of achievement and meaning you get from video games and the huge issue with this. 1:01:49 - The structure of the hero’s journey and viewing your life in that structure to make better decisions, similar to “What would this person do?”. 1:04:35 - Campbell’s mask of eternity idea, how the structure of mythology matches the structure of our daily lives, the morality aspect of myths, and how certain myths may have helped ancient tribes survive. 1:15:58 - Some last thoughts, gaining inspiration from religious myths and ancient texts, and tying words to strong feelings. 1:18:58 - Wrap up, some other last pieces of thoughts, and some info on the next podcast episode. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com “It’s game where, if you do find your bliss and you follow it, you can’t lose. Because you’re not going for the destination, you’re going for that journey.”

“It’s never going to be easier to just learn and to make little money, than when you’re young and in the beginning.” Mastery is the best book that either of us have found at becoming a master of your craft, getting mentors, learning through experience, and reaching the top of your field. If you’re serious about becoming known for your work, there are few better books that you could read to help get you there, and we covered many of the key lessons in this episode. In this episode though, we covered: Finding your purpose and achieving skill mastery Reconnecting with your inner self Strategies for improving your life and progression Avoiding common mistakes that hinder growth Enduring pain to increase mental resilience Breaking through learning plateaus Remaining patient and trusting the process Improving your social intelligence to communicate better And much more. Enjoy! If you want more on Mastery, be sure to check out Nat’s notes on the book and pick up a copy yourself. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our launch episodes on Antifragile by Nassim Taleb to learn how to profit from chaos, and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca to learn ancient wisdom for a better life. Mentioned in the show: How to Become an Expert in Any Skill Tinder RTS games Fountains of Bellagio Procter and Gamble No Shampoo, No Conditioner article How To Get Up To Speed In Any Industry… Quickly article Candy Crush Deliberate Practice article Mattan Griffel Crucial Conversations Slideshow MomTrusted Morning Pages Cryptocurrency Teachable Neil’s brewing company Books mentioned: Mastery by Robert Greene (Nat’s Notes) Letters from a Stoic (Made You Think Episode) (Nat’s Notes) Antifragile (Made You Think Episode) (Nat’s Notes) Excellent Sheep (Nat’s Notes) Siddartha Deep Work (Nat’s Notes) Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind  (Nat’s Notes) What Every Body is Saying The 48 Laws of Power (Nat’s Notes) Crucial Conversations (Neil’s Notes) The Art of Learning (Nat’s Notes) People mentioned: Robert Greene Leonardo da Vinci Napoleon Bonaparte Charles Darwin Thomas Edison Martha Graham William Deresiewicz Chaz Giles Justin Mares Scott Adams Seneca Ernest Hemingway Michael Faraday Ignaz Semmelweis Peter Thiel Ankur Nagpal Show Topics 2:03 - Start of the discussion. Nat discussing the layout of the book and how you can benefit from it. 7:58 - Anyone can become a master. Nat and Neil on the first steps to achieving mastery and on the first phase of the book, the apprenticeship phase. 12:10 - Focusing on your personal tendencies that hint at your purpose and thoughts on becoming more connected to yourself. 16:55 - Nat and Neil on Greene’s three steps for trying to reconnect with your calling and finding work that you truly enjoy. 19:14 - The large number of potential jobs that are there, but aren’t always easy to find. A few examples on this from Nat and Neil. 22:04 - Looking at your career as more of a journey with twists and turns, rather than a straight line. Also, some more ideas for finding the things that you’re really interested in. 27:27 - Speaking on learning everything that you can and then detailing the first steps of the apprenticeship phase. 33:12 - Discussing the importance of deliberate practice, deep work, and avoiding distractions to achieve optimal efficiency with your work. 36:47 - Greene’s strategies to help you complete the apprenticeship phase and for getting the most out of it. 40:22 - Trusting the process, not setting artificial metrics for yourself, and taking the harder options for more growth. 42:35 - Properly implementing feedback from your failures, the importance of trying different things, and broadening your skills. 45:25 - The necessity for having a mentor and learning from them. 53:05 - Choosing the correct mentor, avoiding common mistakes with your mentor, and advice for properly learning from them. 59:20 - Developing social intelligence and improving your ability to navigate personal interactions. 1:06:01 - Strategies to acquire social intelligence and advice for better connecting to others. 1:10:20 - Advice and steps for thinking beyond those initial guidelines, sparking new creativity, and continuing your learning beyond the constraints of the skill. 1:19:58 - Strategies for avoiding emotional pitfalls, maintaining patience, and continually improving yourself. 1:26:18 - Giving yourself an environment to be creative and to actively explore contradictions in yourself and in the world at large. 1:28:35 - Fusing the intuitive with the rational and achieving mastery, seeing the world as it really is, and really trying to understand other’s perspectives. 1:35:17 - Wrap up and some final thoughts on the book. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com/ “After continual practice for years, you eventually make the leap to mastery.”

