VP#103 — First Session of Build Club
Build Club 1 — Making Games in the Browser
I’m excited to welcome Nikhilesh Sigatapu as the first guest of Build Club. He’s one of the most interesting builders I know and is always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
Join us next Thursday at 4pm PT / 7pm ET for a 30-40 minute presentation and hanging out afterwards.
Life in New York
Life has been good in New York! Last night I realized I hadn’t eaten dinner so I went to a nearby deli and grabbed a sandwich… at 1am.
I’m also getting tons of opportunities to meet people in person which is really refreshing. The above photo was taken by the kind Eugene Wei who spent time with me talking about the next internet over tapas and beers.
Luma Community Preview
At Luma, we’ve helped creators run events, send newsletters, and build a personal websites. As part of that evolution, we’re now building a space where you can bring people together.
We’ve been talking to Eugene a lot about “self-describing UIs” so instead of explaining what a Luma community is — I’ll share a screenshot of our internal community.
The hosts in our beta program are using it to teach online classes, run alumni groups, and host professional networks.
If you’re interested in learning more or getting into the beta, reply to this email or join our beta tester community. 😎
Elephant in the Brain — Review
Over the past month, I’ve read The Elephant in the Brain by Robin Hanson and Kevin Simler. The book argues that we have two types of motives — stated motives and hidden motives.
Take an example like giving to charity. The stated motive is that we want to help people and we are a good person. But the hidden motive is that we want to appear kind to others who are considering choosing us as a friend or ally.
The book explores how this type of signaling explains many different types of human behavior. While social signaling isn’t a new idea, the book makes compelling arguments that give explanations for artists, religious martyrs, and press spokespeople.
It’s worth a read if you’d like to have a more mechanistic understanding of human psychology.