The Local Maximum with Max Sklar

Max talks to guests Helen and Dave Edwards about the human side of decision making, and how we can use research in behavioral and cognitive science to practice better decision making. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Max recalls to Aaron his experiences in New York in 2012, and the hurricane (Superstorm Sandy / Frankenstorm) that cut power in Manhattan for days during Halloween and devastated the coastal areas. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Max defends representative democracy in an October 26th public debate for the Live Free and Debate series in New Hampshire. The resolution was "Monarchy is better than representative democracy" with Alu Axelman arguing in the affirmative and Max arguing in the negative. It's a long one, but it was a good time with expanded perspectives all around! This is a public episode. If you would like to dis...

As the keys to Twitter get turned over to Elon Musk, Max talks about how the development of the open internet is proceeding. He traces back to previous predictions about the upcoming fallout from short-sighted content politics of the previous social media management, and how the dream of a decentralized communication network is progressing. localmaxradio.com/250 This is a public episode. If you wo...

Max and Aaron dive deeper into the sleeping beauty problem, which starts as a probability question, then wades into philosophy and finally theoretical cosmology. They take a listener email on the MLB playoff rules, and the distribution of the week is the Zeta distribution. localmaxradio.com/249 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonu...

Today's guest is Foursquare Principal Engineer and Unfolded Founder Isaac Brodsky, talking about the mission of location visualization and how this was achieved by tiling the world with Hexagons using the H3 open source framework and Foursquare's Hex Tiles. We learn a lot about the geometry of the globe! localmaxradio.com/248 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other s...

Headlining today is Elon Musk's re-takeover of Twitter, after seemingly backing out earlier. Updates from the war in Ukraine. Paypal says it will fine you $2500 if you say certain forbidden things - but then quickly backtrack. Biden's administration aspires for new "AI" regulations - and finally - Ziph's Law is the distribution of the week! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss th...

Today's Guest is AJ Jacobs, author of The Puzzler: One Max's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life. Max and AJ talk about what he's learned about puzzles on the way, the benefits and strategies of problem solving, and finally wade into the sleeping beauty problem probability controversy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discu...

Max starts with a brief news update on ethereum, and then moves to the Kolmogorov axioms of probability. What is an axiom system anyway - and why would someone want to change it? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Phyl Terry - a pioneer in customer experience for decades - talks to Max about how he has applied these principles to crack the job search (and even revolutionize it!) in the new book "Never Search Alone". This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Todays guest is CEO and co-founder of Conexus, the first spinoff of the MIT math department that takes discoveries in high level mathematics (category theory) and applies them to make databases intelligent across many industries. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

This week's news update starts with a discussion of an AI project that won an art competition, followed by Cloudflare's decision to block access to one of its clients. The probability distribution of the week is the roll of a pair of dice, and we down a deep philosophical rabbit hole that leads to the multiverse. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or...

Today's guest is Žiga Fajfar, a tech entrepreneur who is focusing on scaling Flowout, who talks to Max about the "no-code" trend in building software. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Max looks at what's next in the Cryptocosm following the recently declared "winter". He covers the complicated Ethereum merge as well as the government crackdown on tornado cash and what that means for privacy. Distribution of the week: Multinomial Distribution This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.sub...

Over the weekend, listeners and friends gathered in Rollinsford New Hampshire to discuss technology, ideas, and predictions. We ended up getting on stage and running a free-for-all panel where participants and Max discuss the issues of the day This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Ok, maybe only when it's in other countries - but we'll look at that dichotomy. Also - we talk about the entertainment industry and the recently shelved Batgirl project. Probability distribution of the Week: Binomial Distribution This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Max talks to Jonathon Wright about what quality means for AI, and goes through a wide range of examples. Jonathon Wright is the Chief Technology Evangelist and heads up Solution Engineering (R&D) for Eggplant a Keysight Technologies company, and hosts the QA Lead Podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit local...

On today's news update, Max and Aaron talk about several stories related to the consequences of confusing science and truth. - Alzheimer's research reported to have major setback after results from the 2000s found to be manipulated - Updates on the Google AI Saga - Facebook is de-emphasizing professional news Distribution of the day: Uniform Categorical Distribution This is a public episode. If yo...

Max talks to Tony Olsen, founder of Freedomhaven about the idea of Seasteading, and the practical and theoretical issues it raises. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Max discusses a fascinating geometrical object - the simplex - that generalizes to many dimensions, and its connection to the categorical distribution. Starts with some thoughts about Elon Musk spurning the Twitter deal, and the future of Social Media. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Max and Aaron break down the cascade of liquidity crises affecting major crypto firms, the larger cycle and growth story of bitcoin, and announce a new segment for listeners to learn about probability distributions. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

Max talks gives an intro course on inflation, what it is, it's causes, and its effects. He also talks about the history of the monetary system in the United States and how credit expansions, politics, and wars have contributed to the problem of inflation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack....

Max discusses the increasing centralization of AI research into large corporate institutions, with its causes and dangers. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

An engineer in Google Research was put on leave after claiming that their Lambda AI Chatbot is sentient. Max breaks down the situation, and the long-term drama that comes out of Google's AI programs. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com

In a wide-ranging conversation, Max talks to Will Kurt, author of "Bayesian Statistics the Fun Way" about math, writing, philosophy, truth, and of course Bayesian techniques! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack.com