106
Jackson Dahl
@jackson #106
Talk: /dialectic Write: jdahl.substack.com
Before: Investor /paradigm, Founding team /100thieves
jacksondahl.com
/jackson
116710 Follower 301 Following
I interviewed Nabeel Qureshi about some of the most important things that make us human at a time when AI is making us really question what makes us unique.
What does it mean to care, and is caring an antidote to a world of increasing "slop?"
What actually is slop, and what makes media, art, products, design, or work meaningful?
Why do the best new things have elements of strangeness and unpredictability?
When every answer is a keystroke away, what does it mean to truly learn and understand things? What does it mean to have "the will to think?"
How can we live a life of continuous growth? How can constantly update our thinking?
Lots more too, like video games as a template for education; why Palantir's culture is special and able to deal with nuance while working on "grey area" problems; DOGE and bureaucracy, power and tech; what makes Tyler Cowen special; Nabeel's idea maze for his new company; why Tolstoy was wrong about Shakespeare... Nabeel contains multitudes.
Available on all platforms below.
What does it mean to care, and is caring an antidote to a world of increasing "slop?"
What actually is slop, and what makes media, art, products, design, or work meaningful?
Why do the best new things have elements of strangeness and unpredictability?
When every answer is a keystroke away, what does it mean to truly learn and understand things? What does it mean to have "the will to think?"
How can we live a life of continuous growth? How can constantly update our thinking?
Lots more too, like video games as a template for education; why Palantir's culture is special and able to deal with nuance while working on "grey area" problems; DOGE and bureaucracy, power and tech; what makes Tyler Cowen special; Nabeel's idea maze for his new company; why Tolstoy was wrong about Shakespeare... Nabeel contains multitudes.
Available on all platforms below.
100% yes, no question.
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What makes a great tool?
1. availability
2. self-evidence
3. joy
Che-Wei: “There's that saying: a good tool is the one that's there when you need it. I think of our tools that we design and make. We want it to do the thing that it's supposed to do really well.”
Taylor: “I think also a great tool is one that just makes you feel happier than you did before you were using it.”
CW&T on /dialectic
1. availability
2. self-evidence
3. joy
Che-Wei: “There's that saying: a good tool is the one that's there when you need it. I think of our tools that we design and make. We want it to do the thing that it's supposed to do really well.”
Taylor: “I think also a great tool is one that just makes you feel happier than you did before you were using it.”
CW&T on /dialectic
CW&T on making weird things that matter, and creating objects that can't be categorized:
Taylor: "When you say art projects are things that lots of people don't want, I think it's important to not stop there and figure out how you can shift your way of thinking creatively as an artist to like, how can this actually touch people?"
Che-Wei: "That's definitely where we want to be as a studio—working on weird projects that are sort of outside of the normal categories of how products fit into categories. Some people find it really useful. Some people are like, I don't get it. And I think we’re okay with that."
Full episode available now.
Taylor: "When you say art projects are things that lots of people don't want, I think it's important to not stop there and figure out how you can shift your way of thinking creatively as an artist to like, how can this actually touch people?"
Che-Wei: "That's definitely where we want to be as a studio—working on weird projects that are sort of outside of the normal categories of how products fit into categories. Some people find it really useful. Some people are like, I don't get it. And I think we’re okay with that."
Full episode available now.
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I joined Farcaster on 25th August 2021, which was 3 years, 6 months, 27 days ago.
Since then, 100.0 percent of users have joined after me
frame by @cashlessman.eth
Since then, 100.0 percent of users have joined after me
frame by @cashlessman.eth
Ep. 12 of /dialectic w/ Che-Wei Wang & Taylor Levy (CW&T)
CW&T are partners in life and work and make my favorite physical objects on the internet, from heirloom-quality pens and tools to art pieces that challenge and subvert our relationship with time.
They have backgrounds in industrial design, architecture, software, and film, and began collaborating after meeting at NYU ITP. They started on Kickstarter with Pen Type-A and have been releasing new creations ever since.
We discuss their fascination with time, commitment to making objects that last as long as they should, why prototyping is at the root of their practice, and how their work and studio will evolve with new technology.
As someone who is obsessed with time, reveres collaboration and spends too much of my life in digital space, I couldn’t have enjoyed this conversation more. I hope you appreciate their thoughtfulness, wisdom, and creativity—and feel inspired to be more present in the physical world.
Available on all platforms and X below.
CW&T are partners in life and work and make my favorite physical objects on the internet, from heirloom-quality pens and tools to art pieces that challenge and subvert our relationship with time.
They have backgrounds in industrial design, architecture, software, and film, and began collaborating after meeting at NYU ITP. They started on Kickstarter with Pen Type-A and have been releasing new creations ever since.
