Welcome to The Orthogonal Bet, a podcast that explores the unconventional ideas and delightful patterns that shape our world. Hosted by Samuel Arbesman
Lawrence Lundy-Bryan on how data-driven VC is over
In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Lawrence Lundy-Bryan, a partner at the venture capital firm Lunar Ventures who specializes in researching the landscape of cutting-edge technological advances. Lawrence has been examining technologies as part of a project called the State of the Future, providing analyses into a large number of new technological developments.And the current state of AI is freaking him out. In a recent essay titled "data-driven VC is over," Lawrence looks at how the new AI research tool Deep Research basically can do everything he used to do. This has prompted Lawrence to think about his work, and work and meaning more broadly, which he has also explored in further essays.Samuel and Lawrence discuss the nature of research in the world of venture capital and the shock of using Deep Research. They examine how to think about AI when it takes away not only work you are good at, but something you enjoy and love doing. They talk about the future of venture capital in an age of research democratization and the role of secret knowledge, taste, and wisdom, as well as how people have responded to Lawrence's essay. They even explore broader future implications, including youth unemployment and how education might need to be rethought.
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41:00
Nadia Drake on The Arecibo Message our "Selfie of Humanity"
On November 16, 1974, the first message meant for the stars was broadcast into space, using a series of zeros and ones to encode an image. This image was designed by Frank Drake, an astronomer who helped develop the modern field of SETI as well as the Drake Equation, a formula which helps scientists think about the likelihood of intelligent life in our galaxy.Fifty years later, the science journalist Nadia Drake, who is also the daughter of Frank Drake, wrote an essay for Scientific American about this message.In this episode Samuel Arbesman had the pleasure to speak with Nadia about this Arecibo Message. Nadia is a freelance science journalist and former contributing writer at National Geographic. Nadia and Samuel had a chance to discuss the nature of the Arecibo message and how this "selfie for humanity" was designed by her dad. They talked about SETI more broadly, as well as the wisdom of sending messages into outer space. They talked about other messages sent on behalf of humanity, as well as the nature of technosignatures more generally. They even discussed how the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence might change our lives, or not, and how we think about the world.Produced by Christopher GatesMusic by Suno
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37:50
Niko McCarty on Building Asimov Press and Writing for Ambitious Readers
In this episode of The Orthogonal Bet, host Samuel Arbesman speaks with Niko McCarty, the founding editor of Asimov Press. With a background in biology and science journalism, McCarty now leads Asimov Press, a publication dedicated to deep, thoughtful articles at the frontiers of biology and its history.Arbesman, a longtime admirer of McCarty’s writing, was eager to explore his insights for many reasons. As the builder of a new press and a curator of compelling scientific narratives, McCarty has a unique perspective on science journalism. But beyond that, he also has his finger on the pulse of the future of biology itself.Their conversation delves into McCarty’s journey into science journalism and how his newsletter became a transformative force in his career. They discuss his vision for Asimov Press, the reasoning behind publishing science fiction short stories alongside rigorous scientific writing, and the press’s expansion into print publishing—offering a glimpse into how McCarty envisions the future of science communication.When it comes to biology, Niko provides so much wisdom into how to think about the cutting-edge in biology and biotech. They explore the levers that create biological progress, and Niko’s vision of the future in biology. Produced by Christopher GatesMusic by Suno
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49:27
Dave Jilk on AI, Poetry, and the Future of AGI
In this episode, host Samuel Arbesman speaks with Dave Jilk. Dave is a tech entrepreneur and writer. He’s done a ton: started multiple companies, including in AI, published works of poetry, and written scientific papers. And he’s now written a new book that is an epic poem about the origins of Artificial General Intelligence, told from the perspective of the first such entity. It’s titled Epoch: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga and is a deeply thoughtful humanistic take on artificial intelligence, chock-full of literary allusions.Sam wanted to speak with Dave to learn more about the origins of Epoch as well as how he thinks about AI more broadly. They discussed the history of AI, how we might think about raising AI, the Great Filter, post-AGI futures and their nature, and whether asking if we should build AGI is even a good question. They even finished this fun conversation with a bit of science fiction recommendations.Produced by Christopher GatesMusic by Suno
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40:10
Henry Oliver on Embracing Second Acts
In this episode, host Samuel Arbesman speaks with the writer Henry Oliver. Henry is the author of the fantastic new book Second Act. This book is about the idea of late bloomers and professional success later in life, and more broadly how to think about one’s career, and Sam recently reviewed it for The Wall Street Journal. Sam really enjoyed this book and wanted to have a chance to discuss it with Henry.Henry and Sam had a chance to talk about a lot of topics, beginning with how to actually define late bloomers and what makes a successful second act possible, from experimentation to being ready when one’s moment arrives. They also explored why society doesn’t really accept late bloomers as much as one might want it to, how to think about the complexity of cognitive decline, what the future of retirement might look like, along with many examples of late bloomers—from Margaret Thatcher to Ray Kroc.Produced by Christopher GatesMusic by Suno
Welcome to The Orthogonal Bet, a podcast that explores the unconventional ideas and delightful patterns that shape our world. Hosted by Samuel Arbesman
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