Best Podcast Episodes About Project Silica
Everything podcasters are saying about Project Silica — curated from top podcasts
Updated: Apr 02, 2026 – 26 episodes
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Ridealong has curated the best and most interesting podcasts and clips about Project Silica.
Top Podcast Clips About Project Silica
“… sort of the spine of this. Yeah. But we do have to mention these because a lot of them have popped up over the years. There was the Boulder Canyon Project Act which we previously mentioned in 1928 that officially ratified the River Compact But that where the Hoover Dam came from Boulder Dam at the time and that All Canal And that's when they officially apportioned everything out. Within that $7.5 million for each, Arizona got, for the lower basin that is, Arizona got $2.8 million. California got $4.4 million. Nevada got $0.3 million. uh yeah and the upper basin went with a percentage right yes i …”
“That is the more complex set of laws and compacts and court decisions and contracts and all these guidelines and stuff that have been issued over the years. It's altogether called the Law of the River, but the Colorado River Compact is sort of the spine of this. Yeah. But we do have to mention these because a lot of them have popped up over the years. There was the Boulder Canyon Project Act which we previously mentioned in 1928 that officially ratified the River Compact But that where the Hoover Dam came from Boulder Dam at the time and that All Canal And that's when they officially apportioned everything out. Within that $7.5 million for each, Arizona got, for the lower basin that is, Arizona got $2.8 million. California got $4.4 million. Nevada got $0.3 million. uh yeah and the upper basin went with a percentage right yes i think colorado got the most at 51 percent in utah 23 new mexico 11 and wyoming 14 right that's right so um that was uh that's how they finally got it apportioned that upper basin that wasn't until 1948 when they finally divided it all up yeah and one reason that that could wait is because even still today those upper basin states use way less than …”
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The Colorado River Compact, established in 1928, is the backbone of water allocation among the states it serves. This segment reveals how California, Arizona, and Nevada split their water rights and the ongoing struggles over water usage, showcasing the complexities of managing a vital resource in a drought-stricken region.
“And as it pertains to Israel, they're also one of the main contractors on Project Nimbus, which is the cloud computing platform that supports the whole Israeli military, but including the Ministry of Defense and the IDF and the Air Force and so forth. Yeah. And there was a lot of controversy around that, I believe, last year when it was revealed that a lot of data that had been collected on Palestinians was stored actually in Microsoft servers in Europe, I believe in Netherlands in the end. Right. And, you know, I know that …”
“And as it pertains to Israel, they're also one of the main contractors on Project Nimbus, which is the cloud computing platform that supports the whole Israeli military, but including the Ministry of Defense and the IDF and the Air Force and so forth. Yeah. And there was a lot of controversy around that, I believe, last year when it was revealed that a lot of data that had been collected on Palestinians was stored actually in Microsoft servers in Europe, I believe in Netherlands in the end. Right. And, you know, I know that Microsoft increased security around its data centers in response to that because it was worried about something happening, which, you know, certainly came to mind to me when I saw Iran actually target data centers, Amazon in this case, of course. Yeah, I mean, so the Amazon data centers that were targeted by Iran that you're meant that we talked …”
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Data centers, like those operated by Amazon and Microsoft in Israel, are becoming military targets in modern warfare. As Iran identifies these facilities, which support the Israeli military, as potential targets, the implications for international law and cybersecurity escalate dramatically. This shift raises urgent questions about the legality and morality of targeting infrastructure that supports military operations.
“Amazon MGM's Project Hail Mary has become its highest grossing film ever, crossing $300 million globally, including $54.1 million at the box office just this past weekend. The movie only cost $200 million to make, but you know, they're in the black. Quoting TechCrunch, that's a big price tag for any film, but especially one that's not a sequel or part of an existing franchise. Instead, it's based on a best-selling science fiction novel by Andy Weir, whose book The …”
“Amazon MGM's Project Hail Mary has become its highest grossing film ever, crossing $300 million globally, including $54.1 million at the box office just this past weekend. The movie only cost $200 million to make, but you know, they're in the black. Quoting TechCrunch, that's a big price tag for any film, but especially one that's not a sequel or part of an existing franchise. Instead, it's based on a best-selling science fiction novel by Andy Weir, whose book The Martian was adapted into a successful film a decade ago. And that's not the only thing that makes Project Hail Mary feel unconventional for long stretches of the film. Ryan Gosling is the only human actor on screen, as the scientist he plays works with a rock-like alien to solve the mystery of why multiple stars, including our own, seem to be …”
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Amazon MGM's Project Hail Mary has grossed over $300 million globally, making it the studio's highest-grossing film ever. This success comes from its unique premise and the fact that it’s not part of a franchise, showcasing a shift in Amazon's cinematic strategy towards bold, original content.
