AI, Stan the T.Rex, and Focus | Feeding Frenzy 42
Feeding Frenzy is a weekly post that is a collection of knowledge to absorb. Every week you can expect something worth listening, reading, watching, and pondering. Think of this as a boost of the signal above the noise!
In this edition worth listening to, we have a conversation between Joscha Bach and Lex Fridman, and World-class Photograph Nigel Barker joins the Whoop podcast. Worth reading, we have the sale of Stan the T. rex for $31.8 million. Worth watching, we have a break down of Childish Gambino's 3005. And as always, a few more pieces worth your time!
Tag us in your favorite content in the week!
Worth Listening
Joscha Bach: Artificial Consciousness and the Nature of Reality | Lex Fridman Podcast
" Happiness is a cookie the brain bakes itself."
This one podcast is had to break into chunks to get through it. I'll probably have to relisten to this a few times grasp topics here. If you're interested in AI, philosophy, and meaning, this is a podcast you will enjoy.
Podcast No. 94: Nigel Barker, World-Class Photographer | Whoop
" You are the sum of your imperfections."
I didn't know much about Nigel Barker going into this podcast, but I was pleasantly surprised. While listening, I took the time to check out his Instagram account. I find it interesting that so many photographers and similar jobs are so profoundly introspective.
Worth Reading
'Stan' the T. rex just sold for $31.8 million—and scientists are furious | National Geographic
"If this kind of money [were] invested properly, it could easily fund 15 permanent dinosaur research positions, or about 80 full field expeditions per year, in perpetuity," - David Evans
"Do the right thing: totally relinquish your ownership of the fossil and donate it to an accredited natural history museum so that science can ethically be done on Stan for the benefit of everyone on the planet who has an interest in dinosaurs," Thomas Carr.
Gold, silver or bronze: circadian variation strongly affects performance in Olympic athletes | Nature
"Depending on one's goal (reaching the semi-fnal or winning the fnal) athletes may consider to adjust their circadian system such that their peak performance better matches race timing accordingly."
In this short reach paper, they looked at performance in Olympic swimmer, and the effects of the circadian rhythm have when events take place. Many of us are familiar with circadian rhythm, but a subset of this is called chronotype. Some people are early birds or night owls. These correlate to your biological chronotype. What this study shows is how the body is primed for peak performance based on their chronotype.
Worth Watching
Childish Gambino's 3005 Video FINALLY Explained | Dissect Podcast
I've talked about the Dissect podcast of times. Including on the most recent podcast release, which is one meta but also related to the reason I brought up on the podcast. This is the first video dissect, and it's fascinating to see the analysis done with so much detail. Plus, how much thought can be applied to why an artist chooses what they do both lyrically and visually. I'm a fan of mastery and craft, and this is nothing short of either!
Worth Pondering
" You don't need more time, you need more focus." - Shane Parrish
This week is a wrap and plenty to chew over for this week! Feel free to let us know any thoughts and suggestions that may contribute to these posts. It may pop-up on Feeding Frenzy or develop into a full-fledged article of its own.
Stay curious, and have a great week!
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Today on the podcast, we are joined by Joe Jackowski. Joe is a Marine Corps veteran and current graduate student at Vanderbilt University in the Cognitive Psychology in Context program. His primary interest is meaning in life, which broadly extends to problems in ethics, A.I., and culture.
In this episode, we sit down to discuss his first long-form article on his new sub stack, Apotheosis: A Philosophy for Influencers