Conversations with Tyler15 Jan 2020

Reid Hoffman on Systems, Levers, and Quixotic Quests

When Reid Hoffman creates a handle for some new network or system, his usual choice is "Quixotic." At an early age, his love of tabletop games inspired him to think of life as a heroic journey, where people come together in order to accomplish lofty things. This framing also prompted him to consider the rules and systems that guide society—and how you might improve them by identifying key points of leverage.

At first, he thought he'd become an academic and work with ideas as one of those Archimedean levers. But he ended up focusing on technology instead, helping to build PayPal, LinkedIn, and now many other ventures as an investor at Greylock Partners. But he still thinks ideas are important and tries to employ a "full toolset" when trying to shift systems.

Reid joined Tyler to talk about all these leverage points and more, including the Silicon Valley cultural meme he most disagrees with, how Wittgenstein influenced the design of LinkedIn, mystical atheism, what it was like being on Firing Line, why he's never said anything outrageous, how he and Peter Thiel interpret The Tempest differently, the most misunderstood thing about friendship, how to improve talent certification, what's needed from science fiction, and his three new ideas for board games.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded November 2nd, 2019

Other ways to connect

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Tyler on Twitter
Follow Reid on Twitter
Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(288)

Joseph Henrich on WEIRD Societies and Life Among Two Strange Tribes (Live at Mason)

To anthropologist Joseph Henrich, intelligence is overrated. Social learning, and its ability to influence biological evolution over time, is what really sets our species apart. He joined Tyler for a ...

14 Des 20161h 25min

Fuchsia Dunlop on Chinese Food, Culture, and Travel

For centuries, China has treated its cuisine with a reverence and delight that is only just starting to emerge with Western "foodie" culture. No one understands this better than Fuchsia Dunlop, who ha...

16 Nov 20161h 15min

Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence (Live at Mason)

Steven Pinker has spent an entire academic career thinking deeply about language, cognition, and human nature. Driving it all, he says, is an Enlightenment belief that the world is intelligible, scien...

2 Nov 20161h 26min

Ezra Klein on Media, Politics, and Models of the World

Ezra Klein, editor-in-chief of Vox.com, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on biases in digital media, the morality of meat-eating, how working for large organizations has changed his worldview, the...

6 Okt 20161h 17min

Margalit Fox on Life, Death, and the Best Job in Journalism

The stereotypical obituary is a formulaic recitation of facts — dry, boring, and without craft. But Margalit Fox has shown the genre can produce some of the most memorable and moving stories in journa...

24 Aug 201647min

Michael Orthofer on Why Fiction Matters

Michael Orthofer, one of the world's most prolific book reviewers, joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on — what else? — books. Read to discover why Michael believes everyone should read more fiction...

27 Jul 201656min

Cass Sunstein on Judicial Minimalism, the Supreme Court, and Star Wars (Live at Mason)

Cass Sunstein joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on judicial minimalism, Bob Dylan's best album, the metaphysics of nudging, Byatt's Possession, the ideal size of the Supreme Court, Hayek, why peopl...

22 Jun 20161h 17min

Camille Paglia on her Lifestyle of Observation (Live at Mason)

Camille Paglia joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on the brilliance of Bowie, lamb vindaloo, her lifestyle of observation, why writers need real jobs, Star Wars, Harold Bloom, Amelia Earhart, Edmund...

25 Apr 20161h 26min