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by Spencer Kier
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- Jun 13, 202456 min
#057 - John Koenig on Sorrow, Identity, Contradiction, & The Human Experience
John Koenig is the author of The New York Times' Best Seller Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a dictionary of made-up words for emotions that we all feel but don't have the words to express. We talk about his book, identity and individuality, contradiction, writing, the human experience, fatherhood, and more. — Why use "sorrows"? Did he ever expect the dictionary to be what it is now? Existential wonderment and loss Truth, internal dialogue, and contradiction Contradiction of definitions Is introspection valuable? Can you know who you are? Not focusing on the present Self-actualization vs. contentment How you perceive people vs. how they really are Next book: Sonder Does sensitivity make life more difficult? Career identity & pigeonholing Writing vs. video How fatherhood changes work & focus take on his work; finding meaning in community & ritual Where does meaning reside? Creative process takeaways for kids; self-expression and art John's final questions for listeners — John’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/obscuresorrows Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Obscure-Sorrows-John-Koenig/dp/1501153641 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/obscuresorrows Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com/
- Mar 21, 20241h 6m
#056 - Dylan O’Sullivan on Lying to Yourself, Timelessness, Discipline, & Writing
Dylan O’Sullivan is a curator, editor, and writer at O'Shaughnessy Ventures and Essayful. Dylan and I talk about writing, taste, discipline vs. inspiration, timelessness vs ephemerality, boredom and solitude vs. the internet, inciting a digital renaissance, not lying to yourself, and more. — Curating & editing vs. writing Fear of never writing quality work or living up to your idols Discipline vs. inspiration Balancing technology & ephemerality with the timeless Solitude, getting better at the craft, and having a "normal" life Boredom Short attention & the effect on art & mediums Lack of original works & risk taking Digital renaissance; timeless stories & works What is timeless & what will become timeless Creativity & the subconscious Long form writing vs memes Above all, don't lie to yourself Books he’d have in his bookstore window Three favorite directors & their three movies Final question for listeners — Dylan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DylanoA4 Essayful: https://www.essayful.co/ O'Shaughnessy Ventures: https://www.osv.llc/ Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com
- Mar 15, 20241h 10m
#055 - Steve Schlafman on Lostness, Downshifting, & Becoming
Steve Schlafman is a venture capitalist turned transition coach. We talk about lostness, transformation, curiosity, mindfulness practices, his new Downshift program, being a husband and father, and more. — Lostness, navigating liminal identity space, personal transformations Head and heart, mind and body; intellectualizing emotions & feelings The role of curiosity; people, world, self Using practices as a means to an end Is downshifting antithetical to the history of humanity (advancement)? When to upshift Stillness & silence Renewal, rediscovery, experimentation Spouse support during transformations Balancing ambition & being a father Final question for listeners: what stops you from being at your best — Steve’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/schlaf Personal Site: https://www.schlaf.co/ Downshift: https://www.downshift.me/ Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com
- Feb 29, 202455 min
#054 - Matt Clifford on Talent Investing & AI Uncertainty
Matt Clifford is a co-founder of Entrepreneur First and leads their AI efforts, as well as chair of ARIA, the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency. We talk about EF, talent investing, ambition, why we don’t have more Thiel Fellowships, his new focus on AI, and AI safety concerns. — Talent matters most Scarcity of talent x culture Founder qualities: effectiveness, unlocking resources Can you teach ambition? Failure to learn is an anti-signal Alternative funding: income share agreements, adverse selection, longer term bets, & government funding Why don't we have more grant programs or patrons, like the Thiel Fellowship? Scaling taste in talent & the macro talent allocation problem Focusing on AI & handing off the EF CEO role Is AI safety futile? Threat models and radical uncertainty Final question for listeners — Matt’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewclifford Entrepreneur First: https://www.joinef.com/ Personal Site: https://www.matthewclifford.com/ Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com
- Feb 7, 20241h 19m
#053 - Joscha Bach on Modeling Reality & Self-Organizing Software
