
Thinking On Paper: A Technology Podcast For Curious Minds
Hosted by Mark and Jeremy, Thinking On Paper is a weekly conversation asking the big questions:
What kind of world are we building?
What does it mean to stay human in the age Of AI?
How do we raise kids who can think critically and stay curious?
Grab a front-row seat as CEOs, founders, outliers and artists unpack the “why” behind everything from AI and quantum computing to space manufacturing, bio-engineering and clean energy.
New conversations every Thursday • Book Club episodes every Monday
Follow now and slow down the future.
Latest episodes

Feb 12, 2024 • 19min
Book Club: The Design Of Everyday Things (Part 2) - Why You Can't Remove Emotion From Design
Disruptors and curious minds! Welcome to the Book Club. This week we're reading chapter two of 'The Design of Everyday Things' by Don Norman.
Yes, we're in UX design school, seeing how lessons on great design can be thought about and used across domains, in all walks of life.
Please enjoy the show
- --- - - - - - - - - - -
What's in the conversation?
📚 The gulf of execution V The gulf of evaluation
📚 What's going to happen V what's happened
📚 Great design affects our emotion
📚 The 7 stages of action
📚 Design psychology - how thought can't be separated from emotion
📚 Feed forward - what is it, and how is it different to feedback?
📚 3 levels of processing
📚 reflective, behavioural and visceral
📚Collaboration
And much more.
- --- - - - - - - - - - -
Why this book, you ask?
In a world saturated with AI created content, human thought is more important and powerful than ever. But reading books isn’t enough. You have to read the right books: books which have stood the test of time; books applicable across domains; books that are as relevant today as they will be in ten, fifty, a hundred years time.
At least that’s what we think.
Which is why our next book was first published in 1988.
It’s a story of how people interact with technology. The good, the bad and the ugly of UX and design. What works and what doesn’t. Why it works and the frameworks and mental models that will help you improve your own designs, whatever they may be.
Storytelling, design constraints, human error, culture, competitive forces, launching a new product, complexity, human-centred design. You’ll never look at your kettle or a web page in the same way again.
Here’s a quote:
‘If I were placed in the cockpit of a modern jet airliner, my inability to perform well would neither surprise nor bother me. But why should I have trouble with doors and light switches, water faucets and stoves?”
And here’s another:
“Good design requires good communication, especially from machine to person, indicating what actions are possible, what is happening, and what is about to happen.”
Drop your comments below!
- - - - - - - - - - -
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdDfMZpNXV0&t=95s
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#books #bookclubs #bookcommunity #design #donnorman #thedesignofeverydaythings #designpodcasts #gooddesign #bookreviews

