213 episodes

Become a more nuanced thinker.

In an era of uncertainty, the ability to think dynamically and avoid getting trapped in infinite loops of thought is more important than ever.

Whether we’re discussing ancient Chinese philosophy, the history of finance, or cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence, our host Jim O'Shaughnessy’s passion, experience, and eclectic range of interests, combined with our extensive research into our podcast guests, always result in surprising conversations which substantively engage with our guests’ ideas.

Our aim: To equip you with the tools required to navigate through the Great Reshuffle that we are in.

Let’s start exploring.

Infinite Loops Jim O'Shaughnessy

    • Education
    • 4.6 • 159 Ratings

Become a more nuanced thinker.

In an era of uncertainty, the ability to think dynamically and avoid getting trapped in infinite loops of thought is more important than ever.

Whether we’re discussing ancient Chinese philosophy, the history of finance, or cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence, our host Jim O'Shaughnessy’s passion, experience, and eclectic range of interests, combined with our extensive research into our podcast guests, always result in surprising conversations which substantively engage with our guests’ ideas.

Our aim: To equip you with the tools required to navigate through the Great Reshuffle that we are in.

Let’s start exploring.

    Eddy Elfenbein — On Crossing Wall Street (EP. 212)

    Eddy Elfenbein — On Crossing Wall Street (EP. 212)

    Eddy Elfenbein is an OG finance blogger, ETF manager, and FinTwit legend, with over 25 years of experience working in and around Wall Street.
    Eddy joins the show to discuss the story behind his longtime blog - Crossing Wall Street (CWS), the origins of his famous Buy List, his ETF journey, his philosophy as an investor, and much more!
    Important Links:
    Eddy’s Twitter Eddy’s Blog (Crossing Wall Street) Eddy’s Substack The Myth of 1926 Show Notes:
    Origins of a Wall Street Blogger Bypassing the Gatekeepers Eddy’s Buy List Many Paths to Stock Market Success The Last Sustainable Edge in Public Markets The Great Truths of Investing Stocks Don’t Know You Own Them The Market and the Casino Debating Academic Finance Major League Buy List Down with Perma-Bears Unpacking ETFs The Next Avatar of Market Intelligence The Moat of the Stock Picker MORE! Books Mentioned:
    What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O’Shaughnessy THE MISBEHAVIOR OF MARKETS: A Fractal View of Financial Turbulence; by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard L Hudson Stocks for the Long Run; by Jeremy Siegel The Myth of 1926: How Much Do We Know About Long-Term Returns on U.S. Stocks?; by Edward F. McQuarrie Fama and French Three Factor Model Definition: Formula and Interpretation (Investopedia)

    • 1 hr 4 min
    Anna Gát — We Digress (EP. 211)

    Anna Gát — We Digress (EP. 211)

    Friend-of-the-show Anna Gát returns to discuss… well… pretty much everything!
    On April 13th, O’Shaughnessy Ventures and Interintellect are co-hosting a Future of Publishing event at the beautiful Pratt Mansion in NYC.
    We’re bringing together established publishers, online writers, new publishing houses, journalists, technologists, authors and more to rethink and reimagine how ideas are spread in our changing world. Confirmed speakers include Coleman Hughes, Tara Isabella Burton, Tamara Winter, Sahil Lavingia and many more!
    Here’s the best part - we want YOU to be there! To buy in-person tickets and for more information on live-streaming, scheduling, speakers, and more, just follow this link.
    We hope to see you there!
    Important Links:
    Interintellect Anna’s Twitter Anna’s Website Interintellect Substack Show Notes:
    The Shock of Losing a Parent Interintellect & the Post-Tribe Internet How to Facilitate Better Conversations Surprising Salons Faker Spotting & the Temptations of Power Avoiding Audience Capture The Humanness of Casablanca Greatness, Co-Creation & Doing the Work Misconceptions About Leadership The Personality of Language What’s Next for Anna Cities as Ideas Anna as Empress of the World MORE! Books Mentioned:
    The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity; by David Graeber and Wengrow Adventures of a Bystander; by Peter Drucker Mating; by Norman Rush The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York; by Robert A. Caro Power vs. Force; by David R. Hawkins Tao Te Ching; by Lao Tzu The Number Sense: How the Mind Creates Mathematics; by Stanislas Dehaene Embers; by Sándor Márai The Hunger Games; by Suzanne Collins

