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I really liked this episode. I think Brendan Eich has got to be one of my favourite people to hear anecdotes about early web history. He was around at some piv

by mjgs 6y ago

I really liked this episode. I think Brendan Eich has got to be one of my favourite people to hear anecdotes about early web history. He was around at some pivotal moments, was in with the business side of things but also super technical. He’s also just very good at talking, he never appears to talk himself into a corner, somehow always avoids getting into the weeds, there’s a lucidity to all his answers that’s somehow very impressive. I wonder how much preparation he puts into his interviews. As for Lex, personally I really like his style. He operates at a different pace to many of the people he’s interviewing, but I find this often enables him to see interesting parallels and analysis. It’s not always perfect, and maybe there’s room for improvement, though it gives the whole show an authenticity that it might not otherwise have if it were too polished. I feel like his style works very well with all the guests he has on. They all seem to get on very well, which has a massive positive effect on how the guest interacts. Sure he has some prepared questions, but he also goes off piste quite a bit, and when he gets back to the prepared questions, I generally find they are well researched and very relevant. I’d also like to know how he gets so many great guests on the show.

galfarragem 6y ago
Bill Gates, Alan Kay and Steve Wozniak would fit perfectly in this format. Other missing guests (yet) - from the top of my mind - Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and even Mark Zuckerberg.
- spaetzleesser 6y ago
  I usually prefer to listen to slightly less famous people. The really big names usually are too used to public speaking and not saying anything wrong that they come across as too slick and guarded.
  - tomthe 6y ago
    Yes, but if someone with a big name says something stupid, that is interesting because of who says it. If some nobody says something stupid, it is just a podcast.
    - spaetzleesser 6y ago
      I don’t find it very inheriting when somebody trips over something. Must of our media already consists of trying to catch somebody saying something. We don’t need more of that.
- mjgs 6y ago
  All the people you listed would be great guests for sure. My initial reaction was that, of the people you listed, Steve Wosniak would be the best fit. I attended a lecture he gave a number of years ago, it was very inspiring. He’s not very ‘corporate’ so I think he’d get on really well with Lex. But I am perhaps showing my bias here, I’d also be very interested to see how versatile Lex’s interview style is with Gates, Bezos and Zuckerberg.
pen2l 6y ago
> somehow always avoids getting into the weeds I hate to bring this up, but no, he's been given plenty chances and he does not behave responsibly as a person of his intellect and position should. I'd have hoped that he'd learned a lesson or two from the previous fiasco he was involved in, unfortunately he's still spewing some strange stuff on twitter and elsewhere, like saying masks don't work, Fauci is a liar, etc.: (https://twitter.com/brendaneich/status/1337496169690230784?lang=en https://twitter.com/brendaneich/status/1337496169690230784?l...). I don't doubt his lucidity when it comes to his technical prowess, but it's just hard for me to square this with the fact that he keeps falling along party lines in his public presentation which is divisive and unneeded.
- bzb6 6y ago
  If you’re on Twitter you will see 99.9% of tech people spend all day posting left wing political takes. Just a bit of counterbalance is not going to hurt you lol
- pull_my_finger 6y ago
  > he does not behave responsibly as a person of his intellect and position should He actually tried to doxx[1] me right here on HN because I spoke out against Brave. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23442203 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23442203
  - mendelmaleh 6y ago
    How is that a dox attempt?
    - ttul 6y ago
      Outing someone’s Twitter handle is a form of doxing.
      - BrendanEich 6y ago
        I cited a twitter thread (et seq) relevant to our exchange. You then doxxed yourself in reply on HN. I don't care who you are or what your twitter handle is, honestly.
mda 6y ago
You like his style? Dunno, I watched his interview with Jim Keller, it was terrible and I cringed several times (And Keller rolled his eyes mostly).
- mjgs 6y ago
  I didn’t watch that one. So far I’ve only listened to a few. I mostly listen via the podcast feed. I posted the ones I liked to my linkblog (https://links.markjgsmith.com https://links.markjgsmith.com): [2020-12-26] Lex Friedman Podcast #80 - Vitalik Buterin - Ethereum, Cryptocurrency, and the Future of Money - Fascinating and well paced conversation with the founder of Etherium covering a wide range of topics including Satoshi Nakamoto, blockchains, proof of work and identity, PKI and digital signatures, Bitcoin, money, the Etherium origin story, smart contracts, software engineering and project governance challenges, proof of stake and consensus algorithms, sharding of storage and computation, Etherium 2.0, games built using smart contracts, Uniswap, AI and crypto, and closes on Immortality https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3x1b_S6Qp2Q https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3x1b_S6Qp2Q [2021-02-13] Lex Friedman Podcast #159 – Richard Craib: WallStreetBets, Numerai, and the Future of Stock Trading - Looks at the recent WalkStreetBets and Gamestop Saga that caused such a stir in the trading markets, then moves on to talk about hedge funds, shorting, new ways crypto and AI could change the world of finance, aswell as more esoteric topics like running a startup and the meaning of life https://lexfridman.com/richard-craib https://lexfridman.com/richard-craib I might have a listen to the cringey one you linked to. I wonder if it was just an off day for him or perhaps he didn’t gel well with the guest.
- meowface 6y ago
  That one's widely considered the worst, by a lot. I wouldn't judge 160 podcast episodes by just that one.
- mjgs 6y ago
  I listened to it yesterday. I actually liked the episode. There were a few bits where it got a tad uncomfortable, maybe even cringey (though I think that’s a stretch), sometimes because Lex was being a bit argumentative, or because some of his comments and questions were a bit lame, but there were also some bits where I felt Keller was being a bit prickley. Overall though I learnt a lot, Keller has a very interesting angle on the tech sector because of where / how he’s been involved. Even though there were a few places where they clashed a bit, there were also some fun shared humour parts and I felt it ended well. Sounded like they got on quite well despite their differences. If I have some time (unlikely), I might watch the video version, it would be interesting to see if there’s a big difference in how the interviews come across when there is a video component.
BrendanEich 6y ago
I didn't prepare and to tell the truth, I was getting over a cold (which is why I was rubbing my nose so much). What helps me, beyond watching other good long-form speakers in similar interviews: reading and thinking at length, using the Socratic method in my own head.
- christophilus 6y ago
  Loved the interview and love Brave. Keep up the good work!
- cccc4alll 6y ago
  I just want to say thank you for all your contributions to advancing web technologies. Javascript is still the only meaningful "Full Stack" platform and responsible for Billions of dollars in online business and Trillions of dollars in business value.
  - paulryanrogers 6y ago
    Is JS really the fundamental, responsible part in all that business? Would it have been so much worse with a full page refresh per click?
    - cccc4alll 6y ago
      What would handle the click on the client browser? How would you handle all the user events in the client browser? clicks, mouse overs, selections, etc. The Javascript platform is used to capture user behavior in the most efficient manner. This is the fundamental basis for all the online business processes and resulting business value.
      - paulryanrogers 6y ago
        Before JS browsers handled clicks without any 3rd party code. They were much more predictable and easier to reason about as a user. Those clicks usually translated to HTTP calls. What is so fundamental about business processes that they can't do an extra page render and HTTP call? (I imagine there may be some, I just can't see how they are so fundamental and on the order of billions.)

