NonTrivial

Jan 06 2025 103 ep. 37 mins 26
NonTrivial Podcast artwork

Nontrivial is a podcast that looks to uncover deep patterns in life, discussing them at the intersection of science, complexity, and philosophy.

  Society & Culture  Science
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Let the Environment Build You

Jan 06 2025 31 mins  
In this episode I discuss the idea that our environment should make the "decisions" for us, when it comes to crafting our lives and the things in it.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast

Throw it In and See what Sticks: The New Engineering

Dec 09 2024 33 mins  
In this episode I discuss the new direction engineering is headed, and why it sounds to many as unsophisticated. It's a "throw everything in a pot to see what happens" outlook on how to build things, which I argue is in fact a far more sophisticated approach than best-laid plans. Something we should learn to embrace in our creativity and life in general.Support the showBecome a Mem

When the Ink Fades; Why (and How) We are Now the Media

Nov 28 2024 42 mins  
In this episode I argue that platforms like X are in fact a better source of truth than mainstream news outlets, despite their errors and lack of expertise. I lay out the underlying mechanism behind how truth persists in large collectives, and show how natural dynamics in large complex systems effectively materialize truth.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check

AI, Creativity, and the Benefit of Being Chased by the Machine

Nov 17 2024 40 mins  
In this episode I talk about a recent comment made by Ben Affleck, suggesting that AI does not currently create. I challenge this, outlining how AI follows the same overall approach to creativity as humans. Further, I argue that our creativity should be challenged by AI, as this ensures we challenge ourselves to be as humanly creative as possible.Support the showBecome a Membernont

Dynamics are Truer than Facts: How to "Win" Debates

Nov 14 2024 56 mins  
In this episode I discuss what I believe is missing from almost all debates today; an understanding of the dynamics at play in the systems being discussed. I argue that knowledge of natural systems and their dynamics can land debates on something more rigorous and true than the mere swapping of facts. O'Connor / Shapiro Debatehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7rtkLJqbxMSupport the s

Life Goes Better with Guarantees

Nov 08 2024 27 mins  
In this episode I discuss the importance of placing guarantees in your life, to ensure you biggest realizations get folded into your processes going forward.Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast

Stop Offloading Your Memory to the Machine

Oct 15 2024 50 mins  
Externalizing your memory to machines ultimately makes you less productive.It feels like the opposite when you first do it. That’s what today’s products depend on. But what feels like an advantage is really just seeing the isolated definition of a task become optimized. Real world tasks do not function according to such isolation definitions.In the long run, externalization cau

Infinite Palaces: The True Potential of the Mind

Sep 11 2024 27 mins  
In this episode I discuss the potential of the human mind in terms of assumed versus actual boundaries. People frame their mental potential in terms of space and time complexity (although most don't call it that); in other words, they assume their potential is limited by the speed and space of the task (how much time it takes, the amount of raw information involved). But nature com

Hover and Wait: It Eventually Works

Aug 21 2024 21 mins  
You can read more effectively by hovering above words and waiting until the text you thought would be too much to comprehend materializes in the mind. But if you try, sometimes it seems to work and sometimes it doesn't. But if you learn to hover and wait, it eventually always works. There is a universal pattern at play here, that occurs in many areas of life. In this episode I talk

Be Niche, and Grow

Aug 15 2024 21 mins  
In this episode I discuss how to be more niche in your life and with your projects, and why that's the only way to truly grow. Support the showBecome a Membernontrivialpodcast.com Check out the Video Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/@nontrivialpodcast