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50 Things I've Learned Writing Construction Physics with Brian Potter (Hyperlegible 007)
Nobody on the internet writes about all of the complexity involved in actually building things -- from homes to jet engines -- better than Brian Potter, the author of Construction Physics.I am a huge fan of Brian's writing. I use it as a reference for a lot of my pieces. I once tweeted, "Construction Physics is a national treasure and the president should give Brian Potter a medal or czar job or something." So I was thrilled to get the excuse to talk to him about a bunch of his essays by talking to him about this one specific one, 50 Things I've Learned Writing Construction Physics.Here's the one overarching theme he's discovered writing over 600,000 words in Construction Physics: "Things are always more complicated than they seem. Simple explanations very rarely exist." We discuss that and other lessons by digging into pre-fabbed and manufactured homes, jet engines, gas turbines, windmills, nuclear reactors, batteries, Nobel Prizes, skyscrapers, and even Titanium. Just reading that list, you can probably tell why I like Brian's writing so much. He writes in-depth about all of the topics I love, and I learn so much from him each time.What impressed me most is just how humble Brian is. He knows 1000x more about this stuff than I do, but when he's not entirely certain of an answer, he says so. That's probably in part due to his background as a structural engineer, and in part a response to the lesson that everything is more complicated than it seems. I hope you learn as much from our conversation as I did, and that you go back and read everything he's written. To get you started, here are some of the essays we discuss and that Brian recommends, both his stuff and others'.Potter Essays - How to Build 3,000 Airplanes in Five Years- Why It's So Hard to Build a Jet Engine - What Learning by Doing Looks Like - How California Turned Against Growth - Another Day in Katerradise - The Birth of the GridRecommended and Discussed Essays - Reality Has a Surprising Amount of Detail - John Salvatier - Timing Technology: Lessons From The Media Lab - Gwern - 100 Tallest Completed Buildings - Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation - Byrne Hobart & Tobias HuberYou can find this and all of the articles we discuss on Hyperlegible in one place thanks to our sponsor, Readwise - Visit readwise.io/hyperlegible for a free trial and get all Hyperlegible articles automatically added to your account. Big thanks to Jim Portela for editing!
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1:03:35
Forsaking Industrialism with Conrad Bastable (Hyperlegible 006)
In this timely conversation, Conrad Bastable joins Packy to break down his epic essay Forsaking Industrialism and explore why the West has abandoned manufacturing while China built a world-beating industrial platform over decades. Read it here for the full experience: Forsaking Industrialism Conrad has been planning this essay for months, and he couldn't have dropped it at a better time. It's a comprehensive look at what China got right and what real reindustrialization would mean. We dive into how EU regulations inadvertently benefited Chinese manufacturing, why tariffs alone can't solve America's industrial challenges, and what it would take to rebuild America's manufacturing capabilities.Conrad explains the concept of "platform economies" that China has mastered, why capital markets naturally push against long-term industrial investments, and the uncomfortable trade-offs between principles and prosperity that nations must navigate.From electric dirt bikes to BMW's battery dilemma, this wide-ranging discussion offers a fresh perspective on the most urgent debate in America.Conrad's reading recommendations: - Alexander Hamilton's Report on ManufacturesConrad's other essays: - Full Stack of Society - Escalation Theory - Monetization & MonopoliesSponsored by Readwise - Visit readwise.io/hyperlegible for a free trial and get all Hyperlegible articles automatically added to your account.Big thanks to Jim Portela for editing!
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1:34:45
Skittle Factory Dementia Monkey Titty Monetization with Parakeet (Hyperlegible
Pseudonymous writer Parakeet joins me to discuss her viral essay "Skittle Factory Dementia Monkey Titty Monetization." I first heard about Parakeet a couple weeks ago when I saw half of my Twitter feed and half of my Substack Notes feed sharing her essay, including a bunch of people I wouldn't expect to share an essay with "Monkey Titty" in the title. I read it immediately, and saw why. Parakeet describes universally applicable ideas with the color turned up to 11 so they stick. We explore the "dementia personality" - how our core thought loops shape who we are and might one day define us. Parakeet shares insights from working at a dementia facility, explains her Skittle Factory metaphor for personality (and researching Skittle Factories), and reveals her unconventional productivity hack that's transformed her writing output. We talk about her writing process, gifs, why more people should read George Orwell's Politics and the English Language, and what she learned from her once-half-paralyzed dance teacher. Plus, hear the bizarre true story behind the "Monkey Titty" portion of the essay title and why Parakeet believes everyone should re-read Atlas Shrugged as an adult.Key moments:(5:35) Origins of the dementia personality concept(10:30) Can we change our core mental loops? (15:18) Skittle Factory Mass Extinction Events(21:50) Rewiring your brain through Luigi Jazz(30:05) Why this essay got shared by so many smart people(31:50) Using gifs(40:31) Parakeet's productivity hackReading Recs from Parakeet:Parakeet: YOUR EYES ARE LEAKING CORPORATE CUM™Parakeet: ALGORITHMIC GROOMING OF YOUR INNER CHILD™George Orwell: Politics and the English LanguageAyn Rand: Atlas ShruggedHyperlegible is sponsored by my friends at Readwise, who build software that helps you get the most out of your reading. If you want to give it a try, go to readwise.io/hyperlegible where you start a free trial and get all the articles discussed here on Hyperlegible automatically added to your account. Thanks to Jim Portela for editing and getting the parakeet animation to work!
