The Surface Area of Serendipity | Episode 39 | Everything is Everything
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
- Good things happen to us when we give them the chance to do so. The more we put ourselves out there, the more we are likely to get lucky.
But Exposure is pointless without Excellence.
Welcome to Episode 39 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.
In this episode, Amit shares his fascination with the phrase, the Surface Area of Serendipity. And together, Ajay and Amit explore the delicate balance between excellence and exposure that is required to be both good and successful.
And BTW, if you are in Mumbai, you MUST watch the brilliant musical play, MAGIC FRUIT, written by Vaishnav Vyas and including Nomsita MS Haritashya among the performers. They are the crew behind this show -- and generational talents at the start of their journey. You can be a part of it by watching MAGIC FRUIT on March 29 in Mumbai. Tickets here: in.bookmyshow.com/plays/magic...
Oh, and Amit's newsletter is furiously active again, so do read and subscribe at indiauncut.substack.com/
If you like watching Everything is Everything, please like, subscribe, share, comment. :)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00 Packaging
00:13 Introduction: Two Unexpected Questions
06:13 Chapter 1: Good Things Happen to Those Who Walk
19:44 Chapter 2: Virtuous Cycle vs Vicious Cycle
25:41 Chapter 3: There Are No Strangers
43:34 Chapter 4: Amit’s Recco
44:39 Chapter 5: Ajay’s Recco - or Is It?
48:01 Before You Go...
USEFUL RESOURCES:
1. Amit on Twitter: / amitvarma
2. Ajay on Twitter: / ajay_shah
3. The Seen and the Unseen -- Amit's audio podcast: seenunseen.in/
(Also on all podcast apps. And CZcams, though less than 1% of listens come from here: www.youtube.com/@TheSeenAndTh...)
4. Ajay's organisation, XKDR Forum, on CZcams: / @xkdr
5. In Service of the Republic -- Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah: amzn.eu/d/hwGILb3
6. The Art of Clear Writing -- Amit's writing course: indiauncut.com/clear-writing/
7. The India Uncut Newsletter -- Amit's newsletter at indiauncut.substack.com/
8. The Greatest Productivity Mantra: Kaator Re Bhaaji! -- Episode 11 of Everything is Everything: • The Greatest Productiv...
9. Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance -- Claudia Mueller and Carol Dweck: psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-0...
10. Fast Car -- Tracy Chapman at the Nelson Mandela tribute concert, 1988: • Tracy Chapman - Fast C...
11. Surface Area of Luck -- Model Thinkers: modelthinkers.com/mental-mode...
12. CMIE: cmie.com/
13. The UNIX Episode -- Episode 32 of Everything is Everything: • The UNIX Episode | Epi...
14. Bollywood Masala and a French Art Film -- Amit Varma: indiauncut.substack.com/p/bol...
15. The Tipping Point -- Malcolm Gladwell: amzn.in/d/13a1t3R
16. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues -- Tom Robbins: amzn.in/d/6U8Hwa3
17. The Leap Blog: blog.theleapjournal.org/
18. Emerging Markets Conference: www.emergingmarketsconference...
19. Ajay Shah's writings for mass media: www.mayin.org/ajayshah/MEDIA/
20. XKDR working papers: xkdr.org/papers-list
21. To Kill A Mockingbird -- Harper Lee: amzn.in/d/i84XxkA
22. Six Degrees -- Duncan Watts: amzn.in/d/j4ggNkG
23. Dead Poet's Society -- Peter Weir: www.hotstar.com/in/movies/dea...
24. Anatomy of a Fall -- Justine Triet: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy...
25. Anatomy of a Folly -- Amit Varma: indiauncut.substack.com/p/ana...
26. Amit's MAMI thread from 2018: / 1056020643853033472
27. Amit's MAMI thread from 2019: / 1185063306979098624
Produced by Amit Varma
Shot by Vaishnav Vyas and Nomsita MS Haritashya: / vaishnav.vyas
Edited by Nomsita MS Haritashya: / nomsitaharitashya
Thanks to Gaurav Chintamani for helping with sound: / gaurav_chintamani
Chapter images & additional illustrations by Simahina: / i_am_simahina
There are a million other things Amit , you and Ajay could have done, and yet, this is what you do. Thank you for bringing these conversations every week to us. Will leave a part of my jayadaad to you. Big hugs.
Since morning occupied with Indian politics and its irredeemable fall. Was thinking what Sartre said, "Hell is other people". Then came the weekly dose of EiE, and mind is filled with, "there are no strangers, only friends you haven't yet met." Long live team, just when I feel the peak is over, you leap again.
Mr. Shah and Mr. Verma,
Every Friday, I increase my surface area of serendipity. No other online content in years has had as much of an impact on my frames of reference, worldview, and the things I should strive for in life. Everything is everything, the seen and the unseen, and your newsletter are rare gems.
Wisdom is certainly not wasted on both of you. Thank you for sharing some of it.