“… you know, may just, we may be living in completely different worlds. So rather than them being evil and having, you know, these sort of like human projected evil qualities of, they just want to take over or whatever, or turn us into goo, or that they're angels, I think it's more likely that we're just barely, we're not really going to be understanding each other at all. And that's why my favorite alien contact movie is Arrival, where there really is this amazing, I mean, in the end, we're able to communicate, but there really is this amazing cognitive dissonance between us and the heptapods, I …”
“… I think it's, it's, if anything's likely, it's that we just don't even understand each other, that they're just, you know, the evolutionary lineage of, of creatures that, that had nothing to do with us, grew up in an entirely different kind of planet, you know, may just, we may be living in completely different worlds. So rather than them being evil and having, you know, these sort of like human projected evil qualities of, they just want to take over or whatever, or turn us into goo, or that they're angels, I think it's more likely that we're just barely, we're not really going to be understanding each other at all. And that's why my favorite alien contact movie is Arrival, where there really is this amazing, I mean, in the end, we're able to communicate, but there really is this amazing cognitive dissonance between us and the heptapods, I think they're called, because they're literally, they're time, they're experiencing time in an entirely different way. I'm talking to Adam Frank, astrophysicist, author of The Little Book of Aliens, among other works. And he's our guest talking about Project Hail Mary and related themes here. So what we'll do now is we're going to talk a little bit …”
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The belief that alien life will be hostile is a narrow view; instead, we may struggle to understand them due to our vastly different evolutionary paths. Astrophysicist Adam Frank emphasizes that cooperation is as crucial in evolution as competition, challenging the typical narratives we see in sci-fi. This perspective highlights the cognitive dissonance in films like Arrival, where communication with aliens reflects our profound differences.
“… his eye and you knew he was gonna try and fight back Was he self about the risk of using that language even for himself given all of these Manhattan Project analogies You know, he's a person with many different dimensions, and he's both capable of worrying about safety and also using military metaphors to express his determination to crush the opposition. And I think actually it's going to be a business school case study of how DeepMind made the comeback because they merged DeepMind, the London lab, with Google Brain, the Mountain View Google AI lab. Normally, mergers are super difficult. They …”
“… him right after that. and he said, you know, this is war. Those guys have parked their tanks in our front yard. Actually he said, on our lawn, but translating for American audience, in our front yard. And so you could see that competitive glint in his eye and you knew he was gonna try and fight back Was he self about the risk of using that language even for himself given all of these Manhattan Project analogies You know, he's a person with many different dimensions, and he's both capable of worrying about safety and also using military metaphors to express his determination to crush the opposition. And I think actually it's going to be a business school case study of how DeepMind made the comeback because they merged DeepMind, the London lab, with Google Brain, the Mountain View Google AI lab. Normally, mergers are super difficult. They don't work. And here was a merger you had to do in the middle of an AI race, which had been kicked off by ChatGPT. You had eight time zones between California and London. You had a record of bitter rivalry between the AI scientists from Google and the ones from DeepMind. And yet they pulled it off. They did the merger, they blended the cultures and …”
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Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind likens the current AI race to a war, indicating a sense of urgency and competition following the launch of ChatGPT. He expresses a paradoxical feeling of unease despite DeepMind's advancements, hinting at a future where AI could pose significant risks, potentially requiring isolation to ensure safety in development. This reflects a growing concern over the unchecked deployment of powerful AI models without proper oversight.
