Balaji with Sam Parr and Shaan Puri

On their podcast My First Million, Sam and Shaan interviewed Balaji Srinivasan in May 2021. Balaji is a famous entrepreneur, crypto investor and writer. On the podcast he discussed his track record of predictions, what he would do if he was 21 years old, and more 👇

"Media scripts humans just as code scripts machines." Code tells machines what to do, sets expectations, and defines the outer limits of what is possible. Media scripts human behavior in a similar way.

Contagious mental illness. Physical illness is contagious via viruses and other vectors, but mental illness can be similarly contagious. If people run on scripts and memes fed to them by the media, then dysfunctional memes can infect people en masse and lead to negative outcomes.

How does Balaji view himself? Balaji considers himself a "pragmatic ideologue." Ideologue because his long-term vision of transhumanism and overcoming mortality is the north star always on his mind; pragmatic because short-term execution matters too.

Saving up sex for old age? Quoting Warren Buffet, Balaji says some things are better done when one is young. Hedging, knitting elaborate safety nets, and waiting for the perfect time to start doing what you like can be akin to "saving up sex for your old age."

What would 21 year old Balaji do? If Balaji was starting from scratch, he would master "CS and statistics as they’re a universal language." CS and stats underpin the "virtual constructed" world we live in; they're the master skills with broad applicability everywhere.

What has Balaji been wrong about? Balaji was bullish on crypto in 2013 and publicly wondered if Covid-19 would become a pandemic in Jan 2020, much ahead of the curve. But Balaji says he underestimated social media early on as he thought it was all "voyeurism and exhibitionism."

On a similar note, Balaji says he "overestimated genomics" because he didn't predict exactly how the FDA can slow progress through its cumbersome regulations.

Programmers write "spaghetti code" to save time in the short-term, but this leaves a long-term "technical debt" that wastes much more time than saved. Similarly, not working out creates a "physical debt" that must one day be repaid through the pain of sickness.

Bottom line. Balaji's phrase pragmatic ideologue can give people the framework they need to balance long-term priorities with short-term obligations. And while Balaji is an oracle with a stellar track record, even his predictions occasionally turn out wrong.