by mjgs 6y ago

galfarragem 6y ago

Bill Gates, Alan Kay and Steve Wozniak would fit perfectly in this format. Other missing guests (yet) - from the top of my mind - Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and even Mark Zuckerberg.

spaetzleesser 6y ago
I usually prefer to listen to slightly less famous people. The really big names usually are too used to public speaking and not saying anything wrong that they come across as too slick and guarded.
- tomthe 6y ago
  Yes, but if someone with a big name says something stupid, that is interesting because of who says it. If some nobody says something stupid, it is just a podcast.
  - spaetzleesser 6y ago
    I don’t find it very inheriting when somebody trips over something. Must of our media already consists of trying to catch somebody saying something. We don’t need more of that.
mjgs 6y ago
All the people you listed would be great guests for sure. My initial reaction was that, of the people you listed, Steve Wosniak would be the best fit. I attended a lecture he gave a number of years ago, it was very inspiring. He’s not very ‘corporate’ so I think he’d get on really well with Lex. But I am perhaps showing my bias here, I’d also be very interested to see how versatile Lex’s interview style is with Gates, Bezos and Zuckerberg.

pen2l 6y ago

> somehow always avoids getting into the weeds I hate to bring this up, but no, he's been given plenty chances and he does not behave responsibly as a person of his intellect and position should. I'd have hoped that he'd learned a lesson or two from the previous fiasco he was involved in, unfortunately he's still spewing some strange stuff on twitter and elsewhere, like saying masks don't work, Fauci is a liar, etc.: (https://twitter.com/brendaneich/status/1337496169690230784?lang=en https://twitter.com/brendaneich/status/1337496169690230784?l...). I don't doubt his lucidity when it comes to his technical prowess, but it's just hard for me to square this with the fact that he keeps falling along party lines in his public presentation which is divisive and unneeded.

