Shit You Don't Learn in School

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50. Making a Difference During Wartime Mar 19, 2022

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We believe that the desire to give is universal, but is just as much a skill as anything else in life. In this episode, Cal and Steph discuss the how you can make a difference during your limited time on this earth, with the limited resources you have -- especially during times like these.
They dive into...

Creative ways that people have supported Ukraine
Striking a balance between hedonism and altruism
Making difficult problems tractable
A breakdown of the gender pay gap
Impact starting with small actions
WTF is effective altruism?
Whether charities should be structured differently

If you'd like to join us in giving back, we're giving to givewell.org.

49. The Hidden Power of Language Feb 19, 2022

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Language is one of the most powerful tools that humans have accessible to them.
Don't believe us? Consider the fact that someone could walk up to you and say something that could immediately change your mental state.
Nothing around you has changed, other than the words echoed through the air.
In this episode, Cal and Steph discuss the power of words and how language can shape the way we think. They use untranslatable words to convey these concepts and share how language has been shown to impact anything from our impression of time, space, or even emotional regularity.
If you're interested in digging into this more, Steph has built a directory of untranslatable words (Eunoia, which itself is an untranslatable word) and has written an article about the topic here. Send us a message with your favorite "untranslatables"!
Liked this episode? Make sure to subscribe and leave a review.

48. It's Time to Leave the Casino Feb 11, 2022

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The allure of getting rich quick is intoxicating.
It's even more intoxicating when you're trapped inside and it seems like all your friends have cashed in big.
In this episode, Cal and Steph discuss Cal's experience with active investing over the last 20 months and ultimately, why it's time to walk away from the casino.
If you liked this episode, make sure to subscribe and leave a review. You can also read Calvin's article on the topic here.
And if you're also stuck in the casino, don't be afraid to reach out to Cal or Steph on Twitter. We'd love to hear your story.

47. What Can Happen in 300 Years? Feb 05, 2022

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"The only constant is change", they say.
In this episode, Cal and Steph discuss just how drastically the world has changed and will continue to change.
From the iPhone... to the Internet... to antibiotics... to human flight... to to the sequencing of DNA... to perhaps the most important fact that humans now live more than double as long... these developments all happened within the last 100 years.
Given that things within a single lifetime can go from being inconceivable to ubiquitous, it's mind-blowing to imagine what might be come.
They use the remainder of the episode to explore what might be to come, whether it be proactive medicine, computer-brain interfaces, printed food, digital warfare, and much more.
If you liked this episode, make sure to subscribe and leave a review.
Resources:

46. The Life Lessons You Shouldn't Ignore Jan 24, 2022

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There's an endless sea of advice online.
Whether it's from a vague Twitter thread or a clickbait blog post, the advice sounds catchy, but if we're honest... often holds little water.
However, we all know from experience that the right lessons, sometimes even sitting in plain sight, can genuinely change the trajectory of one's life.
In this episode, Cal and Steph discuss the few pieces of advice that they think matter most and shouldn't be ignored.
Love this episode? Give it a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/learn
Resources:

Calvin's article: https://calvinrosser.com/40-pieces-of-advice/
Josh Pigford's project page: https://joshpigford.com/projects
Doing Time Right: https://doingtimeright.com/

45. Are You Playing Russian Roulette With Life? Jan 15, 2022

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In this episode, Cal and Steph discuss the hidden side of risk: the infrequent, often unpredictable events that make the biggest differences in our lives.

If you look around, rare, high-impact events are everywhere.

A small number of days in the stock market drive the bulk of the returns.
Large businesses like Google, Amazon, and Best Buy have tested thousands of products, yet have a single profit puppy.
Insurance companies make money on most customers, but have to pay out very large claims to a few people.
A handful of people have had more of an effect on the future than the other 7 billion people combined.

This episode is all about navigating tail risk and tail opportunity. You'll learn how to better avoid the catastrophic events in life, and on the flip side, to take advantage of the life-enhancing opportunities with asymmetric upside.
Love this episode? Give it a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/learn

44. The Best Sh*t We Learned in 2021 Jan 08, 2022

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In this episode, Steph and Cal break down the best of 2021. You'll find out the...

Best New Idea
Best New Skill
Best New Life Hack
Best New Experience
Best/Worst Purchase
Best/Worst Investment
Best/Worst Trend
Best Podcast
Creator of the Year
Best Personal Win/Accomplishment
#1 Goal for Next Year
Prediction for the New Year

Jumpstart 2022 by doubling down on the best activities and avoiding the worst. It's going to be an awesome year.
PS: If you liked the sound effects in this episode, we found them here.

43. Technology that People Feared Dec 28, 2021

Show notes

What do airplanes, railroads, and jazz music have in common? They were all innovations that people feared.
In fact, if you look into any key technology shift from the past, you'll find a wealth of fear, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding it. And while this shouldn't be surprising, we can still learn from the skeptics of the past.
We can learn just how difficult it is to predict what's to come and look toward our future with a humble perspective, an acceptance that we probably will get it wrong again.
In this episode, Calvin and Steph talk through how people viewed inventions seemingly as innocuous as the bicycle or teddy bear, what we can learn from these stories, and how to stay open minded and capitalize on opportunities as technology takes us into the future.

42. Special Episode: Finding Meaning in Sudden Death Nov 29, 2021

Show notes

Death is universal part of the human experience. During our lives, we often must confront the painful reality of death around us, and eventually, we face that reality ourselves.
What's odd is that despite death being at the core of the human experience, many people avoid talking or thinking about it. So when people pass away or we face a health scare that brings us into contact with the fragility of life, we often don't know what to do.
In this episode, Calvin shares his experience with the death of two close loved ones: his mentor and his mom. He dives into the depths of those experiences, whether it's choosing to take his mother off life support or the psychedelic experience that helped him process his guilt. And most importantly, he shares what he's learned from years of grieving.
We hope this episode serves as a jumping off point for people to speak more openly about death and to connect with the many people that have lost a close loved one.
As a disclaimer: If you are unable to listen to difficult topics like suicide, mental health, or sexual abuse, please do not listen to this episode.
Resources:

41. The Future of Work: What Comes Next? (Part 2) Nov 16, 2021

Show notes

In the second part of this series on the future of work, Steph and Cal dive into new products and services, alongside macro trends that they predict are in full flux.
These include mass migration, global tax infrastructure, opportunities for services to specialize, increased isolation, UBI, and of course... the metaverse. :)

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