“… do not want to see it happen. Now available at Amazon. That's Mars Mission One, Surviving the Kessler Effect. It's time to believe in the Hail Mary. Project Hail Mary, one of the most beloved adventure stories by Andy Weir, is now a major motion picture. So there's never been a better time to immerse yourself in the best-selling audiobook. As a sole survivor on a desperate last-chance mission, Rylan Grace must save the Earth from disaster in this incredible science-based thriller. Yeah, and fan-favorite narrator Ray Porter brings every moment to life with humor, heart, and pulse-pounding tension. …”
“… worthless. All GPS fails. All planes are forced to land. The Internet crashes. All power fails. All trading on Wall Street comes to a halt. Life on Earth as we understand it may never be the same. Mars Mission One, Surviving the Kessler Effect. You do not want to see it happen. Now available at Amazon. That's Mars Mission One, Surviving the Kessler Effect. It's time to believe in the Hail Mary. Project Hail Mary, one of the most beloved adventure stories by Andy Weir, is now a major motion picture. So there's never been a better time to immerse yourself in the best-selling audiobook. As a sole survivor on a desperate last-chance mission, Rylan Grace must save the Earth from disaster in this incredible science-based thriller. Yeah, and fan-favorite narrator Ray Porter brings every moment to life with humor, heart, and pulse-pounding tension. And now that the blockbuster movie has finally arrived in theaters, there never been a better time to start listening to the universally acclaimed audiobook It part scientific mystery part dazzling interstellar journey Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery speculation and survival Listen to the audiobook available on Audible, and the movie …”
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Project Hail Mary is a must-experience story, combining scientific mystery and interstellar adventure, now enhanced by Ryan Gosling's performance in the film adaptation.
“… in this culture of two you know i mean this culture of two that involves you know rocky watching the rocky movies or like when rocky has like a project hill mary hat like that killed me he like it a celebration yeah well not just like the celebration outfit but also just like the ball cap Like you know it like a cultural exchange You watch me sleep I wear your weird clothing You know what I mean? Like, so they're creating a culture of two. You're a. Two of us. You're a big. You love an ocean vista. I love an ocean vista. You have a poor crevice, but you love an ocean vista. People know it …”
“… i'm there i'll be by your side i will watch you and then it's like it has become the tap tap on the glass it's like it's become a thing it was it was foreign to him it was alien it was different it was not something that felt right but it becomes a share in this culture of two you know i mean this culture of two that involves you know rocky watching the rocky movies or like when rocky has like a project hill mary hat like that killed me he like it a celebration yeah well not just like the celebration outfit but also just like the ball cap Like you know it like a cultural exchange You watch me sleep I wear your weird clothing You know what I mean? Like, so they're creating a culture of two. You're a. Two of us. You're a big. You love an ocean vista. I love an ocean vista. You have a poor crevice, but you love an ocean vista. People know it about you. How did you, how would you grade Rockies? I'm in the Hail Mary version of the volume surfing for him. Hang ten. Oh, yeah. Let's pretend I know anything about surfing. I've watched. You're not a surfing enthusiast? I would love to surf. Well, what should we do first? Learn to skateboard or learn to surf? I think one will actually help us lead …”
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In the podcast segment discussing 'Project Hail Mary,' author Andy Weir emphasizes that the story isn't designed to convey a specific moral or agenda but rather to provide an enjoyable escape for readers. He highlights the theme of human cooperation and positivity, contrasting the negativity often portrayed in the news with the ordinary acts of kindness that occur daily, suggesting that these moments of connection can indeed save the world.
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In 'Project Hail Mary', the creative team reveals the intricate blend of puppetry and CGI used to bring the character Rocky to life. With half of the film featuring a physical puppet and the other half relying on digital effects, the process involved extensive reference performances to ensure authenticity. The result is a seamless integration that showcases the ingenuity of both live-action and animated techniques.
“… think, 47G and other organizations have done a really good job of platforming what has already been happening here, but now it's taking off. There's Project Alta. They're planning to, they just, I think billions of dollars were just invested into, I can't remember if it's Boeing or Northrop Grumman, but to do more projects here, finding more ways to link small contractors with some of these big, the primes like Northrop Grumman and get more of these small defense businesses, more work. there's a lot going on in that space a lot of exciting and just and they're calling it like you know it's deep …”
“… too, we're seeing that there's incredible investment in aerospace and defense. I think that's, we're becoming seen on a national and even in an international level for the investments that we're making in aerospace and defense. And we've had, I think, 47G and other organizations have done a really good job of platforming what has already been happening here, but now it's taking off. There's Project Alta. They're planning to, they just, I think billions of dollars were just invested into, I can't remember if it's Boeing or Northrop Grumman, but to do more projects here, finding more ways to link small contractors with some of these big, the primes like Northrop Grumman and get more of these small defense businesses, more work. there's a lot going on in that space a lot of exciting and just and they're calling it like you know it's deep tech it's some of the most technical stuff that's out there and how is ai playing into it the advancements in that industry are are wild like that's one to for sure get excited about um and then manufacturing we just i just last week talked to a company that's just about to launch but they're launching with multiple contracts that are billions of …”
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Utah's aerospace and defense industries are quietly skyrocketing, with billions being invested by major players like Boeing and Northrop Grumman. This growth is fueled by innovative organizations connecting small contractors to big contracts, and the manufacturing sector is also booming, with new factories on the horizon to meet soaring demand. This is a crucial moment for Utah's economy, and it's only just beginning.
