Difference between revisions of "24: Kai Lenny - To Play and Flirt with Giants"

Hello, this is Eric, I wanted to give a small note to say that today's episode fits into the general arc of the portal. As many of you know, I'm a critic about what is going on in academics and in science and in the economy. With respect to innovation, I feel that we're experiencing some kind of a very broad malaise and slowdown. On the other hand, whenever you allege that something is going generally environmentally wrong, is incumbent upon you to check that you aren't in fact, in the middle of a depressive or negative episode, one of the things that I like to do is to check and see where the bright spots what are the things that inspire me? Where do I see people actually pushing the envelope, making breakthroughs? If I can spot those, then I can realize that it's not me who's dead, but in fact, a memory of what is possible that is actually causing the frustration. And in these circumstances, I sometimes look very far afield to see where people are actually innovating. And one of the places that I see a tremendous amount of innovation right now is surfing. At some point out of the corner of my eye, one particular surfer caught my attention. His name was Kyle any and it wasn't as clear as it is now that he was onto something really special. As his skill has increased, he's been taking on larger and larger waves. And I don't know how to say this exactly, but playing with them. So before you watch today's episode, put in the name Chi, Lenny, k, l, e, and why, and maybe words like Jaws, or Nazeri and watch what he's doing. Because it's unlike anything I've ever seen. Every time I look at it, it looks more like art than surfing. He's effectively playing with some of the most frightening and dangerous waves in the world. And in some sense, it seems like a metaphor for where we are that with many forces that are potentially incredibly threatening. A small number of us have the courage and strength and discipline to instead of fretting and becoming enervated. We start playing with what the possibilities might be. Chi is experimenting in every technological dimension, every athletic dimension and I daresay every artistic dimension That you can imagine, his famous phrase is, I feel like we're just getting started. It's hard for me to believe that there's that much headroom given how close to the edge, it seems that he's always playing. But even though I know that he's taking his life making these videos for us and experiencing these waves, in the kind of perfect solitude that must accompany being inside a gigantic barrel, or falling down the face of what can only be called a liquid cliff, I know that Chi is actually serving something greater in the human spirit. And even though we can't necessarily be in the wave with him, through the magic of helicopters or GoPro videos, or any of the incredible technologies that we're now able to use to bring the experience closer to home. Kai is reacquainting ourselves with the sense of the possible what might lie within us, both as individuals and as a society. So I hope you'll see this in this light. I hope you'll take an interest in surfing whether you live in a landlocked country, or whether you're old and maybe even disabled. what he's doing is in fact to me, hugely inspiring and One of the places that I turn to when I start to feel extremely frustrated, so I feel hugely honored to be able to bring you Kyle any please take a look at his videos beforehand. And then once you understood what it is that we're all capable of through his efforts and antics, I think you'll find that this interview is much more enjoyable. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks.