Trust
I’ve always thought of the internet itself as the true AI, not just the underlying protocol, but everything layered on top: browsers, URLs, platforms, YC, feeds, LLMs, fiber, memes, tech employees, chips, Section 230, VCs, photolithography, the electrical grid, etc.—an avalanche of systems, infrastructure, and human effort expanding the horizon of computing.
Similarly, when learning about how biological systems work, rather than thinking in terms of individual cells, animals, or even species, I find it helpful to think of life as a single unbroken chain reaction that's been going on for 3.7 billion years—biosphere as organism.
And now, a book I love that you might too:
Trust by Hernan Diaz is an onion of a novel in which every chapter peels back a layer to reveal yet more beneath. Following the meteoric rise of a Wall Street financier in the early 20th century, the intricately plotted story will seduce you, transport you, stimulate you, mislead you, and, ultimately, move you.
Things worth sharing:
The work of writing a novel appears to be about executing a grand plan, when in fact it’s an act of discovery—you are constantly adjusting course, reevaluating everything, and figuring out what happens next—but no matter how many novels I write, I still expect the next one to be straightforward.
It was fun to see Bandwidth appear in Seth Godin’s gift guide and Foundry appear in Coleman McCormick’s best books of 2024.
David Whyte: “Poetry is not some abstracted art, it’s how human beings speak when they’re trying to create language against which there are no defenses.”
Stories are wild. You know they'll catch the killer in a mystery, the lovers will get together in a romance, and the hero will ultimately triumph in an adventure. You know what's going to happen next, and yet you can't wait to find out how it’ll happen.
Craig Mazin: “Living a joyous life is the best revenge.”
William Gibson, Idoru: “Laney had recently noticed that the only people who had titles that clearly describe their jobs had jobs he wouldn’t have wanted.”
Dinner parties are the default conversation venue, and they’re delightful, but walk-and-talks are so much better if you want to go deep.
My Old Ass is the best time travel movie—it handles the central conceit so deftly that all other time travel movies look clumsy by comparison.
ICYMI, here are the best books I read in 2024.
One of my favorite hobbies is saying nice things about people behind their backs.
Thanks for reading. We all find our next favorite book because someone we trust recommends it. So when you fall in love with a story, tell your friends. Culture is a collective project in which we all have a stake and a voice.
Best, Eliot
Eliot Peper is the author of Foundry, Reap3r, Veil, Breach, Borderless, Bandwidth, Neon Fever Dream, Cumulus, Exit Strategy, Power Play, and Version 1.0. He also works on special projects.
“This is the best kind of science fiction.”
-Kim Stanley Robinson on Veil