I’m a psychotherapist who loves the craft but not the “talking” about it to others to get more work bit:)) So, after spending the entire afternoon forcing and fighting with myself to just do it, I sat down for some much needed relaxation and listening and Lo and behold; what do I find:)! The answer I needed to intellectually convince myself to do both - to increase my surface area of serendipity😊. And quite telepathically, Amit when you came to recommendations I almost subconsciously knew “dead poet’s Society” will be said out loud:)! So! Captain, my captain: thank you so much for this one. ❤
This show is therapy almost.
I am loving the detailed comments as much as the episode. I think we should arrange 'Everything is everything ' and 'The seen and the unseen' listeners/readers meet.
Totally! I can host the Delhi one at my place 😊❤
Yes, we are probably just friends who haven't met yet. :)
The childlike enthusiasm of Ajay is such a delight ‘ok amit, i will ask a different question’. God! Is he real? He is real right? Right? RIGHT?
the 'wish you were here' reference at the beginning by Ajay set the mood for this episode!
Didnt know ajay shah's father founded the CMIE. I have used data from CMIE website for my thesis actually. There was no subscription to CMIE data from my college so i went IITB to get the data since they had subscription. I used that data for my econometric model. I am sure it has helped many researchers like me for their studies especially when govt org and their websites are so bad in sharing economic datas. So i am forever grateful for CMIE and their work.
Another Lovely episode!!! Thank you for the authenticity guys.
A request from a fan. You both have a unique perspectives. I don't know if you can do it or not, but could you guys bring up an episode on Problem Solving. It seems to me that it would be great, with Ajay bringing up anecdotes about obscure Economists and Amit bringing stories from his writing experience. Also, Amit love the way you deliver one liners. This one particularly is stuck in my mind: ' Bhaad me jay duniya, hum bajaye harmuniya.'
I've said this before and I'd say it again, as promised.
👏spotify👏when.👏
Happiness makes you productive.. productivity makes you happy.. commit without expecting a reward.. virtuous cycle.. vicious cycle of mediocrity.. there are no strangers there are just friends that you don't have...
I'm ashamed I had no idea about the story behind 'Fast Cars' considering the number of times I hear it weekly....such a lovely episode, perfect motivation to not spend the coming long weekend cooped up
I felt like I am conversing with you both. The ideas you discussed in this episode, I was grappling with the exact same thoughts. Why people put incentive before the work? Why organizational culture is not able to go beyond incentives. And then for a hardcore introvert, going out there and talking to friends (whom I haven't met yet) about projects I am passionate about, is what I wanted to hear the most today.
Another brilliant episode. Dilution of communication at every degree of separation is such an important concept to grok. In addition to dilution, I believe esp. in world of software, most traditional modes of communications are diluted even at the first degree of separation. You truly understand the workings of software only when you work it out yourself...
What a beautiful episode, this! Authentic conversation, straight from the heart.
What a beautiful episode ! This show is a great mental floss, and a great source of inspiration to put a dent in the universe
Aww, the giggles at the end were the best!
Lovely conversation and some very important points about intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations and money-orientation in India. That is the cause of most stress in our society--but I dont think it is an outcome of poverty or shortage, but a cultural aspect of "what is in it for me" and "being above the Joneses"--both big issues in our country. While having little, one can yet choose to have passion and mission. In fact, sometimes those with scarcity are better positioned to have passion and mission. The greatest things have come from those who started poor, not those who started middle class and comfortable--political movements, businesses and social actions.
The power / prominence of current entrepreneurial / venture capital movements further reinforce such behavior.
Would love to watch The Magic Fruit whenever it comes to Delhi :)
Thanks for yet another lovely episode, Amit and Ajay
Watching/Reading this show is me increasing the surface area of serendipity for myself. As I have some free time to myself this week, I will check out both the recommendations. Hell is both other people and no people. Heaven is somewhere in between.. Thank you team for this project.
Completely agree with Ajay, its also a sad fact that most Indians want answers and aren't interested in solutions. You know it when you have to repeatedly ask people what's the question they're trying to asking (xy problem) and RTFM or STFW.
PS: “Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?” is a reference to the song "Wish you were here" by Pink Floyd, a tribute to Syd Barrett the original singer/guitarist of the band.
A soothing episode. Some melancholic sophistication.
Excellent episode
loved the episode ❤.. also the recommendation... Dead poets society is my all time favourite...
Anatomy of fall is indeed must watch movie... the synposis of the movie doesn't give justice to actual movie and the script, dialogues.
"A Separation" 2011 movie by asaghar farhadi is also a must watch... don't know why i am recommending this..but this movie came in my mind when i saw the "Anatomy of fall"
Great episode and well researched!
I want to say Ajay's rant on us being herd sheeple rubbed me raw and want to echo Amit's tempering commentary that as a nation we have rotten incentive structures and corrupt bureaucracies keeping out the best and brightest among us and disincentivizing us to take risks. I would contend that we might need to rid the pool of sharks before we implore each other to swim in it freely.
The intelligentsia is the yeast that makes the society rise.
@@ajayshah5705 Indeed. That was never my contention. The slightly condescending tone of imploration in my humble experience is quite ubiquitous in Indian society (not sure if it is a British Raj legacy or a mind-virus not corrected for) and typically has the opposite effect - everyday society simply tunes out when intellegentsia adopts a tone of contempt for them.