bzb6 6y ago
If you’re on Twitter you will see 99.9% of tech people spend all day posting left wing political takes. Just a bit of counterbalance is not going to hurt you lol
pull_my_finger 6y ago
> he does not behave responsibly as a person of his intellect and position should He actually tried to doxx[1] me right here on HN because I spoke out against Brave. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23442203 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23442203
- mendelmaleh 6y ago
  How is that a dox attempt?
  - ttul 6y ago
    Outing someone’s Twitter handle is a form of doxing.
    - BrendanEich 6y ago
      I cited a twitter thread (et seq) relevant to our exchange. You then doxxed yourself in reply on HN. I don't care who you are or what your twitter handle is, honestly.

mda 6y ago

You like his style? Dunno, I watched his interview with Jim Keller, it was terrible and I cringed several times (And Keller rolled his eyes mostly).

mjgs 6y ago
I didn’t watch that one. So far I’ve only listened to a few. I mostly listen via the podcast feed. I posted the ones I liked to my linkblog (https://links.markjgsmith.com https://links.markjgsmith.com): [2020-12-26] Lex Friedman Podcast #80 - Vitalik Buterin - Ethereum, Cryptocurrency, and the Future of Money - Fascinating and well paced conversation with the founder of Etherium covering a wide range of topics including Satoshi Nakamoto, blockchains, proof of work and identity, PKI and digital signatures, Bitcoin, money, the Etherium origin story, smart contracts, software engineering and project governance challenges, proof of stake and consensus algorithms, sharding of storage and computation, Etherium 2.0, games built using smart contracts, Uniswap, AI and crypto, and closes on Immortality https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3x1b_S6Qp2Q https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3x1b_S6Qp2Q [2021-02-13] Lex Friedman Podcast #159 – Richard Craib: WallStreetBets, Numerai, and the Future of Stock Trading - Looks at the recent WalkStreetBets and Gamestop Saga that caused such a stir in the trading markets, then moves on to talk about hedge funds, shorting, new ways crypto and AI could change the world of finance, aswell as more esoteric topics like running a startup and the meaning of life https://lexfridman.com/richard-craib https://lexfridman.com/richard-craib I might have a listen to the cringey one you linked to. I wonder if it was just an off day for him or perhaps he didn’t gel well with the guest.
meowface 6y ago
That one's widely considered the worst, by a lot. I wouldn't judge 160 podcast episodes by just that one.
mjgs 6y ago
I listened to it yesterday. I actually liked the episode. There were a few bits where it got a tad uncomfortable, maybe even cringey (though I think that’s a stretch), sometimes because Lex was being a bit argumentative, or because some of his comments and questions were a bit lame, but there were also some bits where I felt Keller was being a bit prickley. Overall though I learnt a lot, Keller has a very interesting angle on the tech sector because of where / how he’s been involved. Even though there were a few places where they clashed a bit, there were also some fun shared humour parts and I felt it ended well. Sounded like they got on quite well despite their differences. If I have some time (unlikely), I might watch the video version, it would be interesting to see if there’s a big difference in how the interviews come across when there is a video component.

BrendanEich 6y ago

I didn't prepare and to tell the truth, I was getting over a cold (which is why I was rubbing my nose so much). What helps me, beyond watching other good long-form speakers in similar interviews: reading and thinking at length, using the Socratic method in my own head.

christophilus 6y ago
Loved the interview and love Brave. Keep up the good work!
cccc4alll 6y ago
I just want to say thank you for all your contributions to advancing web technologies. Javascript is still the only meaningful "Full Stack" platform and responsible for Billions of dollars in online business and Trillions of dollars in business value.
- paulryanrogers 6y ago
  Is JS really the fundamental, responsible part in all that business? Would it have been so much worse with a full page refresh per click?
  - cccc4alll 6y ago
    What would handle the click on the client browser? How would you handle all the user events in the client browser? clicks, mouse overs, selections, etc. The Javascript platform is used to capture user behavior in the most efficient manner. This is the fundamental basis for all the online business processes and resulting business value.
    - paulryanrogers 6y ago
      Before JS browsers handled clicks without any 3rd party code. They were much more predictable and easier to reason about as a user. Those clicks usually translated to HTTP calls. What is so fundamental about business processes that they can't do an extra page render and HTTP call? (I imagine there may be some, I just can't see how they are so fundamental and on the order of billions.)