Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

• Space Elevator – Neil.Fun. “Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m trying to take a break from dystopian things. So why does this site have text like ‘This is the Armstrong limit – above this altitude your saliva and tears will boil if you don’t have a pressure suit’? Because it’s a space elevator visualizer. One of the great things about the Internet is how well it helps us understand ideas (like the 3D flood warnings from the Weather Channel. This isn’t quite the same, but it caught my interest because a friend of mine once ran an X Prize for the Space Elevator, and went to great pains to explain that the kinds of meta-material we’d need for a tether must be impossibly strong, but incredibly light – since almost all the force it has to withstand is its own weight. Also, I did not know that someone jumped from 30km wearing only a duct-taped pressure suit.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• Natural Language Playlist. “Describe your music, get a Spotify playlist. I tried ‘Bass-heavy music with incredible bass that’s not rock or funk’, and it gave me this playlist. Mitch, after all my complaints about AI, here’s something you can probably enjoy for a change.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• Ninety-five Theses On AI – Samuel Hammond – Second Best. “Economist Sam Hammond believes that AI is going to be equivalent to the printing press, or photosynthesis. Lest we get too happy about either, remember that the printing press ushered in not just an unprecedented period of knowledge dissemination, but also roughly 200 years of conflict, wars and chaos in Europe. Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-five Theses that upended the Catholic Church’s control of society (spiritual and political). Hammond has 95 thought-provoking theses about AI, and believes, largely, that things are going to get real.” (Hugh for Alistair). 
• In Tests, OpenAI’s New Model Lied And Schemed To Avoid Being Shut Down – Frank Landymore – Futurism. “Nothing to see here. Move along, human.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• What’s The Best Micro Work Setup For iPad Mini? – That Mark Gilroy – YouTube. “In 2010, Apple launched the iPad. My first thought (and this earworm still speaks) was, ‘it’s just a big iPhone… do I need this?’ My work ‘really’ happens on my MacBook Pro, and I have an iPhone… how would the iPad figure into my life? Well, 14 years later, and I will readily admit that every few years I get sucked into buying an iPad with the idea that it will be great for reading, watching videos, and consuming content. And, if I am to be honest, after a few weeks of playing with it, they would just collect dust. I just couldn’t figure out a place for it in my work/play. Especially because I am on the go (the iPad was like carrying around a second laptop). If you had asked me about the iPad Mini, I would have been even more negative about it (really… my iPhone can handle it… it’s a waste). Well, I’m here to tell you that I picked up a new iPad Mini several months back, and it may well be the best piece of technology that I have ever purchased. The form factor is perfect for reading (ebooks, newspapers, magazines, etc…), it’s great for note-taking, YouTube, podcasts, emails, browsing, and more. It’s light enough that I don’t ‘feel it’ when I travel and, most importantly, it has made my life so much better… truly. A few key learnings: When I travel, I find that my laptop’s sole use is for onstage presentations (and that’s about it), for flights, the beach, hanging out at a café/library, it really is the perfect form factor (now my Kindle is collecting dust). I was so wrong about this tech. I’m probably going to have to write an article all about the tools, apps, and productivity it has brought into my life (and made everything so much more pleasurable). ’Tis the season, so treat yourself and get an iPad Mini… it really has replaced almost every aspect of my laptop and smartphone…” (Mitch for Alistair).
• Phil Collins: Drummer First – Official Trailer -Drumeo – YouTube. “One, this is going to be an incredible documentary about Phil Collins and I can’t wait to watch it. Two, this isn’t some big studio or streaming service producing it… this is brought to us by Drumeo (and online platform to learn how to play drums – and if you have not checked out their awesome drummer challenges on YouTube, you really should!). Three, Check out the quality and think about how brands (like Drumeo) are now creating content that rivals the big studios and streaming services. Four, reflect on how we discussed (almost twenty years ago) the possibility that brands could be publishers and that ‘content is media’ long before anyone believed us. Five, reflect deeper on how some of the better podcasts that are coming out are, essentially, TV shows… and how powerful this is. Great production, great quality, finding content that suits an audience, and bringing it all to life in a powerful way. Wow…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.