“You want your life to be where, if it was your last year, you’d happy with how your life turned out.” Letters from a Stoic is one of Neil’s and Nat’s favorite works of philosophy, and has taken the world by storm in a massive resurgence over the last 10 years. Unlike most philosophy works, it’s extremely readable and endlessly applicable, and you’ll stumble upon useful bits of wisdom on every page. We’ve both read it and re-read it multiple times, and knew it had to be one of the first books and collections of wisdom that we shared with you. We covered a ton of topics from the book, including: Focusing on developing deep friendships. Reading more timeless books and rereading books. Practicing negative scenarios to better prepare yourself for them. Being grateful for what you currently have. Being content your life now, for there may not be a tomorrow. Removing the unpragmatic fear of death. Facing difficult obstacles head on, instead of avoiding them. Enjoy! If you want more on Letters from a Stoic, be sure to check out Nat’s notes on the book and pick up a copy yourself. And let Neil and Nat know on Twitter what you thought of this episode! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our other launch episode on Antifragile by Nassim Taleb, on how to turn chaos to your advantage! Mentioned in the show: The Marathon of Beer, Books, and Philosophy Nat Chat Episode How to Profit from Chaos, Lessons from Antifragile Episode Stoicism The Lindy Rule Neil’s Newsletter Gratitude journal 5-Minute Journal Morning Pages Fight Through the Suck Saturnalia Dominic D’Agostino (Tim Ferriss Episode) (Joe Rogan Episode) Fushimi Inari Shrine Books mentioned: Letters from a Stoic (Nat’s Notes) (Free PDF) Antifragile (Nat’s Notes) Hillbilly Elegy The Dip People mentioned: Seneca Plato Epictetus Cato the Elder Marcus Aurelius Justin Mares Seth Godin Tim Ferriss Joe Rogan Socrates Steve Jobs Randy Komisar Adil Majid Jocko 1:26 - Intro to the book discussion. Some background on Seneca and stoicism. 5:25 - The issue of not settling in one place or focusing on one thing at a time, costing you strong personal relationships and richer knowledge on one subject. 8:00 - Speaking of the Lindy rule of books, paying more attention to older books that are still popular today. 9:59 - Rereading books every so often to gain new insights and learning more from them. 12:40 - Doing things to strengthen yourself from poverty each day, learning the limits of wealth, and being content with what you have. 17:40 - Using excuses to abstain from discipline and your personal plans. Also, speaking on the nature of fasting. 22:33 - Setting aside a number of days in which you do away with indulgences and pleasures to increase your resilience and gratitude for these things. 25:47 - During times of safety, build yourself up to possible negative events to prepare yourself beforehand. 28:45 - Despite growing physically old, you can maintain your spirit, your willpower, and how you respond to negative events. 30:52 - Enjoying what you’re doing now and making sure that you’re happy with your life if it was your last year. Also, speaking on proving your words with actions and explaining Seneca’s suicide. 35:19 - Escaping deep inner issues with travel and new experiences is faulty. “The same thing that drove you away, you carry with you.”. Advice and perspective on traveling with these issues. 42:00 - Investing in religious items will not increase your chances of what you want to happen, it’s more going to come from you and what you’re doing. Also, abstaining from your pride in things that aren’t your own or that can be taken away. 46:21 - Internalizing the idea of death and making the most of your life while alive. Behaving well because it’s the right thing to do, instead of behaving well for a reward at the end of your life. 49:18 - Becoming comfortable with your death and recognizing that death is nothingness, as it was before you were born. Also, Nat on a good way to introduce others to stoicism. 51:43 - Doing away with all of those who complain or who worry about things outside of their control. Labeling unpragmatic emotions as useless and asking yourself whether it is necessary. 56:50 - Facing difficult obstacles and your struggles, instead of running away from them in order to lessen the burden. 59:22 - Being happier with less, you can appreciate having more, that much more. A few real world examples of this and some advice for being more appreciative and grateful. 1:04:22 - The issue of the constant comparison game we face today and the constant want of having more, which creates problems. 1:08:45 - Doing the things that scare you and being suspicious of the things that seem easy. Some thoughts on the timeless nature of the book and on its wide application to improve our daily lives. 1:11:20 - Wrap up and some last thoughts. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com “It is precisely in times of immunity from care that the soul should toughen itself beforehand for occasions of greater stress, and it is while Fortune is kind that it should fortify itself against her violence.”

