Michael Nielsen (@michael_nielsen), research fellow at Y Combinator Research, joins Erik for a wide-ranging discussion about a variety of topics, including: * Why the top names in the S&P 500 change over time, but the top names in global university rankings don’t — and how to fix that. * How Michael thinks about the role of risk in science, and why he'd like to see more risk-taking. * Memory, including how to improve yours and why professional athletes seem to have such good ones. * The “compliment deficit” in the world and how to fix it. * The silver lining of the Bay Area housing problem. * The reproducibility problem in social science. * Why he’s a fan of chaos. …and much more. Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal. Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg and is produced by Brett Bolkowy.