AboutReading List

Seeing Like a State

How schemes to improve the human condition have failed, by James C. Scott

How schemes to improve the human condition have failed, by James C. Scott

I, Pencil

The story of spontaneous order and emergent complexity, by Leonard E. Read

The story of spontaneous order and emergent complexity, by Leonard E. Read

Attention Is All You Need

The transformer architecture that revolutionized AI, by Vaswani et al.

The transformer architecture that revolutionized AI, by Vaswani et al.

Coordination Problems

On the ubiquity of coordination challenges, by Farnum Street

On the ubiquity of coordination challenges, by Farnum Street

Inadequate Equilibria

When markets fail and institutions don't fix things, by Eliezer Yudkowsky

When markets fail and institutions don't fix things, by Eliezer Yudkowsky

As We May Think

The 1945 vision of hypertext and collective intelligence, by Vannevar Bush

The 1945 vision of hypertext and collective intelligence, by Vannevar Bush

The Dynamics of Network Effects

How network effects evolve and change over time, by Li Jin & D'Arcy Coolican

How network effects evolve and change over time, by Li Jin & D'Arcy Coolican

The Technium

Technology as a self-reinforcing system of creation, by Kevin Kelly

Technology as a self-reinforcing system of creation, by Kevin Kelly

The Machine Stops

A prescient 1909 story about technological dependence, by E.M. Forster

A prescient 1909 story about technological dependence, by E.M. Forster

The Gervais Principle

Power dynamics in organizations, by Venkatesh Rao

Power dynamics in organizations, by Venkatesh Rao

The Tragedy of the Commons

Classic paper on shared resource problems, by Garrett Hardin

Classic paper on shared resource problems, by Garrett Hardin

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Data

How simple models and lots of data trump complex models, by Alon Halevy, Peter Norvig, Fernando Pereira

How simple models and lots of data trump complex models, by Alon Halevy, Peter Norvig, Fernando Pereira

The Use of Knowledge in Society

The information problem in economic coordination, by Friedrich Hayek

The information problem in economic coordination, by Friedrich Hayek

Meditations on Moloch

On multipolar traps and coordination failures in society, by Scott Alexander

On multipolar traps and coordination failures in society, by Scott Alexander

The Library of Babel

Infinite information and the search for meaning, by Jorge Luis Borges

Infinite information and the search for meaning, by Jorge Luis Borges

Computing Machinery and Intelligence

The famous paper introducing the Turing test, by Alan Turing

The famous paper introducing the Turing test, by Alan Turing

The Calculus of Grit

On perseverance and strategic endurance, by Venkatesh Rao

On perseverance and strategic endurance, by Venkatesh Rao

Exit, Voice, and Loyalty

Three responses to organizational decline, by Albert O. Hirschman

Three responses to organizational decline, by Albert O. Hirschman

Understand

A story about intelligence enhancement and its consequences, by Ted Chiang

A story about intelligence enhancement and its consequences, by Ted Chiang

The Economy as an Evolving Complex System

Complexity science in economic systems, by W. Brian Arthur

Complexity science in economic systems, by W. Brian Arthur

Policy Markets

Using prediction markets to improve governance, by Robin Hanson

Using prediction markets to improve governance, by Robin Hanson

Competition Is for Losers

Why monopolies drive innovation and create lasting value, by Peter Thiel

Why monopolies drive innovation and create lasting value, by Peter Thiel

Do Things That Don't Scale

Why startups need to do manual, unscalable work at the beginning, by Paul Graham

Why startups need to do manual, unscalable work at the beginning, by Paul Graham

Startup = Growth

Defining startups through the lens of exponential growth, by Paul Graham

Defining startups through the lens of exponential growth, by Paul Graham

How to Get Startup Ideas

Framework for finding ideas with high demand and low competition, by Paul Graham

Framework for finding ideas with high demand and low competition, by Paul Graham

The Nature of the Firm

Why firms exist and how transaction costs shape economic organization, by Ronald Coase

Why firms exist and how transaction costs shape economic organization, by Ronald Coase

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letters

Lessons on capital allocation and long-term thinking from Buffett, by Warren E. Buffett

Lessons on capital allocation and long-term thinking from Buffett, by Warren E. Buffett

Pace Layering: How Complex Systems Learn and Keep Learning

A framework for understanding change across different timescales, by Stewart Brand

A framework for understanding change across different timescales, by Stewart Brand

The Cathedral and the Bazaar

Insights on decentralized collaboration and open-source development, by Eric S. Raymond

Insights on decentralized collaboration and open-source development, by Eric S. Raymond

Power Laws and the Future of Startups

Understanding how power laws drive venture returns and strategy, by Peter Thiel (CS183 Lecture Notes)

Understanding how power laws drive venture returns and strategy, by Peter Thiel (CS183 Lecture Notes)

“The world will ask you who you are, and if you don’t know, the world will tell you.”

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