Very underrated Toronto feature: the mountain biking trails in the Don Valley. The network is quite extensive.
Accessible via you-know-which-end of the city.
Tonight a group of thoughtful individuals came together for the first RoundTable at
@535Toronto
.
The topic was UBI, but our 2+ hour conversation explored a lot:
- how UBI is different from our current social systems
- would it cost more?
- giving out $$ vs food stamps
-
In the early days, Parlay was based out of a house in the east end on Shuter St.
Sumach Espresso & the quickest possible Figs lunches fuelled us through crazy growth during the pandemic.
Never thought I’d be back to this side of the city, but
@535Toronto
made me do it.
Just wrapped up RoundTable
#2
on Ambition: Does Canada Have Enough of It?
Plenty of thoughtful and diverse ideas. Below is a glimpse:
- How relative is ambition?
- Is wanting power ambitious?
- Macbeth’s tragic case
- Fear-based vs love-based ambition
- Conventional vs
RoundTable
#2
- Ambition: Does Canada have enough of it?
Thurs, Sept 5th @ 5:35
@535Toronto
Register 👉🏼
Free
- What is ambition?
- Is it important to be ambitious?
- What fosters/limits ambition for startups/businesses?
- Does Canada have an ambition
RoundTable
#2
- Ambition: Does Canada have enough of it?
Thurs, Sept 5th @ 5:35
@535Toronto
Register 👉🏼
Free
- What is ambition?
- Is it important to be ambitious?
- What fosters/limits ambition for startups/businesses?
- Does Canada have an ambition
I went to the All In Summit in LA this week. Spending time with genuine, open-minded and agentic people IRL is the best. For the second year, I left energized & full of ideas
Here are some of the ideas I’m still thinking about…🧵
“Extreme optimism and extreme pessimism are
RoundTable
#2
- Ambition: Does Canada have enough of it?
Thurs, Sept 5th @ 5:35
@535Toronto
Register 👉🏼
Free
- What is ambition?
- Is it important to be ambitious?
- What fosters/limits ambition for startups/businesses?
- Does Canada have an ambition
RoundTable
#2
- Ambition: Does Canada have enough of it?
Thurs, Sept 5th @ 5:35
@535Toronto
Register 👉🏼
Free
- What is ambition?
- Is it important to be ambitious?
- What fosters/limits ambition for startups/businesses?
- Does Canada have an ambition
I’m planning an experimental RoundTable event at
@535Toronto
for curious & thoughtful individuals to gather for deep discussion into one topic.
Which topic most interests you?
RoundTable
#1
: Universal Basic Income: Solution or Problem?
Wed, Aug 7
@535Toronto
Register:
Limited availability
We’ll explore:
⁃Why it’s proposed as a solution to AI’s impact on the future of work
⁃Results from initial research studies
⁃Its
Still processing the
#AllInSummit
, but what Larry Summers said seems to sum up the dialogue and meaningful exchange of ideas over the past few days:
“Academic freedom should be an absolute. But that doesn’t mean it’s free from criticism.”
@theallinpod
Among the hardest & most vital facts of reality to reckon with are: the tremendous heights that others of your current age, ability, & means have gone on to achieve; the tremendous struggle by which they did it; & the fact that you could, but need not, choose to do the same.
💯. Parlay discussions are structured so that students practice thinking independently AND integrate other views.
1. Articulate your initial ideas in writing (before seeing others)
2. Read others' ideas & respond
3. Get feedback on your ideas
4. Have a verbal group discussion
People talk about "caring too much what others think," as though this were a proxy for intellectual independence
In fact, though, the two things are basically orthogonal
overheard: “yeah I want to do the least amount of work possible so I’m gunna try to get a government job”
How does one not get deeply disturbed by this?
And lastly,
"I optimize for friendship." -
@Jason
These events connect me with my favourite kind of people and I'm so grateful for it.
Thanks
@theallinpod
for building a media brand that stands for a love for truth, discussion, open mindedness and friendship. 🫡
@chamath
@via_benjamin
@fahdananta
maybe naive but I don’t even think it’s intentional. The current political process rewards bandaid solutions that appear empathetic but produce opposite outcomes in the long term.
“If you find someone that agrees with you 100% of the time, they’re either lying or not thinking for themselves. And those are two very dangerous things.” -
@SenatorSinema
Absolutely electric opening speakers at
#allinsummit2024
Doors Open Toronto is my favourite event in this city. Each spring, the buildings with notable historical significance & architectural highlights open their doors to the public for free.
This year, I had a few profoundly inspirational moments walking through churches.🧵
In disagreement on America's power role on the world stage, John Mearsheimer explained, "In my heart I'm with Jeff, in my head I'm not with Jeff".
I thought this was such an endearing and appropriate way to express disagreement on a complex topic with a friend.
