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. This is a public episode. If you would like...

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. 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 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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.subst...

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". This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bon...

This year's prediction panel features discussions on Decentralization, Language Models, Life After Covid, New York City, Social Media Embracing Fake News, and more. 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

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. This is a public episode. If you would...

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. 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 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 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 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. 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

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. This is a public episode. If you would lik...

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. 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

Designer, artist and researcher Iracema Trevisan talks to Max about the future of Augmented Reality in cities. 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

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). 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

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. This is a public episode. If you woul...

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 This is a public episode. If you...

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. 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

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 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

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. 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 Sam Jacobs of the Resistance Library Podcast and Ammo.com about the war being wages on free speech by large tech corporations and platforms. 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

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. 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 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. 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 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. 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 talk about the vast changes our economy and government would undergo if Bitcoin wins. They also discuss Gamestop and Generational Theory. 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

Today's episode covers the explosion of applications of machine vision in industrial automation with guest Iain Smith. 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 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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit localmaximum.substack....