Human memory seems almost limitless, and there are incredible examples of this capacity of people memorizing entire books word-for-word, but in practice our attention and top-of-mind is very limited. You really are what you think. You think what you read, hear, and watch. Put in current affairs in all forms of news, and you will be thinking of current affairs through the day. Put in philosophy, and you will think of life's biggest questions. And everything in between. I personally place very high value on what I think about, so I'm naturally very selective in what I choose to inject into my brain.
So here's what I've curated for my brain at this time, and why. Hope to hear about your choices and thinking on the matter.
Reading for knowledge
Some years ago I got overloaded in my quest to keep up with all the latest business books full of hacks and catchy titles. I was consuming dozens of news feeds in real-time into my Flipboard and Feedly apps. I felt congested with data. So I stopped. No news of any kind. I don't read news. I don't watch news. I don't listen to news. And realized, it was all useless to begin with. Too much noise to yield any real insight. At best, tactical advice that amounted to incremental improvement. At worst, brain congestion.
When I think of content that has influenced me, I thought books. Books force you to reflect. Digesting big ideas gradually, over days and weeks. Processing the same concepts from every possible angle of your own experience and perspective. True knowledge. I went back to classics I read during high-school and college. New ways of thinking. Perspective. Reflection. Those are the keys to real insight. So I stopped reading all news and went deep into the classics.
Here's what I'm currently reading.
Holy Bible, King James Version
I'm a few years into my classics, and finally realized that the "Big B" was on the todo list. Despite being a scientific atheist of some sort, how could I not? After all, this one book has been the single biggest influence on western culture. Seems logical I would want to see what the fuss is about.
Obviously, I had to go with the King James edition for the NBA finals. I'm still at the end of ye olde testament, but looking forward to Jesus' many colorful adventures. Will report on findings separately.
Dune by Frank Herbert
I usually like to read two books at the same time. One is usually pretty heavy stuff, often something historical with a purpose of seeking knowledge. I contrast that with science fiction, which is both more entertaining, and provides a spark of creativity and optimism that I find useful to carry around day-to-day. When you read about the challenges of galactic civilizations and warp drives, it gives you some perspective on your mundane technical issues one faces in a startup.
I'm not sure why Dune has evaded me for so long, maybe it was horrendously overpriced on Amazon for a while, or just stayed in the tail end of my ever-increasing todo list on Goodreads. I've been familiar with the Dune universe since childhood, as one of the first strategy games for the PC took place on the famous desert planet of Arrakis. Despite being decades old, the themes feel very relevant in today's world.
The Iliad by Homer
Supposedly, this was the favorite book of Alexander The Great. Back then, 300BC books weren't all that common. After all, the printing press wasn't invented for another 2,000 years! Books were made by writing them on papyrus scrolls with ink. Tough job, especially given that few people could read and write to begin with. So Alexander had special copies made of Homer's epic poems, and kept The Iliad under his pillow every night. Supposedly, his motivation for invading Persia was partially inspired by the siege of Troy, repeating the footsteps of the great Achilles. So if it was that important to one of the greatest military leaders of all time, it's certainly something I need to experience.
Additionally, it's interesting to think that besides the bible, Homer's books may be the most important influence on all of western literature. Homer is poetry, the bible is prose. Given these were written 600 years before the bible, they must be some of the oldest books still being read today. Given that fact, it's amazing how readable they are! There are many more modern books from later centuries and millennia that feel more outdated.
Listening for advice
Besides books, I do enjoy listening to experts talk about interesting topics at length. Not news. Three hour podcasts on solutions to the Fermi Paradox. Dialogues about the nature of consciousness. Lectures on product/market fit by successful entrepreneurs. Plus, this is a great way to make something useful out of many hours of weekly gym, errand, and commute time. Tons of nuggets to apply into daily life, assuming you curate carefully!
Isaac Arthur
I'm just gonna start here, because I've become somewhat obsessed with this channel, which is primarily created for Youtube, but works even better as narrated 30 minute podcasts. Topics cover alien megastructures and galactic colonization in such incredible detail that you can just call him King of Nerds from now on. The best part is the focus on feasibility given currently available science and economic resources. I've probably listened to 10 hours of these episodes in the last 3 weeks, not even kidding.
