Luís and João Batalha: Fermat's Library and the Art of Studying Papers | Lex Fridman Podcast #209

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

August 9, 2021

Duration

2h 54m

Channel

Lex Fridman Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Luis and Joao Batalha are co-founders of Fermat's Library. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

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EPISODE LINKS: Fermat's Library Twitter: https://twitter.com/fermatslibrary Luis's Twitter: https://twitter.com/luismbat Joao's Twitter: https://twitter.com/joao_batalha Fermat's Library Website: https://fermatslibrary.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 2:22 - Backstories to research papers 17:13 - Fermat's Library 37:14 - Scientific publishing 1:00:54 - How to read a paper 1:06:48 - Taking good notes 1:15:27 - Favorite papers on Fermat's Library 1:56:18 - Fermat's Library on Twitter 2:05:50 - What it takes to build a successful startup 2:14:46 - Game of Thrones 2:17:34 - Realism in science fiction movies 2:23:33 - Greatest soccer player of all time 2:46:22 - Advice for young people SOCIAL:

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• Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Lex Fridman

  host

• Luís Batalha

  guest

• João Batalha

  guest

• Narrator

  other

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Luís Batalha, Luís and João Batalha: Fermat's Library and the Art of Studying Papers | Lex Fridman Podcast #209 explores fermat’s Library, Backstories, And Reimagining How We Do Science Online Lex Fridman talks with Luís and João Batalha, co‑founders of Fermat’s Library, about how we read, share, and build on scientific papers. They argue that the human backstory behind breakthroughs—Feynman’s wobbling plate, Goodfellow’s bar‑room GANs idea, Perelman’s protest via arXiv—makes science both more memorable and more honest. A large part of the conversation critiques today’s journal/paywall/peer‑review ecosystem, exploring preprints, open annotation, crowd review, and how metrics like impact factor distort incentives. They also dive into how Fermat’s Library works, how to actually read and annotate papers, why math/physics are inherently “democratic,” and even use sports and Game of Thrones to illustrate scientific thinking.

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