Episode #1 of Think Different TV features Ben Casnocha and Cal Newport in conversation for 30 minutes. Below is the embedded version. I recommend watching it on the Vimeo site and letting it load all the way. Then you can use the chapter markings on that page.
0:54 - Cal tells us what his third book is about
3:33 - Ben says people confuse "mysterious" with "impressive"
7:49 - Difference between being an impressive person vs. an interesting person
15:10 - Cal talks about the "confounding effect" that distorts our sense of interestingness since we don't understand how something is done
16:37 - Attributing someone else's success to "magic" relieves yourself of responsibility / guilt?
20:46 - What's the difference between school and the "real world"? What skill sets are transferable?
27:26 - To succeed as as student requires some degree of entrepreneurship/innovation
Thanks to Charlie Hoehn for editing this.
The content is very interesting, I haven't had time to finish the episode but I look forward to it. Would you consider publishing this as a podcast as well as to this site? I think more people would have the time to watch the entire episode if it was as convenient as a podcast. It might also help to distribute the content to people who wouldn't necessarily find it through twitter/blogs. Thanks and I look forward to upcoming episodes!
Posted by: Chris Lammert | 01/12/2009 at 11:02 AM
Thanks for the feedback Chris. We'll definitely try to do a podcast version in the future.
Posted by: Ben Casnocha | 01/12/2009 at 12:03 PM
I got about half way through it and from what I saw I think this will be an interesting project.
However, there was a background noise in the video that was giving me a headache part way through, but around part way my ear started to hurt :(
If you could see what you could do about that odd noise it would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Posted by: Scott W | 01/12/2009 at 04:16 PM
Very stimulating content - my brain was buzzing throughout the entire conversation. A couple of questions/notes that came to me during the exchange:
-When you dove into the topic of what makes an "interesting" person, I began to think about another dimension - the superficiality of some "interesting" people with regards to their quirkiness (Ben, you alluded to this) as opposed being interesting due to true passions. I think that it would be interesting (to beat a dead horse) to explore people who fain interesting-ness as opposed to those who really have something unique.
-Regarding the discussion surrounding real world evaluation and the need to develop internal feedback loops, I wonder if another alternative for garnering feedback is to engage in freelance work while in school. Although this is difficult to apply to a number of disciplines (molecular biology freelancer?), I think that it offers at least a taste of the real world as well as the possibility for very direct feedback based on monetary compensation. The very nature of freelance work seems to necessitate a greater granularity of feedback than receiving a raise / getting fired.
Already anxious to see the next post!
Posted by: Cameron Robertson | 01/12/2009 at 05:18 PM
I am a regular reader of Cal's blog (he has given me lots of study tips) and found your exchange interesting.
I thought both people made interesting points and I enjoyed the part about being in school vs the real work as I went back to school after being out for 10 years so the topic was relevant to me.
I look forward to future content.
Posted by: Maureen | 01/12/2009 at 05:38 PM
Scott -- Yes sorry about the whine in the background -- this will be fixed next time.
Cameron -- thanks for the thoughts.
Posted by: Ben Casnocha | 01/12/2009 at 08:00 PM
This is great!
Geeky sub-question: what tools did you use to create the finished video? Is there an off-the-shelf "talking heads" program, or did you record two video streams and manually stitch them together in iMovie or whatever?
Posted by: Stan James | 01/13/2009 at 06:46 AM
The content is great, but Cal's technical apparatus needs some upgrading. A better camera would make a world of difference, as for a 30 minute video sound and picture quality are important and the time delay just made my head hurt.
Posted by: Suzie Bee | 01/13/2009 at 11:21 AM
The "genius effect" you speak of was first theorized by Nietzsche (if I recall well). Calling someone a "genius" is mostly just giving up on trying to call it upon yourself to reach the same level as that person. It is in fact an excuse. Genius is merely "impressiveness" as you call it, and not just the result of a lottery that would take place at birth.
Great debate there! Very deep, I'm always up for that kind of talk :)
Posted by: Thibs | 03/23/2009 at 03:50 PM