    • 1 hr 20 min
    Visakan Veerasamy — Expanding Our Possibility-Space (EP. 210)

    Visakan Veerasamy — Expanding Our Possibility-Space (EP. 210)

    The inimitable Visakan Veerasamy returns for a characteristically wide-ranging discussion…
    Important Links:
    Visa's Website Visa's Twitter  Visa's Youtube Visa’s Previous Episode Visa’s Post-Episode Thread Show Notes:
    Life as a Dad A Conversation With David Deutsch Change, Courage, Curiosity & Creativity Possibility Space & the Problem of Wretchedness A Good Blog Post Can Change the World The Outdated Language of Counterculture Colliding Our Reality Tunnels Imperfection Breeds Creativity We Are Co-Creators Status Quo Soldiers The Power of Noticing Visa as Emperor of the World MUCH more! Books & Articles Mentioned:
    Friendly Ambitious Nerd; by Visakan Veerasamy Introspect; by Visakan Veerasamy status quo soldiers lose in the long run; by Visakan Veerasamy The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch The Thinker and The Prover; by Jim O’Shaughnessy Leonardo Da Vinci; by Walter Isaacson Ninety-five Theses; by Martin Luther Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; by Lewis Carroll The News: A User’s Manual; by Alain de Botton Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man; by Marshall McLuhan Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour; by David R. Hawkins How I Accidentally Started The Sixties; by Howard Bloom One Summer: America 1927; by Bill Bryson

    • 1 hr 47 min
    Brendan McCord — AI and the Philosophy of Technology

    Brendan McCord — AI and the Philosophy of Technology

    Brendan McCord is the founder of Cosmos Institute — a non-profit dedicated to exploring the intersection of AI and philosophy.
    Brendan joins the show to discuss Cosmos’ origins, the pursuit of philosophy as a technologist, the different schools of thought in AI, complex adaptive systems and MUCH more!
    Important Links:
    Brendan McCord’s Reading List Cosmos Institute Substack Brendan’s Twitter Show Notes:
    The Genesis of the Cosmos Institute Philosophy as a Quixotic Pursuit The Man of the System Dilemma Existential Risk & Scenario Agnosticism The AI Schools of Thought The Religious Nature of the E/Acc Movement What Tocqueville Can Teach Us About AI The Philosophy-to-Code Pipeline “Cars ignited the Sexual Revolution” and Other Unexpected Occurrences The Best Systems are Adaptive Heterogeneity & Resilient Systems Open Source and the US-China Situation Automation, Augmentation & Open-Ended Generation The Underrated Nuance of Russian Realism Cinematic Visions of the Future Great Talent & the Risk of the Tasmanian Devil Brendan as Emperor of the World MORE! Books Mentioned:
    Murray Rothbard, “For A New Liberty” David R. Hawkins, “Power vs. Force” Jung Chang, “Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China” Jung Chang, “Mao: The Unknown Story” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “The Gulag Archipelago” Arthur Koestler, “Darkness At Noon” Adam Smith, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” Lewis Carroll, “What the Tortoise Said To Achilles” Eliezer Yudkowsky, “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality” Marc Andreessen, “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto” Alexis De Tocqueville, “Democracy in America” 'Pericles's Funeral Oration' quoted in Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War”. Plato, “Theaetetus” Plato, “The Republic” Nietzsche, “The Gay Science” C.P Snow, “The Two Cultures” Elinor Ostrom, “Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action” James M. Buchanan, "Freedom in Constitutional Contract: Perspectives of a Political Economist” Iain M. Banks, “Consider Phlebas” (Culture Series #1) Chen Qiufan and Kai-Fu Lee, “AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future” Christopher Buckley, “Thank You for Smoking” John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty”

    • 1 hr 38 min
    Alex Komoroske — Complex Adaptivity All The Way Down (EP. 208)

    Alex Komoroske — Complex Adaptivity All The Way Down (EP. 208)

