Simone Giertz: Queen of Sh*tty Robots, Innovative Engineering, and Design | Lex Fridman Podcast #372

It's the machine it was my friend Daniel Beauchamp and I we had this long-running Joke about a proud parent machine that You could give a quarter and a passcode On the shoulder says proud of you yeah Um so yeah I still have that hanging on My wall in my workshop so that one I'm I'm really happy with I just think it's A really funny concept and also I Executed the build wealth so it's an arm Like what's the build I built it off of An old lamp arm yeah basically it's just A motorized arm and this kind of torso Of a person So it's actually a hand right it's just Laser cut plywood and it kind of has Like it looks creepy yeah and yeah it's As proud of you son because I just Thought that sounded more funny than Proud of you daughter and also proud of You son just It immediately communicates that it's a Parent it's not just like a collie or Something it's like proud of you Yeah oh my charges you a quarter for it Yeah but it added like Chad GPT on top Of that and uh fine tune it on Conversations you've had with your Parents and all of a sudden you have a Thing that can fundamentally transform Your psyche yeah The following is a conversation with Simone yet an inventor designer engineer And roboticist famous for a combination

Of humor and Brilliant Creative Design In the systems and products she creates Including as part of her new product Design company called yetch she has a Popular YouTube channel which she has Demonstrated a lot of her incredible and Fun designs and inventions from quote Shitty robots to a Tesla Model 3 Converted into a truck But where she also revealed her personal Journey after having been diagnosed with A brain tumor Simone is a brilliant fun and inspiring Human being it was truly an honor for me To get to meet her and to have this chat This is Alex Friedman podcast to support It please check out our sponsors in the Description and now dear friends here's Simone yet What was the first cool thing you built Or you fell in love with the process of Making stuff you know I think Run into the limitations of your of your Skills so much so I feel like honestly Building gets less and less Frustrating or like I love it more and More the more I know so the limitations Aren't fun like the limitations are fun But it's like when you have an idea of Something and you want to make it a Certain level and then you just have to Compromise with the materials and the Tools and the skills you have Um so I can't remember first time where

I felt like I'm proud of this wow this Was so smooth I'm so proud of it like I Feel like A lot of people I watch them build stuff And it's just like watching water pour Down you know it's just like so easy and For me it's just like Trying to shove a toy car into a wall so You're not able to step back and Marvel Like at the early Creations even like Even like Um we're not even talking loud we know Stuff even before then I'm from Sweden And you have to choose either sewing or Woodworking and I chose to like Woodworking in middle school and I Remember the sense of Pride when I got To bring something home and that thing Of like oh my God I get to show my Parents this And I think that is kind of the feeling that I've built my job around it's like the Sense of Pride and wanting to show People something that I made and like Back then it was like a little wooden Spoon you know And now it's a slightly larger wooden Wood spoon this Dynamic it moves and has A mind of its own Um you first started doing more Engineering type stuff with uh Arduino Boards at punch to design which is an SF Engineering firm what are just from your

Memory there what are some cool things You built there so the thing is I I went To advertising school and I just like a Vocational studies a year and I realized There that I didn't care much for Advertising but I thought it was really Fun to build stuff and programs so like I just completely focused on that and There I built My first Hardware project or like Electronics project which was this uh IPhone case with retractable guitar Strings so basically I imagine that you Could like pull out guitar strings from The bottom of your iPhone and you could Pluck it to your belt and then you could Hold a cord on the screen and I built That together with my friend Jonathan And I was like oh this is dope I thought It was so much fun and I considered like Oh should I go to school for this but Then I thought maybe I can get a job and I could get paid to learn about Electronics so just based off of that One project I got the job at punch Through design there's actually was a One year internship can you explain what We're talking about here so it's a case With guitar strings attached yeah does It actually work at all These are not on the screen guitar Strings no so they're actual strings That you pull out so there's a mechanism That's almost like a seat belt mechanism