Joscha Bach is a cognitive scientist and AI researcher. We talk about our relationship with & models of reality, creativity and curiosity, animism and self-organizing software, stages of development, and more. — The dream world; how we interact with & perceive reality Fear Self, consciousness, & awareness We're a coarse pattern on top of base reality Presence & perceptual windows Is this model mechanistic & reductionist? Life exists to minimize free energy What makes us different from other sentient beings & structures Creativity: self-transformative exploration Curiosity as uncertainty reduction Exploration vs. exploitation Combating social norms & conditioning; being a nerd Knowing which models to update Being a creator; being able to build & maintain Everything can be understood Animism; everything is self-organizing “software” Natural vs. human-created “software” AGI vs. natural intelligence Limited by the locality of our sensory inputs Stages of lucidity & development Convergence of global traditions Issue with Buddhism Where does the animism and software arise from? Building a coherent world, together — Joscha’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Plinz Joscha's Substack: https://joscha.substack.com/ Personal Site: http://bach.ai/ Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com
- Jan 31, 20241h 6m
#052 - Gabe (@VividVoid_) on Identity, Art, Authenticity, & Courage
Gabe (@VividVoid_ on Twitter) is a writer and coach, and former Marine. We talk about inferiority, art, nothingness, spirituality, courage, fear, alignment with The Void, representations of reality, exposure therapy, Quality, and more. — You’re not inferior to anyone else Art is the byproduct of a spiritual practice Authentic expression; anger & competition Do nothing, seek wisdom: space for contemplation & rest What is The Void? Microdosing honesty & better representations Courage & fear Exposure therapy & yin-yang Going from conditioning back to freedom; critical thinking & being a “combat medic” Direct experience; understand your behavioral loop & where you can intervene Taking practices & ideas from ideologies; being identity-less Poetic writing What is Quality? Gabe’s final question for listeners — Gabe’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/VividVoid_ Gabe’s (Old) Blog: https://vividvoid.substack.com/ Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com
- Jan 24, 20241h 6m
#051 - Nathan Baugh on Storytelling, World Building, Fiction, & The Internet
Nathan Baugh writes fiction and the World Builders newsletter. We talk about writing, non-fiction vs. fiction, storytelling and world building devices, Kurt Vonnegut and other authors, getting the most out of technology and the internet, and more. — Why writing Loops & closing the curiosity gap The combination of short form non-fiction & long form fiction Storytelling & world building; Virgil Abloh’s 3% Rule Tradeoffs of traditional publishing vs. self-publishing; going direct-to-audience Tech and magic; AI His most influential authors Favorite opening sentences Vonnuget’s shape of stories & promise, progress, payoff Why not go all in on fiction? Writer’s self limiting beliefs Biggest fear as a writer: not living up to expectations Balancing technology and the internet with deep work What's one work of fiction that has stuck out? — Nathan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/nathanbaugh27 Nathan’s Newsletter: https://www.worldbuilders.ai/ Vonnegut’s Shape of Stories: youtu.be/oP3c1h8v2ZQ Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com
- Jan 18, 20241h 25m
#050 - Billy Oppenheimer on Writing, Research, Boredom, & Putting in The Work
Billy Oppenheimer writes the Six at 6 newsletter, and has been a writing and research assistant for Ryan Holiday, Robert Greene, and Rick Rubin. We talk about research, naive optimism, working for legendary writers and creatives, boredom, his newsletter, curation and creation, how “the work is the win”, and his first book. — Naive optimism & turning what you're already doing into a job Researching is where he gets his dopamine Combine timeless works with popular ones; triangulate stories His note taking system (adapted from Ryan Holiday & Robert Greene) The evolution of Six at 6; finding your niche & learning the wrong lessons from role models Reading to find excerpts Curation & creation Seeing a mirror in others’ ideas Living in the present Combining a known and unknown Six at 6 themes: deconstructing creativity & putting in the work Balancing the art & audience feedback Don't “step into the character” Taking the next step & writing his first book The work is the win Fear of not finding the right stories & concepts Working with Rick Rubin Orson Welles & ignorance; Paul Graham & not putting up with BS; authenticity Qualities of a good research & writing assistant; get excited by what others find boring Doing it because it’s a compulsion Find your boredom dopamine — Billy’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/bpoppenheimer Six at 6: https://billyoppenheimer.com/newsletter/ Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com
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About Audience of One
Exploring my curiosity through conversations with leading thinkers and builders.We talk about philosophy, learning, tech, parenting, entrepreneurship, health, and more.Follow Spencer on Twitter (twitter.com/SP1NS1R) and Substack (spencerkier.substack.com)
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