“… including photos, of so many abandoned and aborted products that never saw the light of day. Which ones haunt you? I mean, the car, the car. Oh, Project Titan. They spent 10 years, $10 billion. They had 1200 engineers. They poached from Tesla and BMW and Ford. And, you know, Johnny Ives idea was completely self-driving, no steering wheel, no pedals, a luxurious living room on wheels. So the four seats were like reclining leather seats facing each other inside. The windows would be all augmented reality. So you could look out the window and see the reviews of the restaurant you're passing or …”
“All right. Let's wrap it up. Are there any – the other thing that's super, super fun in your book, super fun, is you have documentation, including photos, of so many abandoned and aborted products that never saw the light of day. Which ones haunt you? I mean, the car, the car. Oh, Project Titan. They spent 10 years, $10 billion. They had 1200 engineers. They poached from Tesla and BMW and Ford. And, you know, Johnny Ives idea was completely self-driving, no steering wheel, no pedals, a luxurious living room on wheels. So the four seats were like reclining leather seats facing each other inside. The windows would be all augmented reality. So you could look out the window and see the reviews of the restaurant you're passing or whatever. The world's most incredible sound system. And it was the really sad thing, according to the people who worked on it, is that the original plan was to do a 1.0 version. that wasn't level five self-driving, right? It was Tesla level, but not completely go to sleep behind the wheel and I'll wake you when we get there level. Right. And his, his …”
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Apple's ambitious Project Titan, aimed at creating a self-driving luxury car, was shut down after 10 years and $10 billion in investment. Despite a visionary concept of a car with no steering wheel and augmented reality windows, the project faltered due to unrealistic goals and a lack of incremental progress. The contrast between Tim Cook's cautious approach and Steve Jobs' relentless drive highlights a pivotal moment in Apple's innovation journey.
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Ryan Gosling's relatability in 'Project Hail Mary' is enhanced by his character's growth from reluctance to sacrifice, making the film emotionally compelling.
“… our lives from a thin slice of glass carrying an impressive load of data, all thanks to physics that sounds borderline magical. Today, Microsoft's Project Silica unveiled the latest technological advances in what is essentially laser-modified glass storage for sensitive data. Described in a Nature paper, the system, called Silica, works somewhat like a multidimensional CD, but the revolutionary, perhaps strange, aspect of the technique is that it harnesses the properties of light to encode gigabits of data within a tiny square of borosilica glass roughly 0.08 inches, or two millimeters, thick. What's …”
“Finally, Microsoft is developing a new way to store digits, and therefore knowledge, quoting Gizmodo. Our knowledge of the past comes from stone tablets and old parchment, but thousands of years from now, our descendants may learn of our lives from a thin slice of glass carrying an impressive load of data, all thanks to physics that sounds borderline magical. Today, Microsoft's Project Silica unveiled the latest technological advances in what is essentially laser-modified glass storage for sensitive data. Described in a Nature paper, the system, called Silica, works somewhat like a multidimensional CD, but the revolutionary, perhaps strange, aspect of the technique is that it harnesses the properties of light to encode gigabits of data within a tiny square of borosilica glass roughly 0.08 inches, or two millimeters, thick. What's more, the material could theoretically last 10,000 years, potentially making it the ultimate storage device. Existing options such as magnetic tape, data storage, all eventually wear out. Silica's primary innovation lies in its novel modification technique, which the team calls the phase voxel. Contrary to Southampton's blueprint, phase voxels use …”
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The podcast highlights the revolutionary potential of Microsoft's Project Silica, emphasizing its ability to change data storage and archival preservation in a way that could redefine how we manage information for millennia.