And yeah you pull them out from the Bottom of uh your phone and you can Attach them to your belt I mean it's Terrible There's a few different ways to decide If somebody's touching a guitar string And what you do in a real guitar is you Have the little it's like measuring the Vibration or the change and the as as The yeah you're measuring how the guitar Is vibrating and you can't really do That because I can't have a a receiving Sensor because the guitar strings are Going to move in relationship to that Because you don't have like a rigid neck And this is like yeah this was my first Electronics project I was a little Fledging baby maker but what I decided Was to use capacitive touch Because that is independent on if the Guitar strings are moving in Relationship to something or in relation To something so basically there was just This little Bluetooth Arduino board that This company punched through design made So that was how I found them and I Measured the capacitive touch so like Whenever Um the guitar string was measured there Was this little microcontroller that was Like oh my God a guitar string got Measured or touched and then that sent a Signal over Bluetooth to my phone and I Built a little iPhone app that

Interpreted those Bluetooth signals and Then checked what type of cord I was Holding on the screen and then played The code here I see holding the chords On the screen so you're doing the Multi-touch sensing there That's incredible I honestly cannot Believe that I pulled it off because I Think I was I was ignorance was Definitely Bliss because that was like Yeah the first Hardware Project I'd ever built the first iPhone App I'd ever programmed and like now if Somebody was like Hey I want this to be My first project I would probably be Like oh that's a lot but We'll get off because that's such an Interesting thing For people to hear because it's your First project and a lot of people stop Because of the difficulty of their first Project they never truly discovered Their own genius because they stopped With the first and you didn't stop so It'd be interesting to kind of Psychoanalyze you on the couch of why You didn't stop because you have to Build an app you have to figure out how To did you know how to program much or No okay I mean a little bit but I never Programmed and or done any iOS apps okay So you have to figure out how to get Forget like what the app does just get The app running and working and then you

Have to figure out how to get the Sensors in like real time to finger Touching and you have to connect how to Get the capacitor's touch working with The microcontrollers do you know Anything about the capacitor touch Sensors at that time I mean it's pretty Easy Um now it's basically everything's easy Yeah you know Rockets are pretty easy You sound like my grandma she's I have An Italian grandma and uh I always Trying to get her we're like trying to Get her to tell her recipes and every Recipe starts with It's very simple yeah and then there's Like 45 minutes of her explaining it It's like with gymnastics at the Olympics they make it look easy the best People in the world always make the the Impossible to seem easy I pride myself With making buildings that look really Hard because I feel like I'm always Struggling so much you make the easiest Human possible no uh So how many strings was it is it just oh Gosh I think this is such a long time Ago no it was six oh six strings and you Could touch it and then there's Wow and it can and then the phone itself Makes a sound Still think it's such a cool concept to Have this like mobile I'm not even a Guitar player I don't know I was I mean

I got the idea because I was uh kind of Strumming on my charge cord of my phone Oh like an air guitar but on a cord yeah Fun to go back to that project with what I know now but the problem with it is That when you're producing the tension In your string just with your arm like You can't make it taut enough to Actually play like it kind of becomes Playing these like saggy strings so as You're not really getting that Experience and I think that's why I mean I Yeah I haven't really pursued I wonder If there's a way to generate the Tightness From the case itself It's a good device that unfolds and then With some kind of tightening mechanisms Yeah but then it kind of becomes like a Whole thing in a guitar then it just Becomes a really shitty guitar yeah like Which this is a really shitty guitar but It's also but it's so shitty it's Awesome yeah I don't know I don't know But it's a cool it's cool that you have An interface between A device that's capable of incredible Computational power and an actual Hardware thing is there something that You can psychoanalize That made you finish that others could Hear In their own struggle to uh

Do their first project like that because You were not you were in a Non-engineering person technically And you did a pretty cool Renegade out There Wild no instructions Engineering projects no it's definitely It was an off-road build where it's like If you're building a Lego kit it's very Much on the road and you're following Instructions and this is like you have No idea if you're headed for a cliff or A dead end or you're gonna get stuck Um I think it had a natural pressure to It because it was a school project yeah So it did have deadlines built into it And and stuff like that so that Definitely helped but I think also it Was just so incredibly motivating when I Realized that I might be able to pull it Off Like that was I felt like a bloodhound You know and you're just like oh my God I can actually make this happen and I Think if I hadn't seen that the Horizon it would Have been harder to stick through you Were you able to see the end of the Tunnel um Pretty early on no not really So there's something just suffering for A while I don't know how how your brain Works but it's like if I have a problem I can't stop thinking about it like it's