How to Start a Startup by Y-Combinator and Stanford
This is mandatory reading for any founder, particularly if you're doing something direct-to-consumer. If you haven't heard of YC, it's a king-maker program every startup founder in the U.S. and beyond wants to be a part of. Alumni include a host of unicorns, so they know their stuff. The episodes are lectures by leading experts on everything from product-market fit to choosing cofounders, and driving growth. Again, mandatory.
a16z podcast by Andreessen Horowitz
Offering a slightly different perspective, a16z is run by one of the most famous venture capital groups in the world, epitomizing the Silicon Valley mindset. Most famous companies you would know have worked with them. Episodes tend to be quite specific, but you will likely find some extremely applicable to your startup.
Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman
If you've finished the YC episodes, these are more in the edutainment category. It's one of the more professionally produced podcasts out there, with sound effects to boot. Topics and interviews usually focus on a legendary founder story, with plenty of romance and adventure. The ads are cringe-worthy, but you can always fast forward past them.
Listening options on their website.
Waking Up by Sam Harris
Probably the best podcast in the world. I don't joke about these kind of things. Think of the most rational, intelligent person you've ever come across, and multiply by 10x. You get Sam Harris. I'm personally most drawn to his episodes on Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness, but he covers a wide range and episodes often run into the hours. More the better.
Listening options on his website.
The 80,000 hours podcast by the Future of Humanity Institute
What are the most important topics that we should be thinking of as a species? You won't find that on the nightly news, but you will here. The whole idea of this website and podcast is to talk about how individuals can best contribute to society and the future of humanity through the 80,000 hours that an average career spans. If you're young and/or unsure of your career path, you might find inner peace here.
Listening options on their website.
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
Dan comes out with new episodes like twice a year. Yes, really. Why? Because he researches his topics to the Nth degree by pretty much reading every book ever written about it, and then talks about it for 4 hours. Some topics will actually be split into as many as 5 such episodes spanning several years! This is like the antidote to Instagram and instant gratification. So why bother? Well, if you've ever thought about what it would be like to live through World War II or ancient Rome, he's your guy.
Listening options on his website.
Watching for inspiration
I'm not a luddite. We all need entertainment, sometimes. Even so, I prefer to either get inspired or learn something. I only have a couple of slots for such things a week, either while cooking on Sundays or if the kids happened to fall asleep early. So I make it count.
The Royal Institution on Youtube
Youtube has come a long way from cat videos. Real people and real organizations are putting amazing things there every second. It really is too much, so the challenge is finding quality. The Royal Insitution, founded 1799 in London, posts 60 minute high-quality videos from open lectures from leading thinkers in fields like particle physics, astrophysics, and neuroscience. Fifteen of their previous staff have also won the Nobel Prize. So there's that.
Kurzgesagt on Youtube
For those of us starved for time and hungry for instant knowledge and entertainment, you have Kurzgesagt. Their format is designed for our generation, and many of their 5-minute videos have millions of views in a matter of days after release. The research and animation packed into those few minutes is pretty incredible, though.
Westworld on HBO
Okay now we're departing pretty far from serious research content. Yet, there are few ideas that have scrambled my brain as much as Westworld has over just two seasons. This isn't about the nudity or violence, although there are plenty of both. The exploration of what makes humans humans, in terms of conscious experience, emotions, creativity, and the finality of death is simply new territory for the genre. It couldn't be more timely and relevant for the conversations ahead of us in terms of the ethics of robots, A.I., and AR/VR. The show is almost like a hypothesis on the next 50 years of our future starting from today. Let's call it mandatory research material if you're involved in those fields. NSFW though.
Silicon Valley on HBO
If your life somehow rotates around the curious world of startups, you have to see this. The great novels and movies were all written before startups came about, so parody is a great way to explore and digest how this whole thing is shaping up. Every possible crisis imaginable happens to the team at Pied Piper, and it's even therapeutic for a founder as it often hits home pretty hard.
The Expanse on Syfy
Okay, last one I promise. But it's so good I couldn't leave it out. Sci-fi has always suffered from the prediction problem. Certain things like touch-screen smartphones that now seem obvious are absent from most classics, yet they have antimatter rays and warp drives. Predicting the future is really hard! The Expanse as books and TV show are produced recently, and only take place 200 years from today, so it all feels believable. You could see us going from here to there. This is the multi-planetary future for humanity guys like Elon and Jeff Bezos are building today. How's that going to work out once we're there? Watch the show.
What are you ingesting into your neocortex currently, and why? Do we have any choices in common? Anything you might suggest for me?