There is much more of a empathic approach to imploring each other to do better and be better in the USA for example, and we all know how far ahead they are in terms of social cohesion and in general advancement in many spheres of society.
Excellent 👍
Amit is consistent in the production, I am not in consumption though. Took me a week to watch it and have a new one already launched.
Inspiring and mazedaar episode!
Oh captain! My captain
I am a gentle listener and watcher 😅
Many years before MAMI, there used to be an annual OSIAN's film festival in Delhi which brought the best of world cinema to the art- and culture-loving audiences here.... Really miss having such a festival here in Delhi! (Though did try to initiate an indie short film club of our own called 'filmbooth' and ran it for a few years with my friends but couldn't sustain it)
Actually OTTs show some good world cinema if one looks hard enough. Mubi has good stuff, and Prime has also upped its game.
@@amitvarma true...but all of this is a fairly recent phenomena, say last 5-6 years or so.... Back then at the time of OSIAN's festival, there really weren't any notable offline platforms to enjoy world cinema (IFFI organized by NFDC was one perhaps)... The game changer from supply side in terms of shifting the culture and emboldening the indie filmmaker was the non-box office release of Gangs of Wasseypur (again at OSIAN's if i remember correctly) and the whole slew of films like Lunchbox (producers like Guneet Monga played a huge part in this whole era)... of course post this timeline, OTTs realised this trend (of audiences demanding and enjoying indie cinema) is here to stay and they scaled up the supply side and of course COVID has really helped as many folks (who otherwise would never demand and go out and watch an indie film in theatres) have now started watching and enjoying indie films in the comfort of their homes, so some converts may be happening there perhaps... All of this is just my conjecture and derived from my direct/indirect observations
@@mohakmathur Good point, agree that it is recent!
The Holdovers (film) might be of interest.
A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.
Movies reminded me of Bramayugam.
After narrowly escaping slavery, a folk singer in 17th century Kerala stumbles upon a mysterious mansion inhabited by a cook and his formidable master, forever altering his destiny
However, it was the underlying theme that made it worth recommending. A situation in which the oppressor is both the oppressor and the oppressed.
Watching it was a delight.
Thanks, will watch it!
Great episode! Would like to know who does the art for all the thumbnails?
Thanks. It's mentioned in the show notes.
Is Magic Fruit coming to Indore, by chance?
I watched "Anatomy of a Fall" today. I failed to understand why it was recommended. Amit Bhai, kindly explain it a bit more in one of your newsletters/eie/tstu episode.
So may be given an opportunity one should be out there amongst the right people.. learn by osmosis to excel.. increase surface area of serendipity by being open to exposure..
Once we notice the time devoted by most to cricket, movies, social obligations, gossip, there is so much headroom to do things that fuel the mind.
If ever you decide to have an in-person EIE Delhi chapter meetup (#wishfulthinking😊), pls know I'd love to host it at my place....it's an open invitation!
Noted, and thank you!
I see the crutches next to Ajay hope all is ok, guess he got hurt during his last trekking event ? Our wishes and blessing ! I missed a few episodes, tough to catch up with you guys !
See the Hiking episode.
@Amit - Disagree that you are not a connector. I think you are taking a narrow approach to the definition. I can cite at least 10 examples of offers you have made (and then followed them through) of connecting two people who did not know each other. So #Amitpls
This episode has got a lot of bitterness out in me that I have towards the world. I was a blogger from 2006-7 to about 2020. I used to write about you know what. Nothing happened. I was quite intentional about it. Nothing happened except me getting weird video trolling, me being called partisan etc. Nothing else. I would like to believe I was super serious about the artform which I was blogging about. This is why - I decided to wipe everything off the internet and stay completely off social media. I do not like to be around people anyway and I am sort of proud that I am not a social media introvert with 100,000 followers. I am an introvert. Bas.
On what I used to blog about, I now only see people who masquerade as 'reviewers' who are either fawning over artists they just met or fawning over the fact that their 'fav' artists retweeted them. The end product remains shit and devoid of any depth. I really thought I could effect some change in the artform even though I have zero credentials in that artform. Could it mean that I was serious about a form no one's bothered about?
Don't bother answering but know what I am saying is --> Good effort but I will keep my blog private. Yes, everything is about me.
Lastly, do not forget - someone we know has hosted pooooteeen. In India. Somewhere. So all degrees of separation are upside down anyway for us.
Lastly 2 - You have got to start using the DPS film dialogue in your writing course (you can change the 'women' to 'partners') - Language was invented for one reason, boys to woo women, and in that endeavour, laziness will not do.
Lastly 3 - What a delight to see the young ones in the end! I wish I was in Bambai. Also, all credit to them, some to Ajay, none to you. ok? ok.
A fabulous fabulous episode that made me smile and think. Damn you all beautiful people who do this. Every week. Much love.
Could you please post the link to the virtuous cycle - vicious cycle piece?
It's No 14 in the show notes. :)
somehow made me remember this clip czcams.com/video/yE717bsW8fw/video.html