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59:35
Hyperlegible 004: Alex Danco, Scarcity and Abundance in 2025
On Episode 004 of Hyperlegible, I speak with Alex Danco. It was a treat. Alex is on my Mount Rushmore of internet writers. When I’m writing well, his writing has probably had an influence on mine. In this conversation, we talk about his new essay, which is an update to some of his older pieces, Scarcity and Abundance in 2025. If you want to understand how to think about everything that’s going on right now as a result of AI in a really thoughtful, grounded way, read the essay.There’s so much here. What did Clayton Christensen get wrong? How does tech make things that, contra disruption theory, make things that are both cheaper and better? Is Apple in trouble? Will the vibe coding apps maintain their growth and revenue? What has become scarce? We talk about the shift from Code as Capital to Code as Labor, Tokyo zoning regulations, Red Queen’s Races, whether this time is actually different this time, why big company AI products suck because they’re trying to squeeze everything out of their existing assets, Steve Ballmer Trutherism, and why crypto + agents might actually be a thing. This summary just scratches the surface. Just listen. At the end, Alex gives some great essay recommendations:Book/Essay RecommendationsAlex Danco, The Audio RevolutionAlex Danco, Can Twitter Save Science?Simon DeDeo, Information Theory for Intelligent PeopleThomas Mann, The Magic MountainC.S. Lewis, The Inner RingHyperlegible is sponsored by my friends at Readwise, who build software that helps you get the most out of your reading. If you want to give it a try, go to readwise.io/hyperlegible where you start a free trial and get all the articles discussed here on Hyperlegible automatically added to your account. Thanks to Jim Portela for editing!
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1:01:59
Julian Lehr, The Case Against Conversational Interfaces
In Episode 003 of Hyperlegible, host Packy McCormick talks with Julian Lehr about his recent essay The Case Against Conversational Interfaces and why natural language might not be the ideal way to interact with computers. Julian explains why conversational AI should complement rather than replace graphical user interfaces, and shares insights about his unique writing process.Julian is one of the most creative writers on the internet. Go read his work at julian.digital.Hyperlegible is sponsored by our friends at Readwise. You can find links to all of our conversations, and all of the episodes we discuss, at readwise.io/hyperlegible.Episode Highlights:(00:10) - Julian summarizes his essay on conversational interfaces and why they're inefficient (02:31) - Why writing is different: "a thinking process" rather than a speed-optimized workflow (03:08) - The "Pass the Butter Test" and the ideal human-computer relationship (05:04) - The privacy vs. experience trade-off with AI interfaces (07:10) - How Julian's visual approach to writing differs from traditional writers (10:07) - Julian's unique writing process: starting with pen and paper, switching between tools (11:22) - Using Figma as an underrated writing tool for visualizing content (12:24) - How Julian incorporates AI into his writing process, using ChatGPT as a thinking partner (15:18) - Discussion of AI at the OS level and predictions about browser development (18:38) - AI as a complement rather than a replacement, inspired by StarCraft gaming interfaces (21:01) - Sam Altman's always-on AI workflow and potential applications for writers (30:58) - Why Julian took a two-year break from writing and his publishing goals for this year (32:31) - The status-signaling aspect of the "thanks to" section in essays (36:12) - Julian recommends reading his essay "The Power of Defaults" (36:55) - Recommended reading: Kevin Kwok's "The Arc of Collaboration" (38:15) - Key takeaway: Think of AI as a complement that unlocks new possibilities rather than replacing existing workflowsEssays and Podcasts Mentioned:Julian Lehr: The Case Against Conversational InterfacesJulian Lehr: ⁠The Power of Defaults⁠Kevin Kwok: ⁠The Arc of Collaboration⁠David Perell: How I Write with Sam AltmanBig thanks to Jim Portela for editing!
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