“Perhaps being deprived of poison makes us fragile and the road to robustification starts with a modicum of harm.” - Nassim Nicholas Taleb Antifragile has completely changed how people think about work and life, and the concepts from it can be used daily. It’s not just a modern practical philosophy book, it’s a guide for smart investing, exercising, learning, working, and thinking. Neil and I tried to cover many of the major themes of the book and how to apply them. You’ll learn: Why you should build up your tangential skills to become more versatile with your work. The importance of incorporating small, positive lifestyle changes to become more robust in negative situations. Letting yourself feel negative emotions and experiences for personal growth. Why you should let your plans be more of a guide, instead of a restriction from other choices. How you can get luckier through positive luck exposure. Techniques for turning procrastination into productivity towards other things Enjoy! And if you want more on Antifragile, be sure to check out Nat’s notes on the book and pick up a copy yourself. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check out our other launch episode on Letters from a Stoic, one of the ancient writers who was a big influence on Taleb’s thinking. Mentioned in the show: You Can’t Say That Because You’re White No, Soylent isn’t Healthy. Here’s Why Bitcoin Welcome to Extremistan. Don’t Be A Turkey Benefits of Fasting Mom Trusted Estee Lauder How to Plan Your Ideal Day Optimizing for Optionality No Shampoo Article No Soap Article Study on Glove Bacteria Transfer Books mentioned: Antifragile (Nat’s Notes) Black Swan (Nat’s Notes) Traction (Nat’s Notes) People mentioned: Nassim Nicholas Taleb Barbara Streisand Milo Yiannopoulos Charlie Hoehn Taylor Pearson Justin Mares Gabriel Weinberg 2:20 - Nat and Neil begin to explain the core concepts in Antifragile and discuss various examples of antifragility in today’s culture. 13:05 - Some thoughts on fragile and antifragile work environments. 15:38 - Various fragility contributing risks that you may be exposing yourself to and some lifestyle variables you can improve to promote personal antifragility. 20:40 - Nat and Neil speaking on recognizing potential vulnerabilities in your career. They are also discussing the importance of building up tangential skills to become more robust and versatile with your work. 23:08 -  How incorporating small stressors into your life can radically improve everything you do, and Nat touching some on a few of the health benefits from intermittent fasting. 35:24 - The importance of recognizing naive interventionism to allow you and others to experience possible, necessary life stressors to promote personal growth. 50:02 - Why you should try to let yourself feel your emotions naturally to learn and grow, instead of immediately turning towards artificial resolution. 54:57 - Benefiting from moments of procrastination and turning procrastination with one thing into productivity towards other things. 1:00:38 - Nat and Neil talking about Taleb’s barbell strategy; practicing extreme risk aversion or extreme risk loving in various situations, rather than taking consistent moderate risks. Also, going into detail on making wise investments with your wealth. 1:06:49 - Becoming more antifragile with your wealth and peer relationships by applying the barbell strategy to those areas. 1:09:43 - Letting your plans be more of a guide and not letting them restrict you from other opportunities. 1:16:40 - Spending more time experimenting with something and failing, rather than learning about it from a set of rules or someone else before experimenting. 1:21:15 - The importance of having a high optionality in various aspects of life to promote antifragility, especially with having time available for beneficial opportunities. 1:28:36 - Nat and Neil speaking on creating more optionality for yourself by removing the unnecessary and being aware of more naive interventions. 1:42:11 - Some closing thoughts from Nat and Neil on “Skin in the game”, which is making decisions based on if you have exposure to the downsides and upsides of those decisions. 1:45:47 - Wrap up and a quick overview of some healthy stressors you can incorporate into your own life. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com “Whenever there’s a problem, the first question shouldn’t be, ‘What do I add to fix it?’ but rather, ‘What can I remove to fix it?’”

Made you think is a podcast from Nat Eliason and Neil Soni dedicated to exploring big ideas from old books, new technologies, great speeches, and anything else that will stretch your brain muscles. Here's what the show is all about.