Manifold | Samo Burja: Intellectuals, Culture, and the Technosphere — #70 @ManifoldPodcast | Uploaded October 2024 | Updated October 2024, 12 hours ago.
Samo Burja founded Bismarck Analysis, a consulting firm that investigates the political and institutional landscape of society. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Political Science at the Foresight Institute where he advises on how institutions can shape the future of technology. Since 2024, he has chaired the editorial board of Palladium Magazine, a non-partisan publication that explores the future of governance and society through international journalism, long-form analysis, and social philosophy. From 2020 to 2023, he was a Research Fellow at the Long Now Foundation where he studied how institutions can endure for centuries and millennia.
Samo writes and speaks on history, institutions, and strategy with a focus on exceptional leaders that create new social and political forms. He has systematized this approach as “Great Founder Theory.”
Steve and Samo discuss:
00:00 Introduction
01:39 Meet Samo Burja: Founder of Bismarck Analysis
03:19 Palladium Magazine: A West Coast Publication
06:39 The Unique Culture of Silicon Valley
12:55 Inside Bismarck Analysis: Services and Clients
21:37 The Role of Technology in Global Innovation
32:15 The Influence of Rationalists and Effective Altruists
48:09 European Tech Policies and Global Competition
49:29 The Role of Taiwan and China in Tech Manufacturing
51:14 Geopolitical Dynamics and Strategic Alliances
52:51 China's Provincial Power and Industrial Strategy
56:04 Urbanization and Demography, Ancient Society
59:43 Intellectual Pursuits and Cultural Dynamics
01:04:11 Intellectuals, SF, and Global Influence
01:13:47 Fertility Rates, Urbanization, and Forgotten Migration
01:22:26 Interest in Cultural Dynamics and Population Rates
01:26:05 Daily Life as an Intellectual
Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.
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Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU.
Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.
Samo Burja founded Bismarck Analysis, a consulting firm that investigates the political and institutional landscape of society. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Political Science at the Foresight Institute where he advises on how institutions can shape the future of technology. Since 2024, he has chaired the editorial board of Palladium Magazine, a non-partisan publication that explores the future of governance and society through international journalism, long-form analysis, and social philosophy. From 2020 to 2023, he was a Research Fellow at the Long Now Foundation where he studied how institutions can endure for centuries and millennia.
Samo writes and speaks on history, institutions, and strategy with a focus on exceptional leaders that create new social and political forms. He has systematized this approach as “Great Founder Theory.”
Steve and Samo discuss:
00:00 Introduction
01:39 Meet Samo Burja: Founder of Bismarck Analysis
03:19 Palladium Magazine: A West Coast Publication
06:39 The Unique Culture of Silicon Valley
12:55 Inside Bismarck Analysis: Services and Clients
21:37 The Role of Technology in Global Innovation
32:15 The Influence of Rationalists and Effective Altruists
48:09 European Tech Policies and Global Competition
49:29 The Role of Taiwan and China in Tech Manufacturing
51:14 Geopolitical Dynamics and Strategic Alliances
52:51 China's Provincial Power and Industrial Strategy
56:04 Urbanization and Demography, Ancient Society
59:43 Intellectual Pursuits and Cultural Dynamics
01:04:11 Intellectuals, SF, and Global Influence
01:13:47 Fertility Rates, Urbanization, and Forgotten Migration
01:22:26 Interest in Cultural Dynamics and Population Rates
01:26:05 Daily Life as an Intellectual
Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.
–
Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU.
Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.
