#95 Claude Shannon

What I learned from reading A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman ---- [0:25] Claude Shannon trained a powerful intellect on topics of deep interest, and continued to do so beyond the point of short term practicality [5:50] Insulated from opinion of all kinds [9:09] A simple way to describe the impact of information theory [10:39] Resourceful at a young age [11:50] An ordinary childhood [12:41] Follow your natural drift [14:40] Too many facts; too few principles [16:10] His indecisive nature inadvertently helps him [17:00] An important turning point in Shannon’s life [18:30] Vannevar Bush: The first person to see Claude Shannon for who he was [21:00] The results of Claude Shannon’s thesis [23:20] How Claude Shannon worked in his 20s [25:30] The main takeaway from the book: The world isn’t there to be used, but to be played with, manipulated by hand and mind [30:00] Succeeding with no prior knowledge in the specific field [31:20] Working on what naturally interests you is time well spent [32:45] Working at Bell Labs / The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation [36:49] Fire Control / What he worked on during the war [38:15] Claude Shannon’s work on cryptography [40:05] Take many different ideas from unrelated fields [43:35] Leaving Bell Labs for MIT [48:52] Claude Shannon on investing [1:01:15] Shannon’s design for his own funeral ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here. ---- “I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast