Movies from Balaji Srinivasan

Revenge of the Nerds

At Adams College, the jocks rule the school from their house on high, the Alpha Beta fraternity. So when a group of socially-challenged misfits try to go Greek, they're instantly rejected by every house on campus. Deciding to start their own fraternity to protect their outcast brothers, the campus nerds soon find themselves in a battle royale as the Alpha Betas try to crush their new rivals.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
There are movies where the powerful are good (Superman), where the powerful are bad (Erin Brockovich), and where the weak are good (Revenge of the Nerds), but relatively few where the weak are bad.
Movies from Balaji Srinivasan

Erin Brockovich

A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
There are movies where the powerful are good (Superman), where the powerful are bad (Erin Brockovich).
Movies from Balaji Srinivasan

Superman

Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
There are movies where the powerful are good (Superman), where the powerful are bad (Erin Brockovich).
Movies recommended by Balaji Srinivasan
3 movies

Balaji Srinivasan Dark Movies - 3 Recommendations

Here is a list of Balaji Srinivasan dark movies recommendations.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Here is a list of Balaji Srinivasan dark movies recommendations.
Movies from Balaji Srinivasan

The Great Gatsby

An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
By contrast, a two minute trailer for the Great Gatsby movie feels like it delivers more than 0% of the entertainment value.
Movies from Balaji Srinivasan

Surrogates

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
There is a decent sci-fi movie on this called Surrogates. Dystopian like much contemporary Western “Black Mirror” culture, but still worth looking at if you’re interested in this area.
Movies from Balaji Srinivasan

Her

In the not so distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every needs. To Theodore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
With video games, virtual influencers, social networks, remote work, and augmented reality, it feels likely that something similar to the movie Her.
Movies from Balaji Srinivasan

Black Panther

King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T'Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia, the queen-mother, his princess-kid sister, members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan 'special forces') and an American secret agent, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Black Panther was similarly interesting visually; on one level it was just another American superhero movie, but on another level it was a vision of a post-American Afro-Futurism.
Movies from Balaji Srinivasan

Contagion

As an epidemic of a lethal airborne virus - that kills within days - rapidly grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Compare COVID to the movie Contagion. In the movie, the state is quietly competent in response to a deadly threat. In reality, quite the opposite.
Movies recommended by Balaji Srinivasan
5 movies

TOP-5 Balaji Srinivasan's Favorite Movies

Here is a list of Balaji Srinivasan's favorite movies. Enjoy the list!
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Here is a list of Balaji Srinivasan's favorite movies. Enjoy the list!
Books from Balaji Srinivasan

The Manga Guide to Electricity

Rereko is just your average high-school girl from Electopia, the land of electricity, but she's totally failed her final electricity exam! Now she has to go to summer school on Earth. And this time, she has to pass.Luckily, her ever-patient tutor Hikaru is there to help. Join them in the pages of The Manga Guide to Electricity as Rereko examines everyday electrical devices like flashlights, heaters, and circuit breakers, and learns the meaning of abstract concepts like voltage, potential, current, resistance, conductivity, and electrostatic force.The real-world examples that you'll find in The Manga Guide to Electricity will teach you:–What electricity is, how it works, how it's created, and how it can be used–The relationship between voltage, current, and resistance (Ohm's law)–Key electrical concepts like inductance and capacitance–How complicated components like transformers, semiconductors, diodes, and transistors work–How electricity produces heat and the relationship between current and magnetic fieldsIf thinking about how electricity works really fries your brain, let The Manga Guide to Electricity teach you all things electrical in a shockingly fun way.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
There is a set of Japanese comic books that explains many technical concepts at an undergraduate level, with illustrations. It’s called the “Manga Guide” series and it is surprisingly good.
Books from Balaji Srinivasan