My main takeaway is quality of the dialogue. Coming in, we each had different views for different reasons, but we found common ground on much more than expected.
@waitbutwhy
Plato described memory as a wax block that could be imprinted, impressed upon, erased and used again. Wildly fitting to how Play-Doh is a toy that facilitates a child’s representation of ideas and is remoulded again and again.
@fahdananta
The momentum is strong and it’s already a solid group of people that really care.
Just need more of it. More experiments and events, and led by different characters so the different facets can shine and bring others in.
Count me in to host a RoundTable on deep dive topics
There are two types of concerns I get when talking to founders (and other ambitious people) about money:
1. They care about getting rich, but feel like they shouldn’t.
2. They don’t care about getting rich, but feel like they should.
@saleh_digital
Contribute to our progress as a species in a direction that aligns to your worldview.
The process of looking inward & looking outward to determine what that actually looks like can be deeply meaningful to integrate your life’s values.
“What we heard consistently [from speakers at the summit], is to find and speak the truth, without being told what the truth should be and what we are supposed to think.” -
@friedberg
“What are kids fired up about? If you could say ‘you could be an astronaut on Mars, maybe one day go beyond the solar system, we could make Star Trek real!’ That is an exciting future. That is inspiring. You need things that move your heart.” -
@elonmusk
& of course, “It should
There’s a Heraclitus quote above the DVP that’s basically “you can’t step in the same river twice”. An acknowledgement of fundamental change, but also this part of the city.
It’s especially synchronous to be back here as a different person, in a different phase of the journey.
@melkuo
Positive feedback loops are huge IMO.
Might be a jump but there’s a popular meta analysis on the factors that influence student achievement the most.
Top of the list by far is “collective teacher efficacy” aka system morale that “we believe we can accomplish great things”
25 min of following 1yo, sped up 10x to 2.5 min
Nearly zero interference or even interaction as he severally pursued his little side quests
I love this age
@parlayideas
A3 - a class discussion after an exceptionally emotional game of capture the flag in PE class was most memorable. Students were all SO engaged, willing to share their ideas AND listen to others on how to play the game fairly.
#learnlap
@harleyf
Dissect podcast is easily the best deep dive music analysis of notable hip hop albums.
@dissectpodcast
Top 3 seasons (imo) are:
- MBDTF
- Igor by Tyler, The Creator
- Frank Ocean
A disproportionate number of my friends are dating people who lived in different cities when they first met.
At first I thought maybe my friends are just super open-minded.
But maybe getting to know someone over a longer time frame builds that foundation better than the
@wetarynitup
@Uncensored_AI
Yeah, that’s my theory. The brain is like “This is a lot. More than usual. Activate marathon mode.” but you can’t quickly turn it off.
@fahdananta
@535Toronto
@Gena_I_Gorlin
I suspect you will appreciate the high level of agency going on here. These guys have created a studio/community for builders pretty much from scratch, and documenting it for others to replicate.
@Gena_I_Gorlin
This is super interesting.
Do you think “a fixed mindset / lack of belief in your own ability to do it” fits in either of the bottom two?
@thematt_ross
@tobi
Foster truth-seeking discussions that enlighten spirits, connect souls and help us progress as a species.
(Written at the top of my to do list 🙂)
In hindsight it sounds ridiculous, but I never once considered that I might get better at a technical sport in my 30s. Maybe it was a fixed mindset, or maybe just that I was focusing more on the fun + health benefits.
“Learn something new” seems cliche but is so underrated.
@mbateman
Grade 12 English in summer school before the year started
-dissected Hamlet, 1984, Oryx & Crake and Waiting for Godot over 3 weeks, 9-5
-fantastic teacher, incredibly passionate w/ high expectations
-a lot of project-based inquiry & discussion
-only half the class kept with it
@fahdananta
Not to be ironic, but Bloom’s Taxonomy is probably the most common framework teachers learn to building towards higher order thinking. While possible to go straight to “create mode”, building up to it is the scaffolding for it.
Today we launched a total refresh of Parlay to make inclusive and student-driven discussions better!
Here’s a 🧵outlining our hottest new features:
(Or just log in here to see it for yourself➡️)
@agarcher
@fahdananta
I think “woke” has become a negative term since it’s now associated with “mind virus”, someone lacking independent, critical thought. Much more nuance there obviously but our snap judgements don’t often have enough data points for nuance.
A good RoundTable topic tbh😏
@chamath
would often provide his view of the forest from the trees:
"Relationships go up and down, businesses go up and down, it's called life."
"We need to do a better job at listening to our village elders. They tell the truth that's defined by their own unique experiences."
@anam_x0
Same! Except my concierge tries to trick me on purpose, it’s honestly hilarious. There’s always a new antic. I tell ppl he’s Rafiki from the Lion King.