We discuss their fascination with time, commitment to making objects that last as long as they should, why prototyping is at the root of their practice, and how their work and studio will evolve with new technology.
As someone who is obsessed with time, reveres collaboration and spends too much of my life in digital space, I couldn’t have enjoyed this conversation more. I hope you appreciate their thoughtfulness, wisdom, and creativity—and feel inspired to be more present in the physical world.
Available on all platforms and X below.
In case you missed it: a long and winding conversation about culture, social media, and connection with the inimitable @eugene!
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"The fundamental difference between TV world Postman’s criticized and our world is that we are all participants, if even as viewers, we participate in shaping who rises and how. TV shaped shaped the people on it, the politicians, etc.
Social media shapes all of our behavior—we are all implicated. We determine who wins the game."
Social media shapes all of our behavior—we are all implicated. We determine who wins the game."
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Ep. 11 of /dialectic w/ @eugene Wei is out now.
Eugene is one of the most insightful thinkers on social media, its mechanics, and how it shapes us and culture.
He once suggested we need an update on Neil Postman’s 1985 lament of television culture, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," proposing instead: "Amusing Each Other to Death". We discuss how algorithmic, entertainment-driven social platforms are shaping society.
Topics include social networks vs. social media, TikTok, Twitter/X, technology reducing friction but weakening community, attention as currency, rising nihilism, speculative culture, NFL and Netflix catering to distracted audiences, how TV shows reflect a decline in meaning, and what it means to hold onto our humanity.
Some of this may sound pessimistic, but Eugene asks questions we all need to consider—together. By remembering genuine connection as one of our most sacred resources, perhaps we can still build a brighter future, using technology to amplify our humanity rather than diminish it.
Eugene is one of the most insightful thinkers on social media, its mechanics, and how it shapes us and culture.
He once suggested we need an update on Neil Postman’s 1985 lament of television culture, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," proposing instead: "Amusing Each Other to Death". We discuss how algorithmic, entertainment-driven social platforms are shaping society.
Topics include social networks vs. social media, TikTok, Twitter/X, technology reducing friction but weakening community, attention as currency, rising nihilism, speculative culture, NFL and Netflix catering to distracted audiences, how TV shows reflect a decline in meaning, and what it means to hold onto our humanity.
Some of this may sound pessimistic, but Eugene asks questions we all need to consider—together. By remembering genuine connection as one of our most sacred resources, perhaps we can still build a brighter future, using technology to amplify our humanity rather than diminish it.
Episode 10 of /dialectic with Josh Wolfe:
Josh is what you'd get if you combined a macro investor's slow-thinking wisdom, a culture junky's encyclopedic memory, a performer's storytelling, a pro athlete's competitiveness, and a kid's fervent curiosity.
Josh is co-founder of Lux Capital, a VC firm focused on companies using emerging technologies and science to push the world forward in categories like AI, space, biotech, robotics, and defense.
Unlike some technologists, Josh truly believes in the power of stories: to help us envision the future, inspire tomorrow's creative rebels, and get others to believe.
We discuss the interplay between science and stories, what makes great entrepreneurs, scientists, and artists, America's global tech position, how institutions matter and can be improved, and Josh's incredible breadth and depth.
His competitiveness, obsessive curiosity, and incredible range are all on display in the conversation.
Available on all platforms below.
Josh is what you'd get if you combined a macro investor's slow-thinking wisdom, a culture junky's encyclopedic memory, a performer's storytelling, a pro athlete's competitiveness, and a kid's fervent curiosity.
Josh is co-founder of Lux Capital, a VC firm focused on companies using emerging technologies and science to push the world forward in categories like AI, space, biotech, robotics, and defense.
Unlike some technologists, Josh truly believes in the power of stories: to help us envision the future, inspire tomorrow's creative rebels, and get others to believe.
We discuss the interplay between science and stories, what makes great entrepreneurs, scientists, and artists, America's global tech position, how institutions matter and can be improved, and Josh's incredible breadth and depth.
His competitiveness, obsessive curiosity, and incredible range are all on display in the conversation.
Available on all platforms below.
.@jacob on the wisdom of the Midwit Meme:
Most people use the midwit meme as a dunk on the others or to try to subtly suggest that they're on the right side of the curve.
I love how Jacob uses it to look inward and instead push himself toward simpler thinking:
"I love the midwit meme because it's mostly a vaccine for myself to stop thinking too much.
I have a tendency to extrapolate too far, or go to big extremes, or construct worlds or potential scenarios or products that might not exist.
I can just look at that image to remind myself to think way, way, way less. Like, what is ostensibly the most dumb version of the thing, which is the most simple version, which is probably more correct?
[So you're better off moving left on that graph than trying to move right?]