The Manga Guide to Physics

Megumi is an all-star athlete, but she's a failure when it comes to physics class. And she can't concentrate on her tennis matches when she's worried about the questions she missed on the big test! Luckily for her, she befriends Ryota, a patient physics geek who uses real-world examples to help her understand classical mechanics—and improve her tennis game in the process!In The Manga Guide to Physics, you'll follow alongside Megumi as she learns about the physics of everyday objects like roller skates, slingshots, braking cars, and tennis serves. In no time, you'll master tough concepts like momentum and impulse, parabolic motion, and the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration.You'll also learn how to:–Apply Newton's three laws of motion to real-life problems–Determine how objects will move after a collision–Draw vector diagrams and simplify complex problems using trigonometry–Calculate how an object's kinetic energy changes as its potential energy increasesIf you're mystified by the basics of physics or you just need a refresher, The Manga Guide to Physics will get you up to speed in a lively, quirky, and practical way.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
There is a set of Japanese comic books that explains many technical concepts at an undergraduate level, with illustrations. It’s called the “Manga Guide” series and it is surprisingly good.
Books recommended by Balaji Srinivasan
18 books

Balaji Srinivasan Book Recommendations - 18 Picks

Here is a list of Balaji Srinivasan's favorite books. Enjoy the list!
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Here is a list of Balaji Srinivasan's favorite books. Enjoy the list!
Books from Balaji Srinivasan

American Default

The untold story of how FDR did the unthinkable to save the American economy.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
90 years ago, the US government responded to a series of bank runs by shutting down banks, defaulting on bonds, breaking contracts, centralizing control, seizing gold, and crashing the economy into the ground until the start of a new world war.
Books from Balaji Srinivasan

Jurassic Park

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Timeline, Sphere, and Congo, this is the classic thriller of science run amok that took the world by storm.Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read“[Michael] Crichton’s dinosaurs are genuinely frightening.”—Chicago Sun-TimesAn astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price. Until something goes wrong. . . . In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps all his mesmerizing talent and scientific brilliance to create his most electrifying technothriller.Praise for Jurassic Park “Wonderful . . . powerful.”—The Washington Post Book World“Frighteningly real . . . compelling . . . It’ll keep you riveted.”—The Detroit News “Full of suspense.”—The New York Times Book Review
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
You're right, thanks. I misremembered the book version as the movie version. But I think the point stands. "In the book Henry Wu filled the gaps in the DNA by inserting the DNA from either bird, lizard, or frog DNA. In the movie, only frog DNA is used."
Books from Balaji Srinivasan

The Kill Chain

For generations of Americans, our country has been the world's dominant military power. How the US military fights, and the systems and weapons that it fights with, have been uncontested. That old reality, however, is rapidly deteriorating. America's traditional sources of power are eroding amid the emergence of new technologies and the growing military threat posed by rivals such as China. America is at grave risk of losing a future war.As Christian Brose reveals in this urgent wake-up call, the future will be defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and other emerging technologies that are revolutionizing global industries and are now poised to overturn the model of American defense. This fascinating, if disturbing, book confronts the existential risks on the horizon, charting a way for America's military to adapt and succeed with new thinking as well as new technology. America must build a battle network of systems that enables people to rapidly understand threats, make decisions, and take military actions, the process known as "the kill chain." Examining threats from China, Russia, and elsewhere, The Kill Chain offers hope and, ultimately, insights on how America can apply advanced technologies to prevent war, deter aggression, and maintain peace.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
"The US military has a perfect record in its war games with China. China has won every round." - Balaji Srinivasan
Books from Balaji Srinivasan

Netflixed

Netflix has come a long way since 1997, when two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Marc Ran­dolph and Reed Hastings, decided to start an online DVD store before most people owned a DVD player. They were surprised and elated when launch-day traffic in April 1998 crashed their server and resulted in 150 sales. Today, Netflix has more than 25 million subscribers and annual revenues above $3 billion. Yet long- term success-or even survival-is still far from guaranteed. Journalist Gina Keating recounts the absorbing, fast-paced drama of the company's turbulent rise to the top and its attempt to invent two new kinds of business. First it engaged in a grueling war against video-store behemoth Blockbuster, transforming movie rental forever. Then it jumped into an even bigger battle for online video streaming against Google, Hulu, Amazon, and the big cable companies. Netflix ushered in such innovations as DVD rental by mail, a patented online queue of upcom­ing rentals, and a recommendation algorithm called Cinematch that proved crucial in its struggle against bigger rivals. Yet for all its success, Netflix is still a polariz­ing company. Hastings is often heralded as a visionary-he was named Business Person of the Year in 2010 by Fortune-even as he has been called the nation's worst CEO. Netflix also faces disgruntled customers after price increases and other stumbles that could tarnish the brand forever. The quest to become the world's portal for pre­mium video on demand will determine nothing less than the future of entertainment and the Internet. Drawing on extensive new interviews and her years covering Netflix as a financial and entertainment reporter, Keating makes this tale as absorbing as it is important.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
What actually happened: Blockbuster tried to buy Hollywood Video, but the FTC called this off on antitrust (!) grounds. By 2010 Blockbuster was bankrupt and Netflix was soaring. In retrospect, state action was completely rearward looking and unnecessary.
Books from Balaji Srinivasan

