The Local Maximum with Max Sklar

New York City's democratic primary is in the midst of a vote-counting debacle that may go on for weeks. This is their first time using ranked choice voting, but criticism of RCV can be conflating with other problems in the electoral process. Max and Aaron break it down with inside knowledge of NYC politics, social choice theory, and potential solutions. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Author Scott Berkun joins the Local Maximum to talk about his new book How Design Makes the World. We cover the relationship between design and engineering, design ethics, failure modes, and organizational behavior. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max goes deeper into some of the topics and predictions going back to 2015 brought up from the predictions panel earlier this month. He finds lessons and raises questions about lockdowns, the tyranny and unraveling of big tech, bitcoin, and self driving cars. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today's guest is Gene Epstein, former economics editor at Barron's Magazine and founder of the SoHo forum debate series. We talk about his debates with socialism, the role of innovation in the economic, his experience producing these debates, and the calls for so-called "stakeholder capitalism". Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

This year's prediction panel features discussions on Decentralization, Language Models, Life After Covid, New York City, Social Media Embracing Fake News, and more. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s guest is Jeremy Kauffman, founder and CEO of Odysee and LBRY. LBRY is the underlying technology and blockchain that powers a decentralized video hosting service, but Odysee sits on top of it, and makes it a credible and increasingly popular YouTube alternative. Max talks to Jeremy about how he did it, and how the blockchain strategy can be replicated. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max and Aaron finish their discussion of the Fourth Turning, including evaluations of the theory, how it could be tested, what it predicts, and speculation on how the coming crisis could play out. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max and Aaron dive into the theory of the Fourth Turning and the cycles of history as put forth in the 1997 book of the same name by Strauss and Howe.CORRECTION: Jerry Seinfeld is a classic boomer, not in Gen X Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max talks about the recent ransomware attack on the colonial pipeline that let to gas shortages in the southeastern US, how this could encourage security-first principles in design, and the promise and flexibility of crypto-corporations. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s episode discusses the proposed regulations of AI from the European Union, including regulations on Bayesian Inference. This includes the danger and folly of regulating mathematics, but also good practices for decision making and transparency. Finally, we cover graph algorithms, PageRank, and Split Complex Numbers for online dating recommendations. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Basecamp asks employees not to discuss too much politics at work, and some of them (plus the media) freak out! The Local Maximum gets a new setup. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Designer, artist and researcher Iracema Trevisan talks to Max about the future of Augmented Reality in cities. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today's guest is Sebastiaan ven der Lans, founder of wordproof with a goal to fight fake news through blockchain technology. Max and Sebastiaan talk about this application of blockchain. Later, Max gives an introduction to Decentralized Finance (defi). Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today Max discusses the efforts by media and tech giants to censor all alternative viewpoints on the Covid Lockdowns, and efficacy of the lockdowns themselves. Are there any remaining justifications for them? He also discusses 2 ways of looking at investments and gambling: expected value and expected rate of return, and why you might want to prefer the latter. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s guest Peter McCormack is the host of the highly acclaimed What Bitcoin Did podcast. We cover the recent history of getting into Bitcoin with infighting around block sizes and custodial solutions to the near future where Bitcoiners are becoming more confident in achieving their goals of rebooting the world economy on a solid foundation.localmaxradio.com/165 Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s guest is Anne Griffin, a leader in product management, a startup advisor, and subject matter expert in AI, blockchain, tech ethics and product inclusivity. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today's March News Update includes:- NFTs, concerns about how they are being stored, Filecoin- Jetson's Act in New Hampshire to legalize flying cars- Talk about causality and its trickiness in AI Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today we talk to Assaf Lev who is the cofounder and CEO of Locals.com. Assaf Founded locals in 2019 along with Dave Rubin as an alternative social space for independent creators. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max talks to Sam Jacobs of the Resistance Library Podcast and Ammo.com about the war being wages on free speech by large tech corporations and platforms. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today's Local Maximum dives into a recently popular idea of "non-fungible tokens" to represent art ownership, and also dive into a New York Times article about the rationalist community. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

In today's February News update, we go over Gresham's Law, more firings at the Google AI ethics lab, Waymo expanding driverless cars to San Francisco, and the future and past of audio with the passing of Rush Limbaugh and the rise of Clubhouse. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max brings Aaron on the show to make an announcement on moving to the state of New Hampshire. The Local Maximum gets a new home base, and reflections on nearly 15 years in New York City - both from working in software/tech to the city lifestyle. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max and Aaron talk about the vast changes our economy and government would undergo if Bitcoin wins. They also discuss Gamestop and Generational Theory. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today's episode covers the explosion of applications of machine vision in industrial automation with guest Iain Smith. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max talks about his long-standing skepticism and opposition to censorship, dives into some history of Twitter, a 2007 supreme court dissent from John Paul Stevens, and how locking down the flow of ideas goes against both the science and startup mentality. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

The Local Maximum takes a look back at a video that circulated the internet in 2004 called "Epic 2014" that predicts a merger between Google and Amazon, an upheaval in the media landscape, and the rise of internet giants. Max and Aaron review the predictions made in this video, and talk about what it means for our present and future. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