So fun to think about it like I spent I Spent Two and a half years designing a coat Hanger And I just can't stop thinking about it Like I get so into it because I think It's so much fun Take me to this Two-year journey of the code hanging out Of the code hanger what how did it begin How did it begin it began with a corner In my home where I couldn't fit a coat Rack the thing is I shouldn't have Brought this up because I'm gonna Release it as a product probably in a Year on an actual product okay well it Is a mystery it's a mystery yeah but it Solves a fundamental problem in in The Human Condition and I am so excited About it and I cannot I don't yeah but This is I get so Pumped about it because I see it's just This issue or like this problem that I Want to solve and I I kind of can't put It to rest until I have It's I mean speaking of cone hangers Uh doorknobs have always been Interesting to me It's cool how there's things that Everybody uses that somebody designed Yeah oh my God so okay so this is I so I Have two like big so basically I started On YouTube and and I'm been doing that For like the last seven or eight years

And I've kind of been thinking of like Okay what's next for me because I want To keep on trying out new things and I'm I'm kind of Going into two different Avenues one is The product business that I started code Hinders TBD Um and then I am working on a pilot Episode of a show where each episode is About an everyday object and why they Look the way that they do so we've Written a pilot episode about forks and It's all about like why do they look the Way that they do why did this became the Like eating Implement of the West why Are we ruled by an iron Fork how did That happen in every everyday object That you have and that you just take for Granted somebody's just made it up yeah We're all sheep well I'll keep using it Yeah even if it's not optimal I mean Presumably most objects are optimal you Hope or at least a local options yeah And that's what I think is so like the World around us and this is why I love Building things is because it just opens Up this idea that the world around us is So malleable Can make objects work for you better Like I spent I I made this fruit bowl I Had a fruit bowl and I was always Annoyed that I had either too little or Too much fruit for it so I made a fruit Bowl where I can change the diameter of

It it has a mechanism so you can like Make it bigger or smaller and that's Just like the thing of being like Bowls why are they the way that they are I can make them different and I think Like I want to make an episode about Doorknobs I think it's so interesting Why are they the way they are why are They placed the way where they are I Think there's going to be a rabbit hole From which you will never return I would Happily live in that rabbit hole forever Like if I could if I can like dig out a Little niche for myself there because I Think it's like Because you know they go so deep they're Also on different sides of doors you Never like the push-pull situation on Doors in general like that's one of the Main problems of humanity Figuring out which is embarrassing yeah Just okay how many there's eight billion Peoples on people on Earth every single Second there is millions of people being Embarrassed by the confusion Some guy first time in college he's Trying to be impressive to everybody to Pushes on and he plays it off like it's Cool oh [ __ ] I knew that nope and it Affects our behaviors that was why I Think it's so interesting with forks is That Forks actually affect our eating Behaviors and they can get you to eat Faster or slower take bigger bites or

Smaller bites and they're all these ways Or like the social I mean the reason That Um Chopsticks work is because they do The food shopping in kitchen Rather than on the plate and also you Have a bowl that you bring to your mouth With whereas a plate you keep on the Like they're just all these ways and These objects affect our Behavior Opening and closing doors and I think It's such an interesting take on culture Through and like human behavior through These objects that we use every day and We never question them really yeah and Then there's institutions that are Controlling our mind that don't want us To know the truth why are sporks not More popular have you asked yourself That question yeah no it's all big Utensil is behind all of it all right so I mean in those early days Um did you suffer from imposter syndrome Like that leap to being an engineer Was there Especially when you started uh working a Punch the design On a team of Engineers was there Insecurity Both yes and no I think I've um I always try to flip my flaws into Selling points and for that so getting That job I I was like oh you're a team of Engineers

Everybody working here is an engineer Your customers are not all Engineers you Need somebody who can be your filter and Tell you when something's going to be Too hard for your customers to Understand so it was more me being like Oh No it might seem that me not having Skills is a bad thing like actually it's A great thing I represent the everyday Person I understand deeply what Everybody needs and wants yes that is me The representation of the of the average Human Um but I mean I I remember that so I Studied physics for a year in college And then I dropped out and I had this Rule for myself that whenever I did not Understand any something I would ask a Question so I was always raising my hand In class and it's this room entirely Like Auditorium filled with incredibly Intelligent people who are mortified of Seeming stupid and I think that was Really like and I remember people people At the end of the year coming up to me Being like thank you so much for all the Questions you asked because whenever There was something that I was too Scared to ask you always raised your Hand so I think it is a bit of a skill and I Think that is kind of how I Channel my Imposter syndrome is I'm just like Now let's lay it all out there is you