Virtual Economies

How the basic concepts of economics—including markets, institutions, and money—can be used to create and analyze economies based on virtual goods.In the twenty-first-century digital world, virtual goods are sold for real money. Digital game players happily pay for avatars, power-ups, and other game items. But behind every virtual sale, there is a virtual economy, simple or complex. In this book, Vili Lehdonvirta and Edward Castronova introduce the basic concepts of economics into the game developer's and game designer's toolkits. Lehdonvirta and Castronova explain how the fundamentals of economics—markets, institutions, and money—can be used to create or analyze economies based on artificially scarce virtual goods. They focus on virtual economies in digital games, but also touch on serious digital currencies such as Bitcoin as well as virtual economies that emerge in social media around points, likes, and followers. The theoretical emphasis is on elementary microeconomic theory, with some discussion of behavioral economics, macroeconomics, sociology of consumption, and other social science theories relevant to economic behavior.Topics include the rational choice model of economic decision making; information goods versus virtual goods; supply, demand, and market equilibrium; monopoly power; setting prices; and externalities. The book will enable developers and designers to create and maintain successful virtual economies, introduce social scientists and policy makers to the power of virtual economies, and provide a useful guide to economic fundamentals for students in other disciplines.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
A good read for crypto people.
Books from Balaji Srinivasan

Start-up Nation

What the world can learn from Israel's meteoric economic success. Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel -- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources-- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK? With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality-- all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to re-create the "Israel effect", there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting. As America reboots its own economy and can-do spirit, there's never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues.
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
I love @dansenor's book! But I think we are going to see this trend accelerate. Just like there were Palm Pilots in 2000, but iPhones were bigger in 2010 and huge in 2020.
Videos from Balaji Srinivasan

Coming Credit Crunch Will Depress Bank Credit, Say Veteran Bankers

Coming Credit Crunch Will Depress Bank Credit, Say Veteran Bankers
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
This entire series by @JackFarley96 called @ForwardGuidance is worth watching. It’s a series of long-form interviews with smart, reasonable, well-placed people in the financial system — in the midst of historical events.
Videos from Balaji Srinivasan

Deus Ex: The Eyeborg Documentary

Deus Ex: The Eyeborg Documentary
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Short film on transhumanism. Still good, ten years later.
Videos from Balaji Srinivasan

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Watch this again. Then substitute the cartoons with real assets going to zero and real people in conflict.
Articles from Balaji Srinivasan

Trading the metagame

Trading the metagame
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Cobie is v smart. Let us praise Cobie in his comments. I enjoy reading his writing as he comes at it from a totally different headspace. I'm not an active trader at all, much more a seed investor. So this was good to understand other market participants.
Websites from Balaji Srinivasan

Welcome to the Jungle

Welcome to the Jungle
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
This whole series of articles is some of the best tech journalism I’ve ever seen. Because it’s not all gossip columns and funding rounds. The reader actually learns something.
Websites recommended by Balaji Srinivasan
3 websites

Balaji Srinivasan's Favorite Sites for Learning New Things

Here is a list of Balaji Srinivasan's favorite sites for learning new things. Enjoy the list!
Balaji Srinivasan
Entrepreneur
Here is a list of Balaji Srinivasan's favorite sites for learning new things. Enjoy the list!