[leverage]


    [brains]


    • Myths, Memes, and a Distaste for Uncertainty

      I explore demagoguery, Aldeous Huxley, memetics and kippers.

    • Substrate Independence

      I explore below the reductionist stories of life and consciousness, the origin of living organisms, fitness and natural selection, substrate-independent phenomena, and what all this means for us as a species.

    [hierarchies]


    • Holacracy at Zappos

      This essay analyses Holacracy and leadership through the lens of Tony Hsieh and the “Zappos family” in the growth and success of online retailer Zappos. The first two sections focus on the Zappos timeline, the change process leading to Holacracy, and the development of organisational culture over this period. The final two sections focus on the role of leadership and management in Holacracy, and how teams form and function within a complex organisation.

    [economics]


    • Economic Development in Morocco

      A survey of Moroccan economics on the world stage by comparison of the developments, challenges, and avenues for policy change that stand to alleviate historical demographic problems as Morocco becomes a global trade partner and figurehead of the Arab world. Cover: Marrakesh Medina Jemaa el-Fnaa, twilight.

    [longevity]


    • Living Long Enough to Live Forever

      This is the second part of my “Bio-Hacking and Cyborging” series. To read into humanity’s relationship with immortality, see my previous essay. Read on about the only known immortal organisms, the problems modern medicine faces in making us as old as Methuselah, Longevity Escape Velocity, and the dark horse of the endless lifespan.

    • The War on Death

      Technology will give us the Fountain of Youth. In this essay I explore the history of longevity in mythology, how we can categorise death by its two eras, “The Spinning Vinyl” of aging, “hypercentinarians”, and how we hope to eliminate non-communicable disease.

    [market-failure]


    • When Freemium Goes Too Far

      Hybrid products consist of both physical and service components. The physical part has intrinsic value — like a car - while the service part complements the usage of the good — like an app for unlocking your car remotely, or summoning it from far away.

    [agents]


    • The Moral Objective Function

      This post explores the philosophy of ‘safe superintelligence’ in relation to human values. I’ve long been interested in the notion of objective morality as a unifying framework for civilisation to follow. In this post, I outline a chain of eight links that describe how humanity should behave as we approach superintelligence if we want to build systems that cure disease, end poverty, and shower us with technological bounty.

    • How Agents Will Accelerate Research

      Overview