Feb 9, 2024 • 50min
#60 Why Do Your Kids Need The Metaverse? Traditional Education Is Failing Them
Disruptors and curious minds! We’re a technological species, Today’s guest is Mr Metaverse.
How can the metaverse and technology give hope to the struggling, sanctuary to the persecuted and meaning to the lost? When futurism and the metaverse merge, how can it elevate our passions, reignite our curiosity? What does the metaverse mean for brands, manufacturing, entertainment and how will the next generations fare?
Our guest Aragorn Meulendijks, aka Mr. Metaverse, a former historian turned futurist, inspired by the likes of Clarke and Sagan. Aragorn is no stranger to turning 'crazy' ideas into reality, advocating for humanity's fusion with AI and the Metaverse.
He shares his unique perspectives on:
📼 The metamorphosis of human condition in the face of technology's relentless evolution.
📺 How history serves as a compass guiding our future.
💾 Plato
🎞️ The broken education system and how the metaverse can repair it.
☎️ The risks and solutions of AI elitism.
💿 The challenge of maintaining human connections in a tech-dominated world
🛼 Compassion and Empathy
👾 The metaverse
🕹️ AI
Please enjoy the show!
- - - - - - - - -
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Disruptors and Curious Minds
2:04 Our Sponsors Wripple
2:49 Welcome Aragorn Meulendijks
4:24 Idealists Are The Real Realists
6:01 How History Shapes Your Future
8:26 Why Education Is Broken
11:04 How Can The Metaverse Fix Education?
18:26 Risks & Challenges - Is AI Only For The Elite?
23:37 How To Keep The Human Connection To Technology
30:07 A Message From 2045 - Looking Back
34:20 The World Between 2030 - 2040
38:14 Star Trek Industrial Food Systems
41:02 Does More Intelligence Lead To More Compassion?
44:44 VR For Resilience & Empathy
47:09 Final Thoughts
- - - - -- - - - - --
Quotes From The Show
“Idealists are the real realists.”
“I wasn't very good at remembering the years or the dates, but I was very
good at seeing the connections, understanding how one thing would lead to another and how it would evolve or into something else.”
“I was seeing that things that Plato said about society and democracy were being boosted or catalysed by modern technology.”
“Plato said any democracy has several stages in its life cycle, and by the end the subcultures are so far apart that they no longer have shared values, and thus no shared reality and thus they're not capable of cooperating anymore. This is exactly what we're seeing in the world today.”
“Our Educational Systems are absolutely incapable of keeping up with the speed of change.”
“Our brains and bodies and everything we do is linear, however technology is developing along an exponential path.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
This show is brought to you by Wripple - Marketing’s On-demand talent platform.
- Get your company matched with vetted freelancers in real time.
- If you’re talent, get qualified opportunities with top brands.
- Now featuring AI, Web3 and blockchain talent across verticals.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jeremy is a futurist, writer, and nexus thinker working at the intersection of technology, entertainment and brand. He is the co-founder of Tunewelders and SoundObjects and creator of the Write To Know You program.
Mark is a creative writer, futurist thinker and trainee Nexus thinker. He writes, researches and thinks about web3 and emerging technology for LVMH and Culture3.
Links To The Show:
Sign up to the book club - http://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/bookclub
Connect With Mark - https://linktr.ee/markfielding
Connect With Jeremy - https://www.jeremygilbertson.com/
#futrism #emergingtechnology #metaverse #VR #AR #AI #spatialcomputing #podcast #web3

Feb 1, 2024 • 46min
#59 Paris Hilton Is Killing It In Roblox Thanks To Generation Z And Alpha. So Can Your Brand.
Disruptors and curious minds! Welcome to another episode exploring the impact of emerging technologies on business and culture. This week, Roblox!
Engage & Interact - Why Your Brand Should Care About Roblox, Games & XR
Immersive web3 (and non-web3) brand experiences are a new marketing channel that allows brands to connect with customers in a more engaging and interactive way.
Brands are combining blockchain and AI, Roblox and walled games to create immersive experiences that showcase their products and elevate their consumers in virtual worlds.
Paris Hilton's Slivingland is the latest media favourite. "Glam, gaming and loyalty. A revolutionary Roblox sensation where Paris Hilton is the face of Hilton's first foray into the metaverse."
Our guest is Janina Vinklere, a Web3 Marketing & Immersive Experience Ambassador at Exclusible, a platform that enables brands to create gamified digital experiences using blockchain and AI technologies.
She is also the Growth Lead at Vividly.space, a web development agency that specializes in Web3 solutions.
Janina is an active member and core contributor to various Web3 communities and initiatives, such as Women in Web3 Switzerland, Swiss NFT Association, and FTW DAO. Janina is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and strives to create a more inclusive and diverse environment in the Web3 space.
Her favorite quote? "We are in an era where an individual's previous work experience matters less, and their skills and expertise to build something new matter more."
Please enjoy the show. And leave your comments and feedback in the chat so we can improve.
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About the hosts:
Jeremy is a Nexus Thinker and interdisciplinary entrepreneur working across music, technology and story. He leads his wellness mastermind Write To Know You at major universities and organizations around the world.
Mark is a storyteller, writer and thinker exploring emerging technologies for LVMH & Culture3. He’s the founder of Metaverse-Writer, a self-published author, NFT creator and generalist.
================================
Click on these!
Join the book club - http://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/bookclub
Connect With Mark - https://markfielding.xyz/
Connect With Jeremy - https://www.jeremygilbertson.com/
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#web3 #blockchain #web3forbrands #web3podcasts #crypto #technology #emergingtechnologies

