#178 with Balaji - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Communities & Crypto

My First Million

Podcast Notes Key Takeaways “I invest on an ideological basis. I invest in the world that I want to build” – Balaji SrinivasanA common approach to doing good is: work hard, make a lot of money and donate it to charityBalaji finds it a reasonable strategy but compares it to holding your breathHe always tries to work on things that have meaning along the wayBalaji foresees the internet causing the collapse of many traditional institutionsHis investments all contribute to the re-bundling of institutions in the internet era1729.com encourages people to pursue Truth, Health, and Wealth (in that order)Truth: Gain new knowledgeHealth: Without health you have nothingWealth is important but shouldn’t justify sacrificing health or truth“Media scripts humans just like code scripts machines” Balaji Srinivasan“Own a media corporation or be owned by one” Balaji SrinivasanCrypto is not only the next Wall StreetIt is also the next Silicon Valley, the next Yale School of Law and Columbia School of JournalismCrypto as the sequel to open source“Not just open-source, it is open state and open execution” Balaji Srinivasan “2000s were the tech companies, 2010s the crypto protocols, 2020s startup cities and 2030s network states” Balaji Srinivasan If Balaji was an unknown twenty years old he would deeply learn computer science and statistics They give you a strong foundation to pursue whatever you’re most interested inCOVID exposed our confusion about science“Science is not about peer-review, it’s about independent replication” Balaji Srinivasan

Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org

Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@TheSamParr) host Balaji (@balajis) this episode. This is an amazing dive into Balaji's mind. He talks about the current issues with the media and how he's hoping to fix it with crypto and the blockchain. We also get a look at how he views the world, what motivates him, what he's been wrong about as well as the massive shifts he sees happening.

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Show notes:

* (0:00) Intro

* (2:30) Balaji's background

* (7:33) Why Balaji started a newsletter: 1729

* (22:40) The media and its biases

* (31:58) Balaji on memes and their importance

* (37:45) What the future of media looks like and the role of crypto

* (56:26) When did Balaji get into crypto?

* (1:01:30) Sam asks Balaji what motivates him

* (1:11:50) How the world is changing and becoming more Balaji-like

* (1:19:39) What would 21 year-old Balaji work on?

* (1:22:46) Why geographical proximity is no longer linked to cultural proximity

* (1:26:25) How we can align incentives between tech and everyone else

* (1:32:30) Balaji on crypto-social networks

* (1:37:30) How Balaji operates day-to-day and "the idea maze"

* (1:47:33) The importance of finding the right place to live

* (1:57:30) What it's like to talk to Balaji

* (2:02:08) What has Balaji been wrong about?

* (2:11:00) Science vs. math: getting to the truth

* (2:21:10) Balaji asks Sam for newsletter advice

* (2:24:40) What are Balaji's guilty pleasures