Airchat

Just talk

[Naval @naval]

The Scientific and the Spiritual.

(a thread, recorded on https://t.co/Ng4dOuJbQu)

[Arjun Khemani @arjunkhemani]

.@ChipkinLogan on our latest piece in @HumanProgress about what unifies the enemies of civilization:

What unifies all of the enemies of civilization is that they all slow down the growth of knowledge.

Now, you ask, how can we take advantage of this fact, namely that all of the enemies of civilization share in common this feature that they curb the growth of knowledge?

This fact tells us that we can, if we so choose and if we make the right decisions, outpace them in the growth of knowledge.

So, one strategy to defeat the enemies of civilization is basically to outpace them in this great war of memes and growing wealth and knowledge, such that eventually, the memes that comprise the enemies of civilization, as well as the wealth that the enemies of civilization control, is an ever smaller fraction of the total meme pool and wealth that civilization has to offer. So, this is what success would look like if we think about outpacing them.

But there's also the strategy of replacing the memes that comprise the enemies of civilization with better ideas. This is just a fancy way of saying we could also persuade people. So that would be a kind of inside-out approach, rather than the out-pacing, which is kind of from the outside in.

And of course, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can continue to build and outpace the enemies of civilization while persuading people that the relevant ideas that curb the growth of knowledge are mistaken.

And by the way, just to make the conversation a little less abstract, the enemies of civilization that we wrote about in our piece, which is an excerpt of the script we wrote for your upcoming documentary, those enemies are socialism, environmentalism, scientism, relativism, dogmatism, and doomerism.

And I don't think I ever told you this, Arjun, but what I like about the list we came up with is that understanding the inner workings of each of these enemies of civilization, that is to say, understanding the how and why of how each enemy of civilization curbs the growth of knowledge, gives unique insights into the nature of progress and epistemology.

This clip was recorded and made using @getairchat.

[Naval @naval]

@altryne @BrianNorgard Correct, chat with your friends, export the bangers.

[Norgard @BrianNorgard]

.@naval on who has influenced his personal philosophy.

[Arjun Khemani @arjunkhemani]

At one point, together with @naval, @nivi wrote one of the most influential startup blogs of its time.

Here is his advice on how to write well:

1. People try to write their thought process. So, what's the thought process that led them to such and such conclusion?

Nobody cares about your thought process. Just give the conclusion and then support it.

2. People try to sound like they're smart. You're not smart.

Just give us the answer. We don't need to fluff it up.

So just write it like you're writing an email to somebody.

3. People think longer is better. No, it's not.

Just write something short. I don't write emails that are longer than three sentences.

And that puts the burden on the writer to figure out what the reader wants and communicate it precisely and cogently and briefly in just a few sentences.

4. You're not going to be a good writer if you're not a reader, so read some good stuff. I like to read people's tweets. Those are pretty good.

I like to read some fiction, like Shakespeare or Cormac McCarthy or maybe some James Clavell. Those are good writers.

And I like to watch the classics on HBO like The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood, which all have great writing. If you're watching Apple TV shows and being entertained by those and think those have good writing, I can't help you.

5. For business writing, you have to get into a customer service mindset. You're there to solve their problems.

You also have to get into a design mindset, which is, you have to get into the reader's head, understand their problem, and sequence your ideas in the correct order, and with the right amount of extra information that they didn't ask for, that displays that you've thought through the issue for them on their behalf, looked at the other side of the argument, and presented things to them that they didn't know that they needed.

6. You have to think about what you would want to know if you were in the other person's shoes and argue against yourself either implicitly or explicitly or just go through the thought process yourself and see if there's anything there.

7. You also just have to care about words and the order of words and the ideas that they're communicating. Like I will reread an email that I sent someone the next day just for the enjoyment of rereading the great email that I wrote.

[Arjun Khemani @arjunkhemani]

Naval on the presidential debate:

It's obviously a disaster for the Democrats. They've got 40 days to find a replacement for him, which is going to be really difficult. 40-day limit is because of the Ohio ballot rules.

To get on the ballot, I think you have till August 4th. In any case, because of Biden being the incumbent, they have to convince him to step down, which I don't think actually will be that hard.

But then they have the harder job of convincing Harris to step down alongside him, because if she doesn't voluntarily step aside, she's going to get beaten up by Trump. She loses very badly to him in the polls.

And then they have to replace the entire Biden-Harris ticket with probably, I would guess, Whitmer and somebody else. This is where it gets really tricky.

Maybe Hillary makes a comeback. I don't think they can quite run Newsom. He's not ready, and California's record is terrible, and he would lose all the swing states.

So I think the Democrats are in a very difficult position.

And my question about who's been in charge all along, it's been semi-obvious that it hasn't been Joe. So I think it's just a good moment to reflect upon how the bureaucracy in this country, and frankly in the entire West, is highly entrenched and is on autopilot.

Imagine if you were an investor in a company or a board member and you walk into your board meeting and you realize the CEO hasn't shown up to work for two years, and really just the VPs have been running amok and doing whatever they wanted.

You'd know at that point that anything run by committee is incredibly inefficient and wasteful and almost kleptocratic. So you would expect the company to have essentially been looted the entire time.

[Airchat @getairchat]

.@naval on Finding Technical Co-founders

Join the conversation: https://t.co/j66RSZ6L63

"It's getting harder and harder because these days those people just go and start their own company. So what do you bring to the table that a good technical co-founder would not have? That's number one.

And that would either mean you have some particular deep insight and relationships into a market and you have capital because you've got to bring a lot to the table because you're not creating the product anymore.

