Legendary Inventor Danny Hillis — Solving the Impossible (Plus Kevin Kelly)

Danny Hillis is an inventor, scientist, author, and engineer. While completing his doctorate at MIT, he pioneered the parallel computers that are the basis for the processors used for AI and most high-performance computer chips. He is now a founding partner with Applied Invention, working on new ideas in cybersecurity, medicine, and agriculture. Kevin Kelly is the founding executive editor of WIRED magazine, the former editor and publisher of the Whole Earth Review, and a bestselling author of books on technology and culture, including Excellent Advice for Living. Subscribe to Kevin’s newsletter, Recomendo, at recomendo.com. This episode is brought to you by: Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: https://eightsleep.com/tim (save between $400 and $600 on the Pod 4 Ultra) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [00:00] Start [00:56] How Danny and Kevin first met through Stewart Brand. [03:09] The funniest person who ever opened Danny's interview box of unusual objects. [07:17] Danny's transition to Disney as a Disney Fellow and Vice President of Imagineering. [12:47] The contrast between engineering and artistic approaches to problem-solving. [22:51] The development of parallel computing and founding Thinking Machines. [31:47] The three criteria by which projects are chosen at Applied Invention. [34:06] Zero-trust packet routing (ZPR) and the future of cybersecurity. [40:37] Learning by "hanging out" with experts like Seymour Papert, Marvin Minsky, and Richard Feynman. [53:37] Danny's work in biotechnology and cancer research with David Agus. [01:02:16] Staying sustainable with systems-oriented thinking in agriculture — as nature intended. [01:11:16] Danny's superpower. [01:12:53] Homeschooling, education on the move, and the influence of Mrs. Wilner. [01:17:26] The failure of Thinking Machines and other regrets/surprises. [01:21:35] The "Entanglement" that blurs natural and technological boundaries. [01:26:39] The current state of AI versus true intelligence. [01:30:36] How AI may help humanity better understand its place on the intelligence spectrum. [01:35:58] What the future looks like to a short-term pessimist/long-term optimist. [01:47:18] The cone of silence we never heard from again. [01:49:58] Debugging dementia and other diseases. [01:55:13] The MRI alternative Danny's tackling. [01:58:03] Why don't we have a freezer version of the consumer microwave oven? [01:58:34] Danny's place in pinch-to-zoom iPhone innovation history. [02:02:22] The pros and cons of patents for inventors and society. [02:05:28] Inventors Danny finds inspiring. [02:07:37] Danny's cause-and-effect heresy. [02:12:32] Quantum computing and its implications. [02:16:33] The scientific pursuit of understanding consciousness. [02:21:23] The question Danny asks himself before investing time in a project. [02:23:56] Danny's 10,000-year billboard. [02:28:31] Parting thoughts.

Tim FerrisshostDanny HillisguestKevin Kellyguest

Dec 12, 20242h 29mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: December 12, 2024
Duration: 2h 29m
Channel: Tim Ferriss
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Danny Hillis is an inventor, scientist, author, and engineer. While completing his doctorate at MIT, he pioneered the parallel computers that are the basis for the processors used for AI and most high-performance computer chips. He is now a founding partner with Applied Invention, working on new ideas in cybersecurity, medicine, and agriculture. Kevin Kelly is the founding executive editor of WIRED magazine, the former editor and publisher of the Whole Earth Review, and a bestselling author of books on technology and culture, including Excellent Advice for Living. Subscribe to Kevin’s newsletter, Recomendo, at recomendo.com. This episode is brought to you by: Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: https://eightsleep.com/tim (save between $400 and $600 on the Pod 4 Ultra) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Follow the Tim Ferriss Podcast: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss Blog: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [00:00] Start [00:56] How Danny and Kevin first met through Stewart Brand. [03:09] The funniest person who ever opened Danny's interview box of unusual objects. [07:17] Danny's transition to Disney as a Disney Fellow and Vice President of Imagineering. [12:47] The contrast between engineering and artistic approaches to problem-solving. [22:51] The development of parallel computing and founding Thinking Machines. [31:47] The three criteria by which projects are chosen at Applied Invention. [34:06] Zero-trust packet routing (ZPR) and the future of cybersecurity. [40:37] Learning by "hanging out" with experts like Seymour Papert, Marvin Minsky, and Richard Feynman. [53:37] Danny's work in biotechnology and cancer research with David Agus. [01:02:16] Staying sustainable with systems-oriented thinking in agriculture — as nature intended. [01:11:16] Danny's superpower. [01:12:53] Homeschooling, education on the move, and the influence of Mrs. Wilner. [01:17:26] The failure of Thinking Machines and other regrets/surprises. [01:21:35] The "Entanglement" that blurs natural and technological boundaries. [01:26:39] The current state of AI versus true intelligence. [01:30:36] How AI may help humanity better understand its place on the intelligence spectrum. [01:35:58] What the future looks like to a short-term pessimist/long-term optimist. [01:47:18] The cone of silence we never heard from again. [01:49:58] Debugging dementia and other diseases. [01:55:13] The MRI alternative Danny's tackling. [01:58:03] Why don't we have a freezer version of the consumer microwave oven? [01:58:34] Danny's place in pinch-to-zoom iPhone innovation history. [02:02:22] The pros and cons of patents for inventors and society. [02:05:28] Inventors Danny finds inspiring. [02:07:37] Danny's cause-and-effect heresy. [02:12:32] Quantum computing and its implications. [02:16:33] The scientific pursuit of understanding consciousness. [02:21:23] The question Danny asks himself before investing time in a project. [02:23:56] Danny's 10,000-year billboard. [02:28:31] Parting thoughts.

SPEAKERS

Tim Ferriss
host
Podcast host and author/interviewer known for long-form conversations on performance, technology, and learning.
Danny Hillis
guest
Inventor and computer scientist known for parallel computing (Thinking Machines) and long-term projects like the 10,000-year clock.
Kevin Kelly
guest
Technology writer and founding executive editor of WIRED focused on long-term thinking and the future of technology.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Tim Ferriss, featuring Tim Ferriss and Danny Hillis, Legendary Inventor Danny Hillis — Solving the Impossible (Plus Kevin Kelly) explores danny Hillis on invention: story-driven systems, AI, and long-term thinking Danny Hillis describes a career pattern of spotting when “preconditions” for invention are ready and then assembling cross-disciplinary pieces—illustrated by parallel computing, cybersecurity protocols, and biotechnology work.

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