    Alex Komoroske has spent his career studying, writing about, and working in complex adaptive systems. He has published multiple essays on topics like Schelling points in organizations, why debate should be collaborative, and how to ensure resilient growth in harsh environments. Alex has also worked as a product manager and in corporate strategy at Google and Stripe.
    Alex joins the show to discuss how to escape busyness, why heroism is overrated, the different types of magic, and MUCH more!
    Important Links:
    Alex’s Website Alex’s Twitter Alex’s LinkedIn Show Notes:
    The Parable of the Builder & the Gardener Against Heroism Noise is Good Complex Adaptivity All the Way Down Information Flow, Context Switching and Luck Surface-Area Escaping Busyness Paradigm Shifts & the Importance of Uncertainty The Self-Transcending Mindset The Power of Compression & The Virility of Memes Order From Chaos The Iterative Adjacent Possible Saruman & Radagast Magic The Illusion of Certainty Alex as Emperor of the World MORE! Books and Articles Mentioned:
    The Magic of Acorns; by Alex Komoroske The Sarumans and The Radagasts; by Alex Komoroske The Iterative Adjacent Possible; by Alex Komoroske Crossing the Bridge of Nihilism; by Jim O’Shaughnessy Adult Development Primer; by Dimitri Glazkov The Mower against Gardens; by Andrew Marvell Being There; by Jerzy Kosinski Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment; by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony & Cass R. Sunstein Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century; by Howard Bloom Zorba the Greek; by Nikos Kazantzakis Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny; by Robert Wright The Fifth Science; by Exurb1a A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction; by Christopher Alexander

    • 1 hr 26 min
    Cedric Chin — Accelerating Business Expertise (EP. 207)

    Cedric Chin — Accelerating Business Expertise (EP. 207)

    Cedric Chin is a writer, researcher and operator whose Commoncog newsletter is dedicated to finding useful, practical ways to accelerate business expertise. He joins us to discuss some of the most potentially transformative concepts he’s uncovered, from the business expertise triad to naturalistic decision making.
    Important Links:
    Cedric’s Website (Commoncog) Are You Ready for the Great Reshuffle? The Naturalistic Decision Making Podcast Wisdom Unleashed Show Notes:
    Commoncog’s Rabbit-Holing Origins The Business Expertise Triad Quality Engineering & Process Control The Effectiveness of Naturalistic Decision Making Expectancy, Intuition & Investing How to Stay Open-Minded Trial & Error, Knowledge Shields & the Power of Reading Protocols & Pattern-Matching Cedric as Emperor of the World MUCH more! Books and Articles Mentioned:
    The Tricky Thing About Creating Training Programs; by Cedric Chin The Business Expertise Series; by Cedric Chin The Oxford Handbook of Expertise; edited by Paul Ward, Jaan Maarten Schraagen, Julie Gore and Emile Roth Accelerated Expertise; by Robert R. Hoffman, Paul Ward, Paul J. Feltovich, Lia DiBello, Stephen M. Fiore and Dee H. Andrews The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success; by Will Thorndike Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon; by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos; by Donald Wheeler The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World; by David Deutsch The Hound of the Baskervilles; by Arthur Conan Doyle What Works on Wall Street: The Classic Guide to the Best-Performing Investment Strategies of All Time; by Jim O’Shaughnessy

    • 1 hr 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
159 Ratings

159 Ratings

derekva ,

A unique standout show

Brilliant, interesting, inspiring, provocative, independent thought, out-of-the-box just the right amount, and entertaining enough without going into silliness.

alexrwheeler ,

Great interviewer, great guests

Perfect mix of listening, asking great questions and letting the guests talk fully, all while subtly and tactfully adding his value. This guy is incredible wise and lively. Excellent podcast.

DaveNKait ,

Psychedelics for chronic pain

Loved your interview with Brom! Started a newco developing psychedelic NCEs for chronic pain (Cacti Therapeutics) so especially appreciated the bit about mind/body connection. Big believer in taking a holistic approach and combining healing modalities to optimize outcomes. Personalized and precision medicine takes many forms! Truly enjoyable interview!

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