Conventional conferences with fixed speakers, tracks, and panels are like trains. To stimulate new practical thinking in emergent areas, a conference needs to be like a hot-air balloon: able to drift a little and explore while still being steerable in real-time. A hot-air balloon conference creates and maintains a space for productive uncertainty. I derive some learnings about this type of unconventional conference from a recent AI conference in Singapore.| uncertaintymindset.substack.com
Getting useful answers depends on asking good questions, and foundationality is a key criterion in determining whether a question is “good.” A question is more foundational when its answer affects more other questions. This is why breakthroughs are more likely when we spend the time and effort to figure out how to articulate a question in a way that is more foundational.| uncertaintymindset.substack.com