“… you should and shouldn't do are quite similar there's a great bloomberg story by the reporter uh katrina manson who who notes in this piece about Project Maven, about a lot of this AI warfare technology, she writes, quote, there's a palpable sense within the Pentagon that things aren't moving fast enough. Despite the show of force in Iran, officials worry that the U.S. is at risk of falling behind. And officials are already looking past the Middle East to a potentially bigger conflict. As one person familiar with the U.S. operations puts it, quote, Iran is an amazing precursor to what could …”
“… time and so you know whose values does that who do they reflect what are you trying to put into those uh i mean i think it's it's somewhat encouraging that if you look at any model you to take a chinese model or a u.s model most of what they'll say you should and shouldn't do are quite similar there's a great bloomberg story by the reporter uh katrina manson who who notes in this piece about Project Maven, about a lot of this AI warfare technology, she writes, quote, there's a palpable sense within the Pentagon that things aren't moving fast enough. Despite the show of force in Iran, officials worry that the U.S. is at risk of falling behind. And officials are already looking past the Middle East to a potentially bigger conflict. As one person familiar with the U.S. operations puts it, quote, Iran is an amazing precursor to what could happen with China over Taiwan. Now, that's not your reporting, so I'm not going to ask you to talk about the veracity of those types of claims. But in your mind, what comes next year? This is obviously the beginning of something. Yeah. So just to say that that is the tenor of a lot of conversations around the Pentagon and Washington. On the one hand, …”
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The U.S. military's rush to adopt AI technology could lead to inevitable conflict, especially in the context of rising tensions with China over Taiwan. Experts warn that preparing for war might ironically create the very situation they seek to avoid, reminiscent of historical conflicts like World War I. The future of global warfare hangs in the balance as nations grapple with the implications of autonomous weapons.
“… is the most consequential operational use of AI anywhere in the world, and be like, oh, it was always going to be. But really, it started as a rogue project in a cubicle in the B ring of the Pentagon. And even before then, you could say, well, what motivated this Marine intel officer to go after this? So with Colonel Kukor, you have a very interesting personal story. This guy grew up in Southern California, single mother, a Mormon, dirt poor. So when he got when he ended high school, he had a kind of fork in the road. It's like I can go to the trade schools. I can join the military. So ROTC …”
“… he had to fight. His nickname in the department was the Iron Dome of Pentagon Bullshit. The amount of pain this guy went through to birth it is truly incredible. And I think it's important because today people can look at Maven, which I think is the most consequential operational use of AI anywhere in the world, and be like, oh, it was always going to be. But really, it started as a rogue project in a cubicle in the B ring of the Pentagon. And even before then, you could say, well, what motivated this Marine intel officer to go after this? So with Colonel Kukor, you have a very interesting personal story. This guy grew up in Southern California, single mother, a Mormon, dirt poor. So when he got when he ended high school, he had a kind of fork in the road. It's like I can go to the trade schools. I can join the military. So ROTC scholarship, went to college, joined the Marines. And I think it was roughly 2012. He had this really catastrophic experience where 2012, 2014, somewhere in that time range where he was on a helicopter trying to land on Mount Sinjar to evacuate the Yazadi who had fled to Mount Sinjar with ISIS pursuing them. and a young marine thought he saw rpgs and …”
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Colonel Drew Cucor, a Marine Intelligence Officer, is hailed as the father of AI in the modern Department of War. His journey, marked by struggles against Pentagon bureaucracy, led to the creation of Project Maven, a groundbreaking AI initiative that has revolutionized military operations. Cucor's personal experiences, including a pivotal moment during a rescue mission in 2014, fueled his passion for integrating technology into warfare to save lives.
“… is that a public park or is it is it is it owned by the city no it's owned by the yerba bueno arts conservative conservancy or gardens or whatever project i believe uh but anyway so uh gdc is fine with this we got some news though we got yeah we got some gdc news we got some other news like kind of a shocking amount of hardware stuff happened in the last week yeah in a world where hardware is hard to get right yeah although a lot of it is kind of uh future look i mean well okay i mean we can we can foreshadow here right uh intel announced some new core aero lake cpus uh apple launched it the …”
“… you'd walk around there during gdc there'd be 1500 people sitting around in the grass and all like kind of all around hanging out and chatting with friends and having a nice time it stinks it's a bad choice hopefully they'll change it for next year is that a public park or is it is it is it owned by the city no it's owned by the yerba bueno arts conservative conservancy or gardens or whatever project i believe uh but anyway so uh gdc is fine with this we got some news though we got yeah we got some gdc news we got some other news like kind of a shocking amount of hardware stuff happened in the last week yeah in a world where hardware is hard to get right yeah although a lot of it is kind of uh future look i mean well okay i mean we can we can foreshadow here right uh intel announced some new core aero lake cpus uh apple launched it the cheapest laptop they've ever announced and it seems like it's pretty good yeah and interesting my uh playstation announced an update for pssr yeah pretty minor one there but there's stuff to talk about uh nvidia is rolling out the geforce uh the dlss 4.5 stuff that they kind of teased earlier this year for geforce 5 series cards i guess is that coming …”
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Microsoft's Project Helix, the next Xbox, is set to incorporate advanced AI into gaming, marking a significant shift in console technology. This ambitious project aims to redefine gaming experiences, but its vague details leave many questions unanswered. As the current console market struggles, this innovation could be a game-changer for Microsoft.
