Episode #255: The Soul of Silicon

In May 1997, George Gilder delivered "The Soul of Silicon" to the Vatican, at a conference arranged and coordinated by the Acton Institute.

Ron, who is a devotee of all of Gilder's writings, believes that this is one of the most profound pieces George has ever written. We discussed the entire speech during this episode.

• You can access The Soul of Silicon speech here.

• You can access the encyclical Rerum Novarum here.

• You can access the encyclical Centesimus Annus here.

Strap in for this episode! As follow up, George Gilder’s book, Men and Marriage, expands on the idea that parenthood is the ultimate entrepreneurial act, including many other topics. For an alternative perspective, Ayn Rand’s last public speech, The Age of Mediocrity, is where she criticizes Gilder’s defense of capitalism.

Bonus Show Updates

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Here are a few links from our bonus show this week. The show, all bonus links, and bonus material are available to our Patreon subscribers. Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

• New “Monopoly Socialism” game, as reported in PJ Media, August 22, 2019.

• “David Gilmour Sells His Guitars For A Record-Breaking $21.5 million For Climate Change,” July 9, 2019, The Hearty Soul.

Episode #254: Imagine the Audience in Their Underwear…Not! Public Speaking Skills

Would you like to be a better public speaker?

American journalist Roscoe Drummond said: “The mind is wonderful thing. It starts working the minute you’re born and never stops until you get up to speak in public.” Is it really true that people fear public speaking more than they fear death?

Here are Ron’s Rules for Better Public Speaking

1. Don’t pain the listener

2. Never talk down to your audience. Risk talking over their heads! That’s what makes the great books great, why they are constantly re-read: they are over our heads.

3. Intimately know your material

4. Don’t be afraid of repetition — the audience can’t go back and listen again

5. Q&A is your chance to learn — Otherwise you’ve learned nothing listening to yourself

6. You’ll never be able to please everyone — don’t cast pearls to swine. My brother Ken used to say: “One-third of the audience thinks you look like their Ex and will be pre-disposed not to like you no matter what you say.”

7. Don’t point at the audience

8. If there’s a stage, use it! It magnifies your presence.

9. It’s about them; not you — humility is your friend

 Ed’s Rules Are Equally As Important

1.  The only way to get better at public speaking is to speak in public

2. Connection before content

3. Begin with a story or quote. Actually, just begin with anything other than your name.

4. Be Bertolt Brecht

5. If you can, get introduced by someone else

6. Don't be afraid to take a chance

7. Steal from the best, but develop your own style

8. Use the stage, but don’t be afraid to get off at certain point

During this show, we discussed a few books that can help you as well. 

Simply Speaking [hardcover edition], Peggy Noonan, 1998, On Speaking Well [paperback edition]

From these books, there are three things to keep in mind about your speech:

• It doesn’t need to last longer than 20 minutes — because Ronald Reagan said so. The Gettysburg address and Sermon on the Mount were 3 minutes. The more important the message, the less time required to say it. The language of love is simple because it is big: It’s a boy; it’s over; he’s dead. 

            “For a speech to be immortal it need not be interminable” 

• Yes, you should write out the text

• Humor is essential

Peggy says most important component is logic when you look at Ethos, Pathos, and Logos:

• Ethos—a person’s character (honesty, goodwill, etc.)

• Pathos—arousing the passions of listeners, emotions

• Logos—marshaling of reason

Where there is no substance, style will perish; you can’t be eloquent about nothing. Coco Chanel used to say if a women walks into a room and people say “What a dress!” she failed. She wants folks to say, “Oh, you look fabulous.” That’s success. After your speech, you want people to say, “She’s very intelligent, and made some interesting points.” Not, “Oh, what an interesting speech.”

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How to Speak, How to Listen, Mortimer J. Adler, 1983

In this book we learn that reading and writing can be solitary and are easier to teach than speaking and listening, which are social. Technically, you can’t give a “talk” but you can have one. You can only deliver a speech with an audience. Listening, like reading, is an activity of the mind, not the ear or eye. If the mind is not engaged, you are hearing, not listening.

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Strictly Speaking, Reid Buckley, 1999

This author is William F. Buckley’s younger brother who passed away in 2014. He ran The Buckley School of Public Speaking in Camden, SC. The premise of the book is that, crudely stated, public speaking = persuasion = selling.

Episode #253: Rory-Rider Friday

Once again, unfortunately, Rory didn’t make it on the show this week, so Ed and Ron improvised with a “Rory-Rider Friday.” Rory did make it onto our bonus episode, so if you’re a Patreon subscriber to TSOE you’ll get over one hour of Rory discussing his new book, Alchemy, and much more.

Here are the topics we discussed on Rory-Rider Friday.

Ed’s Topics…

• Ed’s been playing the board game, Power Grid, available at Amazon.

• Frank Beard (Half Size Me Podcast) spent 30 days eating nothing but gas station food, lost weight, and ate healthy. Read about it here.

• Jennifer Warawa announced this week she is leaving Sage.

• Read The Wall Street Journal article on Father Robert Sirico from August 3, 2019. You can access through the WSJ (paywall). As an alternative to the WSJ paywall, you can you can read the article via the Acton Institute in exchange for an email address.

Ron’s Topics…

• TSOE listener Geir from Norway sent us an annual subscription offering from Circle K for hot beverages, all you want, for NOK 299, cup included (USD $30). When will Starbucks offer something similar?

• Elon Musk explains how Tesla’s competitors make many cars with “no soul.” Bob Lutz, former GM Vice Chairman, made the same case in his book, Car Guys vs. Bean Counters. Read Ron’s review of this book here.

• “Reflections of a business guru,” The Economist, July 27, 2019, Bartleby’s interview with Charles Handy discussing the curse of efficiency.

• Happy 89th Birthday, Dr. Thomas Sowell, who appeared on Episode #25. Read Mark J. Perry’s tribute to Dr. Sowell along with some of his favorite quotes here.

Episode #252: On Rory Sutherland's Book - Alchemy

Unfortunately, Rory didn’t make it on the show this week, so Ed and Ron discussed his latest book: Alchemy. The discussion was centered around Rory’s (eleven) Rules of Alchemy.

Rory’s Rules of Alchemy

1. The opposite of a good idea can also be a  good idea.

2. Don’t design for average.

3. It doesn’t pay to be logical if everyone else is being logical.

4. The nature of our attention affects the nature of our experience.

5. A flower is simply a weed with an advertising budget.

6. The problem with logic is that it kills off magic.

7. A good guess which stands up to observation is still science. So is a lucky accident.

8. Test counterintuitive things only because no one else will.

9. Solving problems using rationality is like playing golf with only one club.

10. Dare to be trivial.

11. If there were a logical answer, we would have found it.

We are working on rescheduling Rory—stay tuned!