Jan 30, 2024 • 55min
#58 Generation Bitcoin: The Past, Present And Future Of The Cryptocurrency That Everyone Should Own
Bitcoin! As our guest Markus Thielen writes in his book Crypto Titans, the history of Bitcoin has never been a marble road to the Emerald City. It's been a riotous, chaotic, larger than life rollercoaster.
What is Bitcoin? Where did it arise, who were the players, what role did China play? Is it sustainable? What is proof of work?
How much will your Bitcoin be worth? This is your chance to get every question answered.
Markus Thielen is head of 10x Research and specializes in delivering top-tier research at the crossroads of digital assets and financial markets. His expertise is grounded in a comprehensive toolkit encompassing a profound understanding of cryptocurrency and finance, driven by advanced predictive models.
10X Research has a proven track record in the crypto industry, leading hedge funds like Millennium and major Wall Street institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan.
Please Enjoy The Show!
TIMETSAMPS
0:00 Disruptors and Curious Minds
1:33 Our Sponsors Wripple
2:02 Crypto Titans
3:30 Markus Thielen
4:11 Bitcoin History
5:48 What Is The Bitcoin ETF?
7:11 Leverage And Borrowing
8:09 Who Can Buy Into An ETF?
10:11 Public & Political Pressure
13:20 ETF Scepticism and Fearmongering
15:50 How Does Satoshi Feel?
20:28 When Ethereum ETF?
24:53 Bitcoin: Network Effects & The Hero's Journey
31:21 Generation Bitcoin
32:40 The Environmental Impact
37:26 Ryan Zou
40:33 China Is Misunderstood
46:16 Bitcoin Jesus
47:40 How To Explain The Bitcoin 'Aha' Moment
51:08 Ordinals - Something, Or Nothing?
52:48 Is Hal Finney Satoshi?
53:37 Join Our Book Club
This show is brought to you by Wripple - Marketing’s On-demand talent platform.
- Get your company matched with vetted freelancers in real time.
- If you’re talent, get qualified opportunities with top brands.
- Now featuring AI, Web3 and blockchain talent across verticals.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jeremy is a futurist, writer, and nexus thinker working at the intersection of technology, entertainment and brand. He is the co-founder of Tunewelders and SoundObjects and creator of the Write To Know You program.
Mark is a creative writer, futurist thinker and trainee Nexus thinker. He writes, researches and thinks about web3 and emerging technology for LVMH and Culture3.
Links To The Show:
Sign up to the book club - http://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/bookclub
Connect With Mark - https://linktr.ee/markfielding
Connect With Jeremy - https://www.jeremygilbertson.com/#bitcoin #blockchain #crypto #cryptocurrency #ethereum #etfs #web3 #podcast

Jan 29, 2024 • 24min
Book Club: The Design Of Everyday Things, By Don Norman (Part 1) - Everything In Your Life Was Designed By Someone
Disruptors and Curious minds!
Welcome to the second book of the Thinking on Paper Book Club, the most immersive, interactive, entertaining and community driven book club focused on technology, culture, mindset and the crazy condition we call life.
This week we're reading chapter one of 'The Design of Everyday Things.'
Why this book, you ask?
In a world saturated with AI created content, human thought is more important and powerful than ever. But reading books isn’t enough. You have to read the right books: books which have stood the test of time; books applicable across domains; books that are as relevant today as they will be in ten, fifty, a hundred years time.
At least that’s what we think.
Which is why our next book was first published in 1988.
It’s a story of how people interact with technology. The good, the bad and the ugly of UX and design. What works and what doesn’t. Why it works and the frameworks and mental models that will help you improve your own designs, whatever they may be.
Storytelling, design constraints, human error, culture, competitive forces, launching a new product, complexity, human-centred design. You’ll never look at your kettle or a web page in the same way again.
Here’s a quote:
‘If I were placed in the cockpit of a modern jet airliner, my inability to perform well would neither surprise nor bother me. But why should I have trouble with doors and light switches, water faucets and stoves?”
And here’s another:
“Good design requires good communication, especially from machine to person, indicating what actions are possible, what is happening, and what is about to happen.”
Do you have a face for the silver screen? Do you want to be up here with Mark and Jeremy discussing the lessons and strategies learned from the book, in real time? Visit www.thinkingonpaper.xyz and we'll share the link. We only ask that you have read the chapter we discuss.
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://studio.youtube.com/video/5w8BzvMFky0/edit
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#bookreviews #bookcommunity #thedesignofeverydaythings #designbooks #donnorman

