Michael Nielsen: belief

Transcript context

…You mean like giving talks or being invited? Yes, and just in general, people know who you are, what you’ve done, what you’re interested in, and they’re much more likely to provide all sorts of different opportunities, including jobs. I think from the point of view of the authors, it really actually doesn’t make that much sense. From the point of view of the publishers, though, it might make more sense. The textbook market is not huge, but it is multi-billions. You have a well-known article with Patrick Collison on progress in science slowing down, and it’s published at a point, say, right before mRNA vaccines, right before GPT-4, other developments. How well can we know the progress of science at any point in time? Isn’t there often an everything-all-at-once effect, and in fact, those years we were building up and investing in things that very suddenly then flourished?…

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