Or secondly, you have to have a relationship that's pre-existing. You worked together before at some company or you've gone to school together. Outside of those cases, it's incredibly hard to recruit a quality technical co-founder. And I'm not even sure you're in a position to start a company.

This is why so many companies come out of universities or come out of the Bay Area because there you're just very likely to have business founders and technical founders next to each other. The business founders at least have enough technical experience that they can properly evaluate the technical co-founder.

And then the business founder has to hustle and raise money, recruit people, have a vision, have a customer base, have a market ready to go, and have proven themselves. And now lots and lots of other things to balance out the skills a technical founder brings to the table.

There are now more successful cases of solo technical founders starting companies than there are of solo non-technical founders starting companies.

So it is an uphill climb. I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you.”

[Airchat @getairchat]

.@naval on Gaining Specific Knowledge

Join the conversation: https://t.co/Sf8hdQg9oY

“Read the absolute smartest people and don’t fill your brain with anything else.

And then, don’t just view this as information that you have to memorize and regurgitate.

Really try to understand the core points and form a cohesive framework in your head of whether what they’re talking about is true or not and how it all fits together.

The point of reading is to learn, inquire, understand, comprehend, not to memorize, absorb, regurgitate, parrot, or anything of the sort.”

[Airchat @getairchat]

Nicolas (Nico) on the importance of patience in the process:

View the full conversation here: https://t.co/sb2BzSchqE

"Learn to be patient in the growth process of anything. Organic growth takes a long time but it's steadier and more stable than anything that's quick and in the moment. This is not a universal thing but I think just patience is the understanding of natural rhythms and the more you study nature the more patient you become."

[Airchat @getairchat]

Nicolas (Nico) on the importance of patience in the process:

View the full conversation here: https://t.co/sb2BzSchqE

"Learn to be patient in the growth process of anything. Organic growth takes a long time but it's steadier and more stable than anything that's quick and in the moment. This is not a universal thing but I think just patience is the understanding of natural rhythms and the more you study nature the more patient you become."

[Arjun Khemani @arjunkhemani]

Discussing Milei, anarcho-capitalism, and Popperian epistemology with @ToKTeacher on Airchat.

Come and chat with us about it: https://t.co/5Ds0Dmu7wA

[Brett Hall @ToKTeacher]

What is art?

Come and talk to us about it at https://t.co/7FuEdeeERY

[Airchat @getairchat]

.@dengdengspams and Money On Everything Happens for a Reason:

Join the conversation: https://t.co/vfVUFITHuF

“Do you believe everything happens for a reason? Why or why not?

In retrospect, you can say things happen for a reason because you cannot be where you are right now if not for past events.

Being monkeys that are very good at creating stories, everyone seems to think that happens. And there's also an aspect where if you know what you want or roughly what you want, you kind of just get there naturally. And the environment's kind of primed. The environment's there, but your brain's kind of primed to identify those opportunities and to capitalize on them, right? So there's that aspect of it too.

But I mean, everything happens for a reason because we decide there is, right? We give things a reason we exist.

We give life meaning because we choose to. So there's that aspect of it as well. And then I just recommend rejecting any questions that society asks itself as a whole.”

[Airchat @getairchat]

.@naval On Building Products:

Join the conversation: https://t.co/IXOZ4OYtDT

"When building a product, you want to take the minimal steps through the idea maze and not hesitate to step back at any point in time."

[Airchat @getairchat]

.@naval On Building Products:

Join the conversation: https://t.co/IXOZ4OYtDT

"When building a product, you want to take the minimal steps through the idea maze and not hesitate to step back at any point in time."

[Airchat @getairchat]

Kamal's 3 Steps for Handling Embarrassment

Join the conversation:
https://t.co/NfwTJKcUqF

"I remind myself that I'm human. That's one.

Two, I remind myself that I'm making a bigger deal of the reactions or whatever in my mind than anyone else's.

Three, none of this is going to matter down the road. So, we're human. We make these gaps and we move on.”
@kamalravikant

[Airchat @getairchat]

.@naval on maximizing wealth:

Join the full conversation here: https://t.co/DRm3x9xiDF

“The best investment you can make is in yourself. Use your money to buy time, increase your knowledge, and acquire tools that help you grow. Flexibility and mobility are crucial at a young age, so prioritize opportunities that enhance your skills and adaptability over locking yourself down with a house.

Consider high-potential investments wisely, but always keep learning and stay adaptable.”

[Airchat @getairchat]

“Environment is very important. Reconsider where you are, what you’re doing, or both.” - Naval

Join the conversation:
https://t.co/z4gxDwYdau

"Are you in the right environment? Is wealth management going to let you be exceptional? Especially if you haven't made or created wealth yourself?

I'm not trolling, I'm just asking the honest question. Does it feel like that you'll be able to really super achieve in wealth management? And then is Australia the right place? Does it have a culture?

Are there people around you who are going to foster greatness? If not, then environment is very important.

You may want to reconsider where you are or what you're doing or both.”

@naval

[Martin Shkreli @MartinShkreli]

I’m posting a series on Airchat about Bitcoin and ECC. I explain the basics and then go through (and try) exploit ideas. It’s hard to post this kind of content on X. Airchat has a concentrated audience of brilliant people and no bots.

[Airchat @getairchat]

Kamal's secret to being charismatic.

Join the conversation:
https://t.co/npTd6I5ro2

"I'll tell you the secret.

Just be curious about people. Be curious about whoever you meet, whoever you talk to. And be interested, because everyone in their own way is interesting. And if we really want to, that's something to teach us.

So be curious.

Not in a way you're grilling them, but be curious about them, be interested in them. And that's all you need."
@kamalravikant