Okay being almost like self-deprecating Just coming off I mean I'm definitely That I kind of lean into call myself an Idiot I lean into being stupid I think Not all heroes wear capes and the guy And girl who asks the stupid question Is everybody's hero including the Teachers yeah I think it's it's both It's a double-edged sword I started out on the internet kind of I Kind of got the moniker the queen of Shitty robots because I posted a lot of Stuff on slash R shitty robots on Reddit And people started calling me the queen Of Slash R shitty robots and then the Slash R kind of dropped so what I'm Trying to say is I did not come up with That with myself Um but I did happily adopt it so I Definitely came from a place of like Building things that didn't work and Kind of Yeah everything going wrong every time Like happily failing and I think that Was amazing it was a really powerful Tool for me to like not get my Perfectionism in the way because if I Set out to do something that's great Then I'm never gonna start and I was Like no I just need something that looks Funny Um But what I've realized Now is there's also a defense mechanism

Being self-deprecating is like always Beating people to the punch It kind of was a survival tactic on the Internet of being like never daring to Set out as an expert and I still do that Like I'm terrified to tell people how to Do something even if I know Um because it kind of opens you up for Being shot down so I think I have I Definitely have a conflicted Relationship with it and now especially As I'm I'm getting older I am more Skilled than I was before I mean I'm a CEO of three businesses and I'm like I Don't need to like keep on talking Myself down all the time so yeah I think It's definitely something that has Served me really really well and that is Still like a Thing that I have in my work life and in My relationships but I'm also trying to Only Do it when it's beneficial to me and not When it's harmful yeah I mean but when You're as successful as you are I feel Like people like it when you're Self-deprecating you don't take yourself Seriously you have that humility I think it's probably the hardest when You're starting out yeah because I think it was easy But nobody takes you seriously right and When you're starting out when you're Young like you know I just realized that

I played a lot more stupid than I was And I think it's also Oh gosh I can't believe I'm the one Bringing this up uh but like being a Woman in a male dominated field And you're like trying I was just trying To make myself the least amount Threatening or like really unthreatening Because people are threatened by you in Different ways and it's like you have Such a thin line that you can walk where You're like okay I need to be just Attractive enough for people to not be Offended by my appearance but just Unattractive enough for people to not Sexualize me I have to be just smart and Witty enough for people to be like oh my God that's really cool but also shoot Myself down enough for other people not To be able to do it or be like oh yeah Watch this woman try to thinking that She knows how to Build Electronics you know so it's like That's a interesting skill to build Especially when you put yourself out There on the internet yeah like you Unfortunately that's the reality of the Internet And it's a skill you have to kind of Develop and it's actually why a lot of Really brilliant people avoid the Internet yeah like there's not many People like at MIT for example there's

Not many Brilliant professors or PhD students and So on just putting their stuff out there Because Like Um if they What like if they really put their heart And soul into a thing first of all That's really hard and nobody nobody Sees it and everyone's like this is Boring so there's so many failure modes Like this is boring or like like you Said you're coming off as too much of an Expert you're not self-deprecating Enough well there's just so many failure Modes and it's terrifying for people but I feel like that's a skill you should Learn because Most people like nmit University and so On are doing a lot of awesome stuff yeah And he should show it off but I feel Like You figured out a really good process of Of showing it off when you fail when you Succeed all of it not taking yourself Too seriously but also revealing through The humor and the self-deprecation a Kind of Genius a kind of intelligence And curiosity can't I just want to Snapshot that quote and put it on my LinkedIn What is your autobiography oh never You don't want to say that because like A year from now oh gosh I don't wanna I

Don't want to [ __ ] on autobiographies Yeah no no but even just by saying that I'm [ __ ] on autobiographies I just Me being interested enough in somebody To want to read 600 pages about them Talking about themselves it's a No well well that's exactly the kind of Person that should write one but yeah But also I'm [ __ ] 32 years old what Do I have to write about like I went Through puberty I lost my virginity and Here we are like I don't know it's like Such a Three chapters yeah it's a coloring book Chapter seven I learned to tie my own Shoelaces I feel like it would be awesome anyway What's the uh the queen so how did you Achieve the status of royalty the queen Of shitty robots what's the origin story There I've I mean I have officially Renounced my title now can you still Speak of the time when you like I can't Still speak of the time your kingdom yes Uh no I mean it started on because I did You rule by love or fear by fear of Rejection From me that people would reject me so I Um yeah I started making these little Gifts like my the early projects that I Did were very gift forward It was always like I only did it because They could be translated into a gif give Forward I like it yeah but honestly it

