big ideas

The unpredictable abilities emerging from large AI models.

I suspect “emergence” will continue to be a dominant force in human progress in this century. Seems like a safe benefit since it’s also responsible for, well, pretty much everything. “A raft of researchers, detecting the first hints that LLMs […]

big ideas

Very long-term backup.

This is the story of The Rosetta Disk, an archive of over 1,500 human languages assembled in the year 2008. “This business side of the disk is pure nickel. Picking it up you would not be aware there were 13,500 […]

big ideas

Helion: a new way to achieve nuclear fusion.

Their 6th generation reactor, Trenta, uses a safer fuel than other reactors and produces and reliable fusion once every 10 minutes. Their 7th generation prototype intends to scale up the frequency of fusion to every second and, critically, generate usable […]

big ideas

The case for more energy.

I am really finding myself drawn to this point of view. I think it may be the only truly great path forward for humanity. “America has been on a 45-year energy diet, and we ought to try and end it.” ~ learn […]

big ideas

Nuclear fusion and the future of energy.

This interview catches you up on almost everything you want to know about the state of fusion research. Dennis Whyte is a nuclear scientist at MIT and the director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center. He’s interviewed by […]

big ideas

What does the rest of the world not get about India?

“I asked Kunal Shah this question last week. Kunal founded CRED – one of India’s leading consumer fintech companies valued at $6.4B. He gave me a laundry list of nuanced observations. This list is a *must read* if you’re interested […]

big ideas

Making energy too cheap to meter.

“Building a world that prioritizes energy production, an ergophilic world, can unlock far more than just solutions to problems. An ergophilic world would put no upper bound on our ability to manipulate the physical world: continuing the exponential growth in […]