“… like, Oh, I see. I understand the tone of both now a little more. This is, this is a thing. This is why you're doing this. And there are moments in Project Hail Mary where I was like, okay but I'm I'm laughing but why am I laughing at this at this moment why are we this this not me about it I'm like I'm fucking heaven this is great I'll be curious I'm gonna see it again and like now that I know that and now that I have a little more context for like the type of project that I'm under you know going into I wonder how it'll play how do you feel my um I yeah I think that understanding Weir's tone and …”
“And I was like, Oh, I see. I understand the tone of both now a little more. This is, this is a thing. This is why you're doing this. And there are moments in Project Hail Mary where I was like, okay but I'm I'm laughing but why am I laughing at this at this moment why are we this this not me about it I'm like I'm fucking heaven this is great I'll be curious I'm gonna see it again and like now that I know that and now that I have a little more context for like the type of project that I'm under you know going into I wonder how it'll play how do you feel my um I yeah I think that understanding Weir's tone and the things he likes to explore and how both through like a central protagonist, you know, these stories about humanity and why people do what they do or fight for what they fight for or are afraid of what they're afraid of through the perspective of like a singularly gifted and capable person. It's interesting to me. I think that they are …”
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Project Hail Mary explores the human capacity for preservation and relationships through a singularly gifted protagonist, making it a fascinating study in human nature within hard sci-fi.
“… CAASPP in the material science world? So there are all sorts of repositories of fairly low-fidelity DFT data on crystalline materials, so Materials Project, Open Catalyst Project. These do provide good leaderboards, but some of the limitations of that are the data comes from not very high fidelity density functional theory. So I'd say that's a second challenge is that all the smartest ML engineers right now are learning on data that is not going to be reflective of experiment. There aren't big experimental data sets. For example, one of the advantages of things like CAASPP is that it comes from an …”
“… there has been less attention. So in the protein world, there's CAASPP, right? And people have been working on that for a while, and this led to AlphaFold, like kind of without CAASPP, AlphaFold probably wouldn't exist. Is there like an equivalent to CAASPP in the material science world? So there are all sorts of repositories of fairly low-fidelity DFT data on crystalline materials, so Materials Project, Open Catalyst Project. These do provide good leaderboards, but some of the limitations of that are the data comes from not very high fidelity density functional theory. So I'd say that's a second challenge is that all the smartest ML engineers right now are learning on data that is not going to be reflective of experiment. There aren't big experimental data sets. For example, one of the advantages of things like CAASPP is that it comes from an experimental ground truth, whereas that aspect just isn't available in materials as much. We talked about Casp and the role of Casp and AlphaFold. Do you think that there is a problem, a way of phrasing this, that we could start collecting data at scale, that we could really have a community challenge which breaks open some open problem in your …”
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Current machine learning models for materials science often fail in practical applications, leading to skepticism about their reliability. Despite their promise, many models produce unexpected results, prompting the need for a more transparent evaluation process. Without accurate experimental data to back these models, the quest for an 'AlphaFold for materials' remains challenging.