Was like it's a really good mental Exercise to vet if your project is easy Enough to be explained by like a seven Second looping video without audio And because like nobody's gonna care That it also has Bluetooth like it's Really like is it is it self-explanatory Enough to Um be explained through a gif so yeah Just pause I'm sorry to interrupt but I Feel like all scientific papers and Projects should go through that exercise Yeah actually uh deepmind does a good Job of this like you know this we've saw Protein folding here's a gif that's Literally what they do yeah because Who's gonna read the nature paper so Like this you have to like how do we Communicate this visually in a sexy Clean way where people can intuitively Understand even if you don't know what a Protein is even if you don't know what Protein folding is yeah it's very like Yeah if somebody comes out of context And that's been really interesting also Like building this product business and Trying to do the marketing around that And I'm like if somebody comes in and They have no idea About what this product is will they get It explained to them in this ad and I Don't know but it's definitely a Worthwhile exercise to do so I started Making these projects that got

Translated into gifts And I posted them on slash R City robots On Reddit so that's how bright it Existed yeah I loved it I thought it was really fun And I was like I want to contribute with Content here I don't I mean okay I don't know I was I Think I was voted top user of 2015. so Yeah that's an old Merit but once you Win a Nobel Prize you always have the Notebook okay so what was the first do You remember the early gifts that you Created so this is when I was at punch Through design in San Francisco I would Kind of building a lot of Hardware Projects for them but I also felt and They were so supportive of me but I also It's such a different way representing a Brand versus representing yourself so There were some projects that I just Like ruled out because I was like this Feels too weird for this brand And I started building them on the side One of them was a toothbrush helmet and Yeah so it's like a skateboard helmet With a robot arm on the forehead kind of Like a unicorn horn and it brushes your Teeth for you is that the first YouTube Video you uploaded it was the first gift That I uploaded so actually I wanted to Um I wanted to do a kids show about Electronics in Sweden because I was like I love Electronics I think it's [ __ ]

Dope I could do a kids show about it so I filmed this terrible terrible pilot Episode in my bedroom in San Francisco And that's when I built the toothbrush Helmet and I emailed it to them I mean Just cold email like I'd know in or Anything but I was like Hey I want to do This and Um they didn't get back to me nobody's Surprised and I was like well I have This Thing I built I might as well post it on The internet so that's why I made the Little GIF and I posted it on slash I do Robots and I think it got like 50 000 Views and I was like Wow and from there I just kept on building things and I Think Within Six months it was my full-time job can You go through the detailed design of This toothbrush helmet there's a motor It's like a server like what what uh What's the motor what's the is an Arduino involved yeah so I built it off Of Um this robot arm called me arm So it's just this acrylic robot arm And Um I think it has three Servo Motors And it's all controlled by an Arduino All the electronics already pre-built There was a kit so I assembled it how do You make sure the the length of the arm Is the proper I mean the arm came down

So it's like yeah I just programmed it To come down to my mouth and then poorly Brush my front teeth yeah yeah it was Just swung back and forth I mean trialum Error what was the challenges of that Do you remember oh gosh or was that one Not much of a struggle challenge no it Was definitely a struggle Um because also how do you Loop it with A nice gift I mean it looks fine yeah it looks like Yeah that's not that's not that hard uh No I mean it doesn't have to be perfect It's a gif it's the internet things are Shitty all the time I think I mean I Think the biggest struggle of that was That I had this intention for it to be This show and then Them not giving oh yeah yeah giving back And I was like well if they don't want It then maybe YouTube will have me they Don't notice my genius yet what was it What was so bad about the pilot do you Remember what's like the most Embarrassing oh cringy yeah I mean it's Thankfully not on the internet so nobody Can find it but it's very much me being In what I called host mode which is Where I'm like okay so what we're gonna Learn today is that we're gonna look at This this is something called a Servo Motor and it's like the intonation and Everything is really different And I'm actually I mean I thinking back

