Apr 28, 2024

Going Infinite By Michael Lewis - SBF/FTX

The author, Michael Lewis, had the front row seat of how SBF, FTX and Alameda Research came about and how it all went down. 

This book is like a shorter version of what really happened. There could easily be a second part to this book.

It is indeed fascinating to understand how someone went from Zero to Billions of dollars within a few short years. And back to Zero. 

The book goes into the details of cryptos, exchanges, securities, etc., but explaining in a layman kind of a way. It also goes into high frequency trading and various trading firms that one usually doesn't hear about in the headlines. 

The author starts spending time with Sam Bankman-Fried and company way before it all went down. He could not have predicted how it all will turn out, but if you know his other works, this is in Michael Lewis' forte. 

This may not be his best work but comparison to his previous works is also not fair. There are so many things in this book that were interesting to learn. 

The author does a good job of indicating if he witnessed something first hand or if it was narrated by someone. I don't think anyone really knew how so much money came about and where it all went. If you are following the news, they are still figuring it out. Some part of the book are really unbelievable, on how many celebrities and investment firms fell for SBF. 

It is an easy and a fast read.




Apr 6, 2024

Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson - my fastest read

This book is written in such a style that it moves fast, small sub-chapters, each chapter focused on a topic from people to companies to technology to family to everything.

This blog post is just a few highlights from the book that I enjoyed and want to capture for eternity.


I will let everyone come to their own conclusions about his personality.

My fascination is for the products, companies and brands he has built. The book obviously is a non-fiction but reads like a fiction. Isaacson had a front-row seat to unfiltered information and interviews from almost anyone who had access to Elon, present and past, including Elon.

Elon doesn't sleep much, doesn't give importance to material things for himself, works seven days a week and amps things up to get things done or pushes things faster. His life reminded me of the movie 'Everything Everywhere All At Once". He creates multiple unique and disruptive companies, he has many relationships, many kids, makes decisions fast, and there is a huge part of his personal habits, behaviors, family, friends, and more. 

A few things I made note of, which can be applied to any industry, any business and any product. are below.

First Principles Approach:

The first principles approach, also known as "reasoning from first principles", is a method of problem-solving that involves breaking down complex issues into their most basic parts, and then creating new solutions from scratch. The idea is to ground yourself in the foundational truths and build up from there. 

This is his secret to his companies including SpaceX, Tesla, etc. 

Musk's Rules for Rocket Building:

  1. Question every cost
  2. Have a maniacal sense of urgency
  3. Learn by failing
  4. Improvise
Elon's Algorithm:
  1. Question every requirement
  2. Delete any part or process you can
  3. Simplify and optimize 
  4. Accelerate cycle time
  5. Automate 

Idiot Index:

How much more costly a finished product was than the cost of its basic materials. If the product had a high idiot index, its cost could be reduced significantly by devising more efficient manufacturing techniques. 

Yes, I was seated next to a "door plug"




Going Infinite By Michael Lewis - SBF/FTX

The author, Michael Lewis, had the front row seat of how SBF, FTX and Alameda Research came about and how it all went down.  This book is li...