“… internal the internal agencies and then each gm is out on their on on you know on the edge and they pull in resources as they need it for different projects yeah but it sounds similarly like you need somebody for whom that is like the thing and they are not going to sleep until it is fully working yes exactly like and and i've been i've been thinking about, okay, when would you hire someone else to work on a product or when would you add someone else to work on a product? And it's like, there's some point at which you can't hold the entire thing in your head. Even if you're the one pushing it …”
“… of works a little bit like an agency where we have designers and we have growth marketers and we have um you know ops people that you can like pull in and out for various initiatives and that seems to work pretty well so it's like we manage all the internal the internal agencies and then each gm is out on their on on you know on the edge and they pull in resources as they need it for different projects yeah but it sounds similarly like you need somebody for whom that is like the thing and they are not going to sleep until it is fully working yes exactly like and and i've been i've been thinking about, okay, when would you hire someone else to work on a product or when would you add someone else to work on a product? And it's like, there's some point at which you can't hold the entire thing in your head. Even if you're the one pushing it forward, you can't hold the entire thing in your head. And that point used to be much smaller. Now it's much bigger, but there's a certain point at which like even a small feature turns itself into its own product. You know, when you first make the messaging feature inside of Instagram, it's like, yeah, I can do that in like a week or whatever but at …”
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Scaling your product team too quickly can actually slow down progress, as more people lead to increased coordination challenges. Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram, shares insights on knowing when to expand your team, emphasizing that sometimes a small, focused group is more effective. This balance is crucial for maintaining momentum and achieving product-market fit.
“… properly rewrite it and put all of the goodies and clean up all the technical debt. And does that remind you of anything? That's the Lean Consensus Project, where we're basically bundling together multiple rewrites, including the single-slot finality with the upgrade to post-quantum. So yes, it is a very ambitious project. In some sense, we're starting from a clean slate and building something amazingly beautiful and simple and efficient and provably secure and all of the good things. The good news is that in many ways, starting from scratch is simpler because you don't have all of this technical …”
“… than the way you framed it. And the reason is that the change to the cryptography is so invasive, that it's essentially almost a rewrite of the consensus layer, at least. And so if we're going to rewrite the consensus layer, we might as well properly rewrite it and put all of the goodies and clean up all the technical debt. And does that remind you of anything? That's the Lean Consensus Project, where we're basically bundling together multiple rewrites, including the single-slot finality with the upgrade to post-quantum. So yes, it is a very ambitious project. In some sense, we're starting from a clean slate and building something amazingly beautiful and simple and efficient and provably secure and all of the good things. The good news is that in many ways, starting from scratch is simpler because you don't have all of this technical debt and we can rewrite the spec to be as minimal and simple as possible. And this is where the terminology lean comes from. We want to have maximum simplicity where we want to have the whole state transition function basically be a thousand lines of Python code that some sort of smart high schooler can just read. Right now we have test nets, …”
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Ethereum is embarking on an ambitious project to rewrite its consensus layer for post-quantum readiness, aiming for a clean slate by 2029. This initiative, dubbed the Lean Consensus Project, not only targets quantum security but also aims to simplify the codebase, making it accessible for new developers. With numerous teams already engaging with the project, the future of Ethereum's governance and sustainability looks promising.
“… the chips that you would be using today When x86 was going to move from 32 to 64 they announced that the way that would happen was a thing called Project Itanium. And the Itanium was made by, architected by Hewlett-Packard and Intel as a joint venture. They were the people, because Hewlett-Packard was like a big name in computing at that time. Wow. I remember HP. Yeah. And the entire thing fell apart. and did not end up producing chips that anyone wanted because the only reason people are on X86 is for backwards compatibility, so Itanium was not at all what they had in mind. And so that was like …”
“… just like they're like Dell or something they make like printers or monitors, I don't even know what they make, doesn't matter right? Hewlett-Packard was actually the partner. Them and Intel were the two people who were supposed to have designed the chips that you would be using today When x86 was going to move from 32 to 64 they announced that the way that would happen was a thing called Project Itanium. And the Itanium was made by, architected by Hewlett-Packard and Intel as a joint venture. They were the people, because Hewlett-Packard was like a big name in computing at that time. Wow. I remember HP. Yeah. And the entire thing fell apart. and did not end up producing chips that anyone wanted because the only reason people are on X86 is for backwards compatibility, so Itanium was not at all what they had in mind. And so that was like the last there was of Hewlett-Packard being like a big player. Like, if that had happened, they would be a company you'd be thinking of today as like major CPU player potentially, right? But as it is now, they're just completely forgotten. Like, no one cares about... Sorry, HP. I'm sorry. No one cares. we could turn this image around if you would …”
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Ridealong summary
Hewlett-Packard was once a powerhouse in computing, but their ambitious Project Itanium failed to deliver, leading to their decline in relevance. Today, most people don't even remember HP as a major player in the CPU market. This illustrates how quickly the tech industry can change, leaving once-prominent companies forgotten.
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