Jan 26, 2024 • 16min
Book Club: The Nexus, Augmented Thinking For A Complex World (Part 8) - Your Output Always Equals Your Input
Disruptors and Curious minds! Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club. This week we're reading chapter eight of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking For A Complex World, by Julio Ottino and Bruce Mau.
Please Enjoy The Show!
====================
Why are we reading this book?
➡️ The Nexus explores the convergence of art, technology, and science, and how it can help us solve complex problems. You know, how to stop the ice melting, how to unify art, science and technology and safe us from ourselves... complex networks, urban decay, creativity in the age of AI... hell, how to make better tennis rackets and music that doesn't suck.
➡️ The Nexus is a visually striking book that combines word and image to illustrate the concept of augmented thinking, which is the ability to balance creativity and execution, and to embrace complementarity, where opposing extremes coexist and expand our thinking.
➡️ The Nexus provides historical examples of how art, technology, and science have interacted and influenced each other, from the Renaissance to the present day... those insights help us build the strategies and networks essential for building the future. Only by understanding the past can we truly know what the future should and shouldn't be.
➡️ The Nexus has received brilliant reviews from critics and readers, who praised its originality, insight, and relevance.
➡️ Daniel H. Pink, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind, called it “a spectacular book”.
➡️ Gwynne Shotwell, the President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, said it "stretched my brain and caused me to think differently about both the beauty and challenges of our world.
======================
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Md6jWwujc&t=124s
======================
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#nexusthinking #brucemau #nexus #clearthinking #bookreviews #bookclub #booksummaries #bookrecommendations #books #reading #goodbookstoread #bestbooks

Jan 26, 2024 • 20min
Book Club: The Nexus (Part 7) - How To Know If You Are Creative, Or Not...
Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club. This week we're reading chapter seven of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking For A Complex World, by Julio Ottino and Bruce Mau. Please Enjoy The Show!
====================
Why are we reading this book?
➡️ The Nexus explores the convergence of art, technology, and science, and how it can help us solve complex problems. You know, how to stop the ice melting, how to unify art, science and technology and safe us from ourselves... complex networks, urban decay, creativity in the age of AI... hell, how to make better tennis rackets and music that doesn't suck.
➡️ The Nexus is a visually striking book that combines word and image to illustrate the concept of augmented thinking, which is the ability to balance creativity and execution, and to embrace complementarity, where opposing extremes coexist and expand our thinking.
➡️ The Nexus provides historical examples of how art, technology, and science have interacted and influenced each other, from the Renaissance to the present day... those insights help us build the strategies and networks essential for building the future. Only by understanding the past can we truly know what the future should and shouldn't be.
➡️ The Nexus has received brilliant reviews from critics and readers, who praised its originality, insight, and relevance.
➡️ Daniel H. Pink, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind, called it “a spectacular book”.
➡️ Gwynne Shotwell, the President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, said it "stretched my brain and caused me to think differently about both the beauty and challenges of our world.
======================
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Md6jWwujc&t=124s
======================
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#nexusthinking #brucemau #nexus #clearthinking #bookreviews #bookclub #booksummaries #bookrecommendations #books #reading #goodbookstoread #bestbooks

Jan 26, 2024 • 17min
Book Club: The Nexus (Part 6) - You're Eating Nothing But Quark Gluon Soup
Disruptors and Curious minds! Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club. This week we're reading chapter six of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking For A Complex World, by Julio Ottino and Bruce Mau. Please Enjoy The Show!
====================
Why are we reading this book?
➡️ The Nexus explores the convergence of art, technology, and science, and how it can help us solve complex problems. You know, how to stop the ice melting, how to unify art, science and technology and safe us from ourselves... complex networks, urban decay, creativity in the age of AI... hell, how to make better tennis rackets and music that doesn't suck.
➡️ The Nexus is a visually striking book that combines word and image to illustrate the concept of augmented thinking, which is the ability to balance creativity and execution, and to embrace complementarity, where opposing extremes coexist and expand our thinking.
➡️ The Nexus provides historical examples of how art, technology, and science have interacted and influenced each other, from the Renaissance to the present day... those insights help us build the strategies and networks essential for building the future. Only by understanding the past can we truly know what the future should and shouldn't be.
➡️ The Nexus has received brilliant reviews from critics and readers, who praised its originality, insight, and relevance.
➡️ Daniel H. Pink, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind, called it “a spectacular book”.
➡️ Gwynne Shotwell, the President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, said it "stretched my brain and caused me to think differently about both the beauty and challenges of our world.
======================
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmoDWgDkZW8&t=193s
======================
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#nexusthinking #brucemau #nexus #clearthinking #bookreviews #bookclub #booksummaries #bookrecommendations #books #reading #goodbookstoread #bestbooks