The internet is about to go into a massive phase shift over the next few years, and the arms race was kicked off in 2021 with the deplatforming of Parler and Donald Trump. In this solo show, Max talks about the development of the internet, the rise of decentralized services like Mastodon, and the rise of decentralized finance. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max and Maryam discuss the theory of computation and the recent breakthroughs in Ramsey Theory by a team of young mathematicians and in Quantum Computational Complexity. Other topics include Graham's number and the halting problem. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max and Aaron look at the episodes, topics, and stories that have been covered on the Local Maximum in the year 2020, some thoughts on the podcast itself, and hopes for 2021. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max takes on all of the tech stories that we want to cover on The Local Maximum by the end of the year. First an announcement about New York City, and comments on the new leadership philosophy espoused by politicians with a contrasting view on what they need to do. Then, a series of self driving car updates with Waymo, Uber, Aurora, and Tesla. Third, the breakthrough in protein folding in AlphaFold 2 and what it means. And finally, we cover the big moves in the Bitcoin markets along with some lesser known crypto-related stories. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today we talk about the controversial departure of AI Ethics researcher Timnit Gebru from Google, by first going over the facts and why it's a big deal. Then we talk about what the research was about, bias in race and gender in AI, and the activist mindset that pervades these organizations. Finally, we talk about modern workplace dynamics and what this means for Google specifically. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s guest is Lisa Palmer, Chief Technology Advisor at Splunk, to talk about the latest trending in technology and AI. Topics include real time decision making, wildfires, manufacturing, augmented intelligence, augmented reality, chatbots, and business to business. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

ANNOUNCING maximum.locals.com, a community for Local Maximum listeners and supporters. They also discuss the decline in quality of the dominant social media platforms, and the idea of internet detoxification. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Mathematician Tai-Danae Bradley joins The Local Maximum to discuss authoring a graduate level book on Topology, the mathematics of language, and the application of quantum probability to machine learning. Don’t miss today’s fascinating discussion! Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s episode features Max’s talk at pymcon 2020 on the interpretation of probability. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s guest is Brian Mac Mahon, CEO of Expert DOJO Startup Accelerator to talk about some of his startups that are succeeding internationally right now and how startup founders handle crisis. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max and Aaron discuss the 2020 election one last time until election day. They give listeners reasons not to panic. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

This week Max and the Foursquare Labs team launched Marsbot for Airpods, a personal assistant that plays contextual audio through your headphones about the specific spots you pass by as you walk throughout your town or city. Aaron interviews Max about the product, and Maryam Aly rejoins The Local Maximum for a more technical and insider discussion with Max. Then, we talk about a related announcement in the AR space. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max talks about the recent blackout of a New York Post article on Twitter and Facebook in the larger context of the evolving approach that these companies are taking to controlling your information diet. Also, Max looks at potential sources of error in the presidential polling and where they might come from if they do indeed exist. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max talks to Alex Andorra of pollsposition.com to discuss why election polling is so difficult, and what could go wrong with the polls in the US presidential election. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max and Aaron do a tech update about Coinbase's controversial new policy of going apolitical, Facebook's Libra currency behind schedule, and what Deepfakes will mean for social media. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

On this science update on the Local Maximum, we discuss the possibility of life in the atmosphere of Venus, as well as a surprising finding about Viking genetics. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s show features callers and emails from the Local Maximum Audience. One listenered learned about Bayesian inference and published a manuscript on Bayes Rule applied to Covid-19 Testing. Another listener introduced me to a topological approach to representing numbers in computer science. A third listener had some point to make on the Electoral College. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s episode, Max talks about why election predictions that veer too far off from 50% and have high variance over time carry little weight. We learn several arguments why, plus we learn about the idea of a probability martingale. Also, it’s been 25 years since the introduction of Windows 95. Why is that interesting and what does it say about the nature of human computer interaction and tech marketing. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s Local Maximum continues the discussion of the difference statistical models, and the knowledge needed to understand something like language. Also - can AI be used to extend our memory, and discussion of an op-ed that disputes the remote work trend. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Max talks about current tech news, including openAI's GPT-3, and wrapping our heads around natural language understanding. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

What is topology, and could there be an application in AI?Max and Aaron use common language to talk about a field of mathematics known as topology, and an interesting subfield of that known as pointless topology. They end with knot theory and meticulous predictions. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Rob Bernstein (@robbiethefire) - standup comedian and host of the Run Your Mouth podcast - joins the Local Maximum. The conversation with Max covers podcasting, comedy during the pandemic, his ongoing summer porch tour, New York City, and the presidential election. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s guest is Jeff Meyerson, host of the Software Engineering Daily Podcast. Max and Jeff talk about his talk last year “You are not a commodity” to software engineers, the assembly line mentality, remote work, and podcasting in general. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe

Today's discussion centers around the difficulty in pursuing truth, knowledge, and engineering feats in an age of hyper-politics. Max and Aaron start with Lawrence Krauss's article in the Wall Street Journal on "The Ideological Corruption of Science", then move into whether it's possible to remain apolitical, and considering the ethical implications of research. Finally, they give an update on "Fake Faces" and how they are being used to push slanted news articles. Get full access to The Local Maximum at localmaximum.substack.com/subscribe