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Thank you. I posted a comment this morning and had a chance to look through Fridman's YouTube channel before replying to other commenters. I didn't know that t

Thank you. I posted a comment this morning and had a chance to look through Fridman's YouTube channel before replying to other commenters. I didn't know that these interviews are podcast-first, which is probably why the interviewer is so laid back and slow talking, as pointed out by @unoti. I looked up Fridman's lectures, they are indeed a little bit more energetic, but he is generally a calm individual, so in combination with slow talking and monotone voice that he intentionally uses in podcasts, it makes his questions quite boring to listen, which is what was immediately reflected in my original comment. > thus whatever quirks you may find diverging from classic interview style are worth ignoring. Focus on the meat, when it gets good, it gets really good. Lex Fridman is smart. No doubt. If one listens carefully, he indeed asks good questions, which is something I originally missed. He interviews great people and the meat is obviously there. But I still strongly believe that there is a huge room for improvement for Lex as an interviewer and content creator. Has he interviewed unknown people, nobody would listen to him, IMHO.

K0SM0S 7y ago
Ah, I see. I think, in all fairness to him, you express a desire for some 'journalistic' or 'interviewer' skills. I totally understand that, the greats in those fields are awesome. However I think it's a tall order to ask people in general to excel in two entirely distinct domains, especially at such a 'young' age (MIT must've taken most of his time so far). So with domain-driven people who dabble in media, we get their strong vertical at the cost of more mediocre delivery — but to me that remains sweeter than a "professional" journalist who speaks second-hand about everything, at least for most technical or complex topics. He's got time to get a lot better at interviewing, podcasting, if that's the goal. Eventually, he can be both a great AI researcher and a great podcaster. Meanwhile, I'll take it regardless because that's the best we've got now. > Has he interviewed unknown people, nobody would listen to him, IMHO. If the topic were totally irrelevant, maybe; but I have a fondness for scientists trying to speak to everyone, e.g. on YouTube / podcast / whatever, so I would still listen probably. Like that guy, Robert Miles from Cambridge who speaks of AI safety[1] — delivery wasn't great in the beginning, but damn were the topics incredible food for thought. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLB7AzTwc6VFZrBsO2ucBMg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLB7AzTwc6VFZrBsO2ucBMg

K0SM0S 7y ago

Ah, I see. I think, in all fairness to him, you express a desire for some 'journalistic' or 'interviewer' skills. I totally understand that, the greats in those fields are awesome. However I think it's a tall order to ask people in general to excel in two entirely distinct domains, especially at such a 'young' age (MIT must've taken most of his time so far). So with domain-driven people who dabble in media, we get their strong vertical at the cost of more mediocre delivery — but to me that remains sweeter than a "professional" journalist who speaks second-hand about everything, at least for most technical or complex topics. He's got time to get a lot better at interviewing, podcasting, if that's the goal. Eventually, he can be both a great AI researcher and a great podcaster. Meanwhile, I'll take it regardless because that's the best we've got now. > Has he interviewed unknown people, nobody would listen to him, IMHO. If the topic were totally irrelevant, maybe; but I have a fondness for scientists trying to speak to everyone, e.g. on YouTube / podcast / whatever, so I would still listen probably. Like that guy, Robert Miles from Cambridge who speaks of AI safety[1] — delivery wasn't great in the beginning, but damn were the topics incredible food for thought. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLB7AzTwc6VFZrBsO2ucBMg https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLB7AzTwc6VFZrBsO2ucBMg