The Local Maximum with Max Sklar

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 79 - Creating Virtual Worlds with Timoni West Aug 13, 2019

Show notes

This is a conversation with Timoni West at Unity Labs about the emerging tech of Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed reality. We talk about how these new worlds are being created, the challenges that need to be overcome, and how they will be different than you may have assumed from watching your favorite sci-fi movies.
localmaxradio.com/79
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 78 - Bayesian Thinking: Flat Earth Priors, The Mises Brothers, and Curb Your Analogy Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

As Max returns from Lviv Ukraine where he offered a course on Bayesian thinking, he shares his knowledge and insights.
- What are the drawbacks and limitations to Bayes rule vs other approaches?
- Is probability objective or subjective?
- How did Larry David illustrates argument by analogy?
- The von Mises brothers include one free market economist (Ludwig) and one statistician (Richard) - what did they have to say on this topic?
- What’s the problem with a Flat Earth Prior?
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 77 - Competitive Foosball Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

Frequent Local Maximum contributor Maryam Aly comes on to discuss her career into competitive foosball, and how she achieved a top ranking in the global foosball leaderboard. We also discuss lessons on teamwork and communication that Maryam has transferred from Foosball over to the software engineering realm!
localmaxradio.com/77
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 76 - Bitcoin and Google Invade Politics Jul 23, 2019

Show notes

Politicians and bureaucrats in the US are talking about Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency after Facebook announces that they’ll get in the game - including a Trump tweet. Some people are sending Bitcoin through the radio waves to prepare for an extreme scenario. Googlers clearly want to elect a democrat in 2020 - and this is affecting their product decisions. Researchers say an AI is learning science - but Max and Aaron break down what this really means.
Plus - find out about Max’s new job!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 75 - The Market Loves You: Jeffrey Tucker on the nature of Innovation Jul 16, 2019

Show notes

I discuss with AIER director Jeffrey Tucker his new book, The Market Loves You, covering triumphs of markets and innovation such as the railroad, the word processor, and shoes. We turn to today’s big ideas in Bitcoin, Social Media, and the App Frenzy, and the unresolved problems that the next crop of entrepreneurs, engineers, and consumers will tackle.
Finally, we cover the nature of innovation itself. Why do people become entrepreneurs? What is the role of engineers and product developers? And what is quality?
There’s also something about a chicken stick at the airport, and big announcement for me!
localmaxradio.com/75
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 74 - Gerrymander USA, The End of Civilization, and Monkey Business Jul 09, 2019

Show notes

The US Supreme Court says that it can’t weigh in on Gerrymandered districts. We look at the idea of Gerrymandering in the United States, armed with the new social choice tools that we picked up in previous episodes.
A Cloudflare outage temporarily takes down a portion of the internet. This may be evidence of a central point of failure, but could that central point be shrinking?
Finally we talk about a Bayesian argument in the Wall Street Journal and recently released book that claims to predict the end of the world. We break down what it’s claiming, how the tools of Bayes and Lindy fit in, and how much weight to put on the prognosis. How can we avoid our Turkey Consumption Holiday of Choice?
Then - we go completely off script, covering the possibility of continuing civilization on Mars and on pockets in Earth after a Nuclear disaster, the asteroid made of gold, and some monkeys finally reaching the stone age.
You have reached another Local Maximum indeed!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 73 - Talking Python with Michael Kennedy Jul 01, 2019

Show notes

Talk Python To Me host Michael Kennedy discusses a range of issues with Max, including Python's popularity as a programming language and what we can learn from that, hosting a podcast as part of a business, and how programming skills can fit well with other careers and in our education system.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 72 - Voting Power, Consortiums, and Facebook's Currency Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency called Libra is supposed to aid international transactions. Does it compete with banks, or does it compete with Bitcoin? And what are the chances that Facebook and their 100-member consortium of companies will follow through on this over the next few years?
We then turn to the idea of voting power, and learn about one important metric when it comes to analyzing voting systems: The Shapely Power Index. We’re dive into how it’s computed, what it means, and what it’s limitations are.
Today’s co-host is Maryam Aly.
localmaxradio.com/72
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 71 - Science and The City: From Urban Theory to Mobile Apps with Tassos Noulas Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

We hear from Tassos Noulas, faculty fellow at the NYU Center for Data Science about Urban Data Science and the related theory and projects. In the age of big data, scientists have found a better understanding of how cities develop, how to improve transport networks, and some ideas for future products that can be built around taxis and AR.
Topics include the Future Cities Challenge, Taxi price comparison apps, retail gravitation, central place theory, the relationship with fractal geometry, and wiki atlas.
localmaxradio.com/71
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ep. 70 - Centralizers vs Extremists and an Ode to the Podoverse Jun 11, 2019

Show notes

I look at the woe’s of social media and YouTube today, and discover that similar problems have occurred throughout history. Covering the rise of radio in the 1920’s and 1930’s including Fascist orators and federal intervention of radio in the 1930s, Cable News Fights, the FCC worried about explicit content in the 1990s and 2000s.
Finally, I compare the truly decentralized universe of podcasts - the podoverse - with the tech-giant run social media systems like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, and why their business models, and the complexity of running such systems have led to internet malaise while at the same time a golden age of podcasting commences.
localmaxradio.com/70
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Local Maximum with Max Sklar

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected