The aspect that this was recorded in a café makes this episode automatically unique, but the interview is friendly, yet philosophical. From history to seeing the world differently, this interview brings out the best in Tim Urban.
I listened to this in late 2019, and it had a profound impact on how I live daily life. It opened my eyes to the agony of everyone as they waited for things throughout life. I read somewhere once that one of the worst forms of torture was one in which the pain was intermittent. If you know pain is coming every 10 seconds, it doesnât feel as bad as pain every 3, 10, 60, 2, and 89 seconds. In short, we like to have semblance of predictability over our life. (Ever wonder why unexpected traffic sucks so much?) Great way to spend 20 minutes, I love this episode. (Check it out while youâre waiting for the train..haha.) On the flip side - it helped me change how I communicate. I now do my best to remove unstable timelines or vague texts. Have you ever gotten the text âWe need to talk?â Itâs painful. Gotten a rumour youâre getting promoted, but not sure when? Sucks. I try to give specific deadlines or some type of signal. (âHey, if I donât hear anything from Joe Iâll let you know before 4pm today.â) Ah, relief - from that small nagging agony of waiting.
I share this so much that it would be an issue if it wasnât listed here. This 1 hour long interview uprooted a deep misconception I had about the role of money in the world. We have credentials, experts, data, and plenty of influential toolsâŠbut at the root of all leverage is capital. (Capital/Money obviously needs backing, but thatâs a story for another time.) Itâs easy to get trapped in the âmoney is bad/evilâ mindset, but Chamath addresses and dismantles that mindset.