Jan 26, 2024 • 26min
Book Club: The Nexus (Part 5) - Creativity Lessons From Bell Labs
Disruptors and Curious minds! Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club. This week we're reading chapter five of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking For A Complex World, by Julio Ottino and Bruce Mau. Please Enjoy The Show!
====================
Timestamps
0:00 Disruptors and curious minds
1:37 Creativity Through History
2:34 Bell Labs
4:24 Bauhaus
5:37 The Lunar Society
8:10 Nexus Thinkers
9:15 Separate Artists From Technologists
10:15 Design At The Intersection
13:45 The Quantum Realm & Chaos
16:13 Complex Systems
18:18 Network Science And Teams
21:00 Novelty
Why are we reading this book?
➡️ The Nexus explores the convergence of art, technology, and science, and how it can help us solve complex problems. You know, how to stop the ice melting, how to unify art, science and technology and safe us from ourselves... complex networks, urban decay, creativity in the age of AI... hell, how to make better tennis rackets and music that doesn't suck.
➡️ The Nexus is a visually striking book that combines word and image to illustrate the concept of augmented thinking, which is the ability to balance creativity and execution, and to embrace complementarity, where opposing extremes coexist and expand our thinking.
➡️ The Nexus provides historical examples of how art, technology, and science have interacted and influenced each other, from the Renaissance to the present day... those insights help us build the strategies and networks essential for building the future. Only by understanding the past can we truly know what the future should and shouldn't be.
➡️ The Nexus has received brilliant reviews from critics and readers, who praised its originality, insight, and relevance.
➡️ Daniel H. Pink, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind, called it “a spectacular book”.
➡️ Gwynne Shotwell, the President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, said it "stretched my brain and caused me to think differently about both the beauty and challenges of our world.
======================
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT2f79gms6U&t=19s
======================
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#nexusthinking #brucemau #nexus #clearthinking #bookreviews #bookclub #booksummaries #bookrecommendations #books #reading #goodbookstoread #bestbooks

Jan 26, 2024 • 19min
Book Club: The Nexus (Part 4) - Your World Is Tiny, But Also Mega Complex, Enjoy The Fuck Out Of It
Disruptors and Curious minds! Welcome to the Thinking On Paper Book Club. This week we're reading chapter four of The Nexus: Augmented Thinking For A Complex World, by Julio Ottino and Bruce Mau. Please Enjoy The Show!
====================
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Welcome to book club
0:17 Chapter 4 Of The Nexus and the art of storytelling
2:04 The art world is TINY
5:30 How to apply these ideas to your business
8:10 No wrong answers
9:43 Web3
12:40 Commonalities
14:35 Multiverse strategies
16:35 Da Vinci
Why are we reading this book?
➡️ The Nexus explores the convergence of art, technology, and science, and how it can help us solve complex problems. You know, how to stop the ice melting, how to unify art, science and technology and safe us from ourselves... complex networks, urban decay, creativity in the age of AI... hell, how to make better tennis rackets and music that doesn't suck.
➡️ The Nexus is a visually striking book that combines word and image to illustrate the concept of augmented thinking, which is the ability to balance creativity and execution, and to embrace complementarity, where opposing extremes coexist and expand our thinking.
➡️ The Nexus provides historical examples of how art, technology, and science have interacted and influenced each other, from the Renaissance to the present day... those insights help us build the strategies and networks essential for building the future. Only by understanding the past can we truly know what the future should and shouldn't be.
➡️ The Nexus has received brilliant reviews from critics and readers, who praised its originality, insight, and relevance.
➡️ Daniel H. Pink, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind, called it “a spectacular book”.
➡️ Gwynne Shotwell, the President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, said it "stretched my brain and caused me to think differently about both the beauty and challenges of our world.
======================
👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGNWGLsP-XI&t=2s
======================
🔗 Follow Mark And Jeremy:
Join the Book Club: Thinking on Paper
Connect with Mark: Mark Fielding
Connect with Jeremy: Jeremy Gilbertson
#nexusthinking #brucemau #nexus #clearthinking #bookreviews #bookclub #booksummaries #bookrecommendations #books #reading #goodbookstoread #bestbooks