Jackson Dahl

@jackson

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I interviewed Anjan Katta about @daylightcomputer: the embodiment of his vision for the future of computing. I love computers. But lately they bend me to their will much more than the inverse. My iPhone feels more like a "pacifier for the mind" than Steve Job's dream of a "bicycle for the mind." Anjan imagines a future of computers that amplify our humanity: devices that return agency, designed around light and respect rather than attention extraction. We cover: - SV's optimization of means, yet confusion of goals - building non-inevitable technology and products - relationship as the defining aspect of computers, and how the iPhone is our primary relationship to the world - why light was the starting point for a new computer - avoiding paternalism with products that make it feel easier to focus - developing intuition that is more intelligent than data - computers as magical companions—Hobbes, Dynabook, or The Primer - Harry Potter computing: magical everyday objects dialectic.fm/anjan-katta

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/dialectic Ep. 16: Anjan Katta - A Sunrise Over Computing https://zora.co/coin/base:0x08785e0bb9376991367dfb70250843cbf6057d0c?referrer=0x4cced345763d40e0328d529c8b6c48e03f092e74

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/dialectic Ep. 16: Anjan Katta - A Sunrise Over Computing https://pods.media/dialectic/16-anjan-katta-a-sunrise-over-computing?referrer=0x9b902482E62Db8FC486C3f1acAA568006021DbEC

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Dialectic Ep. 15: D.A. Wallach - Serendipity & Systems https://zora.co/coin/base:0x9d03062540101442c7216a794b97fc7d2e227705?referrer=0x9b902482E62Db8FC486C3f1acAA568006021DbEC

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I interviewed D.A. Wallach on a curiosity-driven career, systems thinking in medicine, and the thread of beauty across markets, medicine, and music. His unlikely path: - his band Chester French discovered by Kanye & Pharrell while at Harvard - Early angel in SpaceX + Spotify & Spotify’s first Artist-in-Residence - Now co-runs Time BioVentures backing frontier life-science We cover: - Cold-email serendipity & web surfing in the OG sense - Complexity science & the Santa Fe Institute—giving scientists permission to ask basic questions - Pitching the Federal Reserve (in high school) - CRISPR, GLP-1s, and why biotech moves “gradually, then suddenly” - LLMs returning agency to patients and nudging us toward universal care - how tech makes us creatively lazy and what it would mean to be the Herbie Hancock of AI music - Artists reclaiming “cool" over dorks - D.A.’s anonymous, Tylerthe Creator-directed music video And more. Available on all platforms

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I interviewed Alex Zhang about the art of bringing people together, building a ski resort with Reed Hastings, and getting into rooms you're not supposed to be in. I've known Alex since he convinced me to let him on the golf cart as I drove Mark Cuban across our college campus. Since then, he's continued to surprise me, inspire me, and find unlikely ways to curate people, spaces, and art. We talked about this and much more: - Can art and commerce really mix? Why are patrons so important for art? - How do you throw a great house party? What about a music festival? or @fwb fest? - How do you successfully blend unlikely domains: music & tech, crypto & culture, skiing & art? - What makes Reed Hastings such a special leader and communicator? - Is "community" anything more than an empty word? - How did Alex convince Elon to come talk at his college club (rather than university-wide commencement)? - Why does playfulness create magic? Why is taste a worthwhile pursuit? Available on all platforms below.

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https://pods.media/dialectic/13-nabeel-qureshi-the-will-to-care?referrer=0x9b902482E62Db8FC486C3f1acAA568006021DbEC

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I interviewed Nabeel Qureshi about some of the most important things that make us human at a time when AI is making us really question what makes us unique. What does it mean to care, and is caring an antidote to a world of increasing "slop?" What actually is slop, and what makes media, art, products, design, or work meaningful? Why do the best new things have elements of strangeness and unpredictability? When every answer is a keystroke away, what does it mean to truly learn and understand things? What does it mean to have "the will to think?" How can we live a life of continuous growth? How can constantly update our thinking? Lots more too, like video games as a template for education; why Palantir's culture is special and able to deal with nuance while working on "grey area" problems; DOGE and bureaucracy, power and tech; what makes Tyler Cowen special; Nabeel's idea maze for his new company; why Tolstoy was wrong about Shakespeare... Nabeel contains multitudes. Available on all platforms below.

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100% yes, no question.

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What makes a great tool? 1. availability 2. self-evidence 3. joy Che-Wei: “There's that saying: a good tool is the one that's there when you need it. I think of our tools that we design and make. We want it to do the thing that it's supposed to do really well.” Taylor: “I think also a great tool is one that just makes you feel happier than you did before you were using it.” CW&T on /dialectic

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Great opportunity

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CW&T on making weird things that matter, and creating objects that can't be categorized: Taylor: "When you say art projects are things that lots of people don't want, I think it's important to not stop there and figure out how you can shift your way of thinking creatively as an artist to like, how can this actually touch people?" Che-Wei: "That's definitely where we want to be as a studio—working on weird projects that are sort of outside of the normal categories of how products fit into categories. Some people find it really useful. Some people are like, I don't get it. And I think we’re okay with that." Full episode available now.

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I joined Farcaster on 25th August 2021, which was 3 years, 6 months, 27 days ago. Since then, 100.0 percent of users have joined after me frame by @cashlessman.eth

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Ep. 12 of /dialectic w/ Che-Wei Wang & Taylor Levy (CW&T) CW&T are partners in life and work and make my favorite physical objects on the internet, from heirloom-quality pens and tools to art pieces that challenge and subvert our relationship with time. They have backgrounds in industrial design, architecture, software, and film, and began collaborating after meeting at NYU ITP. They started on Kickstarter with Pen Type-A and have been releasing new creations ever since. We discuss their fascination with time, commitment to making objects that last as long as they should, why prototyping is at the root of their practice, and how their work and studio will evolve with new technology. As someone who is obsessed with time, reveres collaboration and spends too much of my life in digital space, I couldn’t have enjoyed this conversation more. I hope you appreciate their thoughtfulness, wisdom, and creativity—and feel inspired to be more present in the physical world. Available on all platforms and X below.

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In case you missed it: a long and winding conversation about culture, social media, and connection with the inimitable @eugene!

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"The fundamental difference between TV world Postman’s criticized and our world is that we are all participants, if even as viewers, we participate in shaping who rises and how. TV shaped shaped the people on it, the politicians, etc. Social media shapes all of our behavior—we are all implicated. We determine who wins the game."

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Ep. 11 of /dialectic w/ @eugene Wei is out now. Eugene is one of the most insightful thinkers on social media, its mechanics, and how it shapes us and culture. He once suggested we need an update on Neil Postman’s 1985 lament of television culture, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," proposing instead: "Amusing Each Other to Death". We discuss how algorithmic, entertainment-driven social platforms are shaping society. Topics include social networks vs. social media, TikTok, Twitter/X, technology reducing friction but weakening community, attention as currency, rising nihilism, speculative culture, NFL and Netflix catering to distracted audiences, how TV shows reflect a decline in meaning, and what it means to hold onto our humanity. Some of this may sound pessimistic, but Eugene asks questions we all need to consider—together. By remembering genuine connection as one of our most sacred resources, perhaps we can still build a brighter future, using technology to amplify our humanity rather than diminish it.

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Some house cleaning: a @dwr.eth art upgrade.

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Near Revelstoke, BC

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