"Yeah, exactly. The easiest way to be gigabrain is to be smooth brain.
I think that meme resonates so much with me because I can be the midwit very often. So it's a nice mirror to just be like, "No, chill out and stop thinking here."
Most people use the midwit meme as a dunk on the others or to try to subtly suggest that they're on the right side of the curve.
I love how Jacob uses it to look inward and instead push himself toward simpler thinking:
"I love the midwit meme because it's mostly a vaccine for myself to stop thinking too much.
I have a tendency to extrapolate too far, or go to big extremes, or construct worlds or potential scenarios or products that might not exist.
I can just look at that image to remind myself to think way, way, way less. Like, what is ostensibly the most dumb version of the thing, which is the most simple version, which is probably more correct?
[So you're better off moving left on that graph than trying to move right?]
"Yeah, exactly. The easiest way to be gigabrain is to be smooth brain.
I think that meme resonates so much with me because I can be the midwit very often. So it's a nice mirror to just be like, "No, chill out and stop thinking here."
Daylight Computer is perfect for this use case and a daily joy that has coincided with a lot more (article) reading for me. Granted — not cheap. A killer (albeit flawed) v1
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9: @jacob Horne - Markets for What Matters is also available now on Zora
https://zora.co/coin/base:0xca96f690b4611ad19686c38b0de46b6aed1317f3?referrer=0xf67fA59E75754a949DF9ff634952803A2ED6eaE2
https://zora.co/coin/base:0xca96f690b4611ad19686c38b0de46b6aed1317f3?referrer=0xf67fA59E75754a949DF9ff634952803A2ED6eaE2
Listen to @jacob discuss the philosophy behind the newest version of Zora -- "a coin for every piece of content" on Dialectic Ep. 9:
Available on all platforms: https://bit.ly/4b8OknL
Available on all platforms: https://bit.ly/4b8OknL
“Speculation is imagination with action.”
@jacob on how speculation can be a superpower and markets can turn PVP energy into positive sum outcomes:
“Speculation is how you express an opinion. It is how you can take some agency over what you actually want to see happen in the world.
“People conflate speculation and gambling. [You can ask] Is this zero-sum speculation or positive-sum speculation? Betting is zero-sum.
Positive-sum information markets can lead to the creation of information that is durable and useful to the people consuming it.”
/dialectic ep. 9 with Jacob Horne is available on all platforms.
@jacob on how speculation can be a superpower and markets can turn PVP energy into positive sum outcomes:
“Speculation is how you express an opinion. It is how you can take some agency over what you actually want to see happen in the world.
“People conflate speculation and gambling. [You can ask] Is this zero-sum speculation or positive-sum speculation? Betting is zero-sum.
Positive-sum information markets can lead to the creation of information that is durable and useful to the people consuming it.”
/dialectic ep. 9 with Jacob Horne is available on all platforms.
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Ep. 9 of /dialectic w @jacob is live.
Jacob is co-founder & CEO of /zora, a platform that allows anyone to tokenize media. He's spent his career thinking about how blockchains, tokens, markets, and ideas enable internet-native coordination.
They're building on Stewart Brand's premise that "information wants to be free, but it also wants to be expensive.” In an internet era where content is abundant and effectively free, it is also expensive to consume and create—not by way of money, but time.
We discuss a world where markets around attention and content allow better coordination around what information is worth our time.
We also discuss why memes are so powerful, speculation vs. gambling, reflections on popular crypto ideas and Zora's history, Coinbase and co-creating USDC, and many other topics that showcase Jacob's generative creativity, unique ways of thinking, and inspirations.
https://pods.media/dialectic/9-jacob-horne-markets-for-what-matters?referrer=0x9b902482E62Db8FC486C3f1acAA568006021DbEC
Jacob is co-founder & CEO of /zora, a platform that allows anyone to tokenize media. He's spent his career thinking about how blockchains, tokens, markets, and ideas enable internet-native coordination.
They're building on Stewart Brand's premise that "information wants to be free, but it also wants to be expensive.” In an internet era where content is abundant and effectively free, it is also expensive to consume and create—not by way of money, but time.
We discuss a world where markets around attention and content allow better coordination around what information is worth our time.
We also discuss why memes are so powerful, speculation vs. gambling, reflections on popular crypto ideas and Zora's history, Coinbase and co-creating USDC, and many other topics that showcase Jacob's generative creativity, unique ways of thinking, and inspirations.
https://pods.media/dialectic/9-jacob-horne-markets-for-what-matters?referrer=0x9b902482E62Db8FC486C3f1acAA568006021DbEC
Very excited for tomorrow's guest after a week off. Think it will be a popular one for Farcaster folks!
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Excuse me officer I’d like to report identity theft
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Well that escalated quickly
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