Why Your Morning Coffee Isn't Working (unless you are Marc Andreessen)
Most “energy” comes from blocking adenosine with caffeine. That lifts alertness but can spike cortisol and crash later. Pairing caffeine with L-theanine promotes alpha-wave activity and smoother stimulation. Using tea-based sources like matcha slows uptake and reduces jitters for steadier focus.
Layering nootropics can target different bottlenecks:
Citicoline supports acetylcholine for attention
Bacopa may aid memory consolidation over weeks
Lion’s mane shows early evidence for nerve-growth support
Adaptogens like rhodiola and cordyceps help maintain performance under stress without pushing the nervous system into overdrive
Rounding out the stack, anti-inflammatories and antioxidants (e.g., turmeric, vitamin C) address oxidative stress, while B-vitamins back cellular energy metabolism.
The best ready-made formulation I've found which achieves this and more is Magic Mind, it combines matcha + L-theanine with nootropics, adaptogens, and essentials in a small mental performance daily shot - scientifically designed to make your mind sharper, while helping reduce stress.
From Pittsburgh’s public housing projects to the boxing ring and the bookshelf, Ed Latimore’s life story defies every expectation. Promoting his new book, "Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business: Boxing and the Art of Life," Ed Latimore sits down with Rob Henderson to discuss the cruel nature of being born into an unforgiving environment and how to overcome childhood setbacks
Turns out the typical gratitude stuff, like making lists of what you're grateful for, doesn't really move the needle. In this episode, Huberman gets into the actual science behind gratitude. He breaks down how gratitude lights up certain parts of your brain that help with feeling calm, connecting with people, and staying motivated (it also dials down anxiety and inflammation). Plus, he gives you a simple weekly practice that actually works and that'll help with your mental and physical health
Amjad Masad is the founder and CEO of Replit, a cloud-based coding platform that enables anyone to build software through AI-powered development tools. He joins Marc Andreessen to discuss AI agents that can plan, reason, and code autonomously. They also explain how RL unlocked reasoning in modern models, why verification loops changed everything, whether LLMs are hitting diminishing returns, and if ‘good enough’ AI might block progress toward AGI
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Environment Is Everything Growing Up: “It’s one of the cruelest jokes nature has played on us. The two things that have the biggest outcome on our future are family and neighborhood, and we don’t get any say in that… Zip code isn’t destiny, but it’s as strong as gravity.”– Ed Latimore
Ed was part of an IQ tracking study where he saw a notable increase in IQ when he was...
Agency Follows a Normal Distribution Where All Possibilities Exist, But...
Even with high agency, living in a bad environment can still...
Boxing for Taught Him How to...“Boxing forces you to...” – Ed Latimore
Using platforms like ... anyone can describe an app in plain English, and AI will build it
Agents maintain coherence through verification loops that allow them to check their work and course-correct in real-time
The Definition of AI Is Always the Next Thing That the Machine Can’t Do; AI scientists are always being judged against the next thing, as opposed to all the things they have already accomplished
We May Be Hitting Diminishing Returns With Frontier Models...
GPT-5 showed improvements in verifiable domains, but didn’t...
Top models excel at synthesizing information but struggle with...
“Functional AGI” May Block True AGI: AI that’s “good enough” to automate most economically useful tasks could reduce...
“Worse is Better” is a famous 1991 essay by Richard Gabriel arguing that simple, imperfect software that works and ships quickly often wins over complex, theoretically superior designs
The core idea: it’s better to release something that’s 90% correct and easy to use/implement than to pursue perfection
The simpler solution spreads faster, gets real-world feedback, and iterates toward improvement, while the “perfect” solution is still being developed
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A Guiding Principle to a Creative Life: “Aristotle’s definition of happiness was a devotion of all of one’s energies along the lines of excellence.” – Frank Miller
Frank Uses: Blackwing graphite pencils, white paint, India black ink, liquid frisket, erasers, and sable brushes
Jack Kirby Was Like the D.W. Griffith of Comics; he ripped the camera off the floor (before D.W. Griffith, cameras would be mounted on a tripod on the floor)
He would use two pages for a single image
“For a kid like me, it was mind-expanding.”
“Start your story as late into the action as possible. End it as early into the action as possible.” – Frank Miller
Europe Knocked Everybody’s Socks Off
When Marvel started publishing Moebius, the floodgates opened
“Moebius obviously was a tidal wave that swept through culture.”
Moebius is up there with Jack Kirby as one of those people who will be discussed like Beethoven and Mahler
When Do You Know if Something Is Working? Whether you want to get out of bed and do it or not
Hollywood Lessons: the most important thing is working with the right people
Advice for Aspiring Comic Artists:
Story, story, story is the main advice
Pick up Scott McCloud’s book on Understanding Comics and see how he breaks down how comics work
Pick up Syd Field’s book on screenplay and get a good sense for a simple approach to three-act storytelling
You’ll use it for a year or two, then you won’t be using it anymore, but it gets you somewhere
Learn how to draw: Neal Adams gave great advice to go buy toy cars so you can learn how to draw cars correctly
“Of all the things I value most about my abilities, intelligence is not at the top of that list. My ability to ensure pain and suffering, my ability to work on something for a very, very long period of time, my ability to handle setbacks and see the opportunity just around the corner, I consider them to be my superpowers, and I hope they’re yours.” – Jensen Huang
The Top 5 Email concept: Huang asks employees to send him their personal “top 5” list – the five most important things on their mind about the company, whether problems, opportunities, or ideas
Direct access – Employees can email the CEO directly, bypassing their managers and the usual hierarchy
No filter required – The format encourages honesty since people share what’s actually on their mind, not what they think leadership wants to hear
Personal priorities – By asking for their top 5 (not the company’s), employees reveal what they really care about and what’s bothering them
Simple format – A numbered list of 5 things is easy to write and quick to read, lowering the barrier to participation
Huang actually reads them – He’s known for personally reviewing these emails and often responding, which encourages authentic feedback since employees see their input matters
Direct and Blunt Communication Is Best
His emails are short and sweet like a haiku
Napoleon was the same: “Long orders which require much time to prepare, read, and understand are the enemies of speed.”
Steve Jobs was always easy to understand; he would either approve a demo or request to see something different next time
Get your point across and make it memorable in four sentences
LUA!
Understanding LUA
L – Listen to the question
U – Understand the question
A – Answer the question
Jensen shouts ‘LUA” when an employee starts to ramble
When a person and his ideas are easy to understand, his ideas are easy to spread
The best founders tend to be excellent storytellers