The Local Maximum with Max Sklar

Ep. 328 - Restarting the Local Maximum: Book Strategies for 2025

Returning after a Hiatus * Today is just going to be a hangout with me and Aaron if you’re into that.. And later, we’ll return to more specific topics * Give a little personal history & history of the show Full Move to NYC Teaching * Less time Hopscotch Labs * Working on that * Beebot - coming SOON!! * Internship Program Hope for The Local Maximum Reading Habits and Strategies (for the busy) * Is it still worth reading books in the AI era? * What do I do if I get stuck on a book? * How do I know I’m stuck? * Can you read 2 books at once? * How do I deal with these enormous tomes in my bookshelf * What about textbooks? * Local Maximum examples * AJ Jacobs - easy to read! I didn’t think I’d be interested in the topic * Jeffrey Tucker - fun to read! * Sweet spot: 100-200 pages with SHORT CHAPTERS * Books with 50-page chapters - WHY * Topics: Current affairs vs History, philosophy, self-help, fiction? * Examples * Revisiting The Singularity is Nearer (Ep. 323 - The Technological Singularity Part I [https://localmaximum.substack.com/p/ep-323-the-technological-singularity] & Ep. 324 - The Technological Singularity Part II [https://localmaximum.substack.com/p/ep-324-the-technological-singularity]) * Tracking tools https://app.thestorygraph.com/ * (pause feature and journal feature) * Take notes during or after; don’t wait! Upcoming Topics for The Local Maximum * Pull up the sheet * Will we have a schedule? I plan on doing this differently Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe [https://localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep. 327 - The Shape of Thought

Author, entrepreneur, and AI professor Graham Morehead joins the Local Maximum to talk about Artificial Thought and human potential working with AI in his book, “The Shape of Thought” https://grahammorehead.com/ Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe [https://localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep. 326 - James Barnes, The Autobiographer

The Local Maximum returns from a hiatus with today’s interview of James Barnes, founder of Autobiographer, and AI-based app developed at Betaworks that helps you tell your own story. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe [https://localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep. 325 - Eric Daimler: Perspectives on AI

Today’s guest is Eric Daimler, co-founder and CEO of Conexus (conexus.com). Max talks to Eric about the enormous shift in focus in the industry since his last appearance in 2022, and gets his perspective on the promise and pitfalls of the latest generation of AI. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe [https://localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep. 324 - The Technological Singularity Part II

Max and Aaron go deeper into the ideas of the singularity and the law of accelerating returns as articulated in Ray Kurzweil’s Singularity is nearer. They talk about Nanotechnology, Longevity Escape Velocity, and Computronium. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe [https://localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]