Mere Mortals

Have you ever had an opportunity that just seemed too easy to be real? In Episode #195 of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: the absolute apes on Wall St Bets, my brother's recent experience of the infinite money pool, a hilarious study that showed monkeys are better at picking stocks than retail investors, gaining unwarranted confidence from having more and more data, how people of the past used to goal set and make sacrifices, why some parts of evolutionary theory seems a bit...

I don't even have a good explanation for why these topics came up. In Episode #196 of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: Gary Vee's non-fungible tokens, how NFT's might be used in the future, the absurd stories that appear in Buddhist texts, how it is possible to completely change your deepest held beliefs, why coding will be important and everyone should know it, Harry Potter mishaps and asking yourself whether you actually are a good person deep down...

Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first week of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous month's goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, showcasing our own methodology...

What does freedom mean to you? In Episode #197 on 'Freedom' Juan and I discuss: why Juan thinks it is a difficult topic to talk about, what we would do if put in charge of Australia, the difference between freedom of an individual vs having a free society, why I personally didn't like Sebastian much and how this conversation has saved me a lot of time. Just FYI...

Would you ever want to try a silent retreat and meditate all day? In a celebratory (but quietly so) Episode #200 on 'Solitude' Juan and I discuss: my recent experience of going on a self-organised silent retreat, how I prepared for being alone and what rules I would implement, immense suffering and pain from strong determination sittings, some intriguing moments during the retreat, some thoughts on solitude and travelling, sensory deprivation and the power of memes that even the...

Would you describe yourself as gullible?

In Episode #198 of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: using epistemic modals to communicate more effectively, Juan's direct style of conveying information, the release of CIA/FBI documents related to aliens, why we wouldn't be overly worried about the probing upon a first meeting, questions we would ask the aliens, the difference between gullibility and credulity before finishing up with reputation management...

Have you ever asked yourself what the difference is between purposeful pain and pointless suffering? In Episode #199 of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: Juan's purchase of a Vee Friend, some of the basics behind non-fungible tokens and gas fees, what NFT's are actually used for, the reasons for doing something painful, why we do the things we don't want to do, a story of drinking at an early age and how much of our own podcasts we would watch...

Would you rather run or meditate for half a day? What about daily for a month or a whole year?

In Episode #201 of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: why junk food is trash and now that we are old it just sucks, I finally (FINALLY!!!) completed a marathon and why it sucked balls, a fun little game to see what time I ran, a hypothetical about running/meditating and why I got offered coke just after watching an orchestra perform...

What is your tolerance level for communication that is not presented in the most accessible way possible?

In Episode #202 of 'Musings' Juan and I discuss: Juan's recent humbling experience of seeing people who are the best in the world at what they do, what I want to change after my silent retreat, not wanting to speak in platitudes but sometimes needing to, peak experiences that you can get from exercise/meditation/drugs, why we hate books that are hard to decipher and...

What would be the best strategy to win a gameshow comprised solely of other gameshows?

In Episode #203 of 'Meanderings' Juan and I discuss: Juan's cool new lensless glasses, another Juan story of terrible customer service (the bank version!), a difficult hypothetical for Juan, macro vs micro and when it might be important to be aware of the micro, my fabulous new idea for a TV show from reading 'River Out Of Eden' & 'The Chaung Tzu', how we would...