Of that I'm so happy that they didn't Get back to me Because it's such a different thing to Kind of start your career in your living Room running back and forth to the Camera and like filming something and Looking at it and like I got to really Find my own voice in a different way and Then like a year later They offered me a show but then I was so Off and running I was like no I don't Want to do this you didn't fall into the Place of being like a Actor like a YouTuber where you're Presenting a kind of personality you're More focused on the product you're Creating I mean I think it's a the Combination Of it I mean I I think of it as acting Sometimes but I only play the role of Myself but of course it's like when You're shooting something for the Seventh time yeah like you have to be Able to Muster that enthusiasm but no It's not a kind of Think of everyday life me as a watered Down version of the YouTube version it's Like that's a cheap knockoff Yes.com version no it's just like add a Few parts water But like on YouTube it's just so Condensed because you have jump cuts and You know like I'll scrape jokes and make Sure that everything lands and there's

Music and stuff and then like in real Life you don't have any of that but it's Still me uh what are some other cool Robots in the early days that stand out To you I mean there's a million we can Go through like what um maybe what what Was like a challenging one like a really Challenging one in the early days I mean I remember the breakfast robot Which was my second project was a Challenging one so eating cereal yeah It's a robot that like pours milk and Cereal and feeds me with a spoon I was Mostly challenging because it was so Like Everything had to be in the right Location and there were so many takes Before I got everything right and by Right I mean it makes an absolute mess Um yeah that one was challenging but it Takes was that one I don't know probably 12 10 so it's just A mess everywhere as a mess and also I Use like Cheerios for the cereals and my It's shot in my old bedroom in San Francisco and the floors were sticky for Weeks afterwards juicer goes into your Autobiography yeah Nice let's check it just type out this Podcast let's release it as a and my Manager would be stoked we'll fix it in Post Um yeah the feed because you have like a Couple of feeding ones right a soup

Isn't there a soup one yeah there's a Soup robot Um there's a beer pouring robot I mean that's that's awesome that's a Difficult robotics problem In the shitty and the in the perfect Version Of having an arm that interacts Intimately with a human being and one of The most intimate things you can do with A human being that's PG is defeated Where's he going with this uh oh my God He's a YouTube comic come live like damn It so like to me there's uh like feeding Is tricky Or even like getting a beer even pouring A beer is tough into a glass yeah it's Trickier than anyone who hasn't tried it Thanks and Even making it I think what I realized Is that like Making things really shitty or like Failing in a spectacular way is also its Own sort of skill because like the Shittiest robot is the one that doesn't Turn on right but like that isn't much To watch so it was always like wanting For it to fail in these kind of Spectacular ways Um no there's a lot of stuff to be said About Engineering in it is there Something to be said on a philosophical Level about the value of a flawed robot So like

The kind of robots you want is to be Partially flawed like do you think the Kind of robots will have in the home That are friends and Um you know almost like pets wouldn't They need to be kind of shitty because We can love the somehow we humans loved The shitty I mean it is kind of Endearing and because I think it it kind Of I'm gonna mess up this world word Anthropomorphize system I think it's I mean I never feel as Deeply connected to my Roomba as when It's like I'm on a cliff like paper have you had Roomba's taught me ledge no I really Yeah I've done that a lot yeah when they Talk to you yeah Immediately anthropomorphize them yeah And then you have if they have a name Which is why most roboticists don't give Names or gender to robots because you Become connected to them I'm of the Opposite mind You should have like an intimate Relationship sounds weird but you should Have a close connection to robots I mean There there's power in that there's a Social element of Robotics even an arm I don't know there's something about us Humans that gain so much value From our interaction with Dynamic Objects and we should like lean into That as opposed to run away from it that

Was always the confusing thing to me About robotics is that most roboticists Run away from that yeah Weird because it's obviously going to be Robots are obviously going to be Everywhere Yeah obviously but it's also humans are Sensitive and Squishy and there's so Much liability oh yeah Yeah but the humans are sensitive and Squishy When they interact with each other and They hurt each other all the time Like sometimes they get together and They're like oh you're the best you know You're the best and then they leave each Other and then they break each other's Heart sorry about your breakup life he's Trying to get over this I'm actually drunk for this interview I Haven't been able to sleep But From a safety protocol perspective People think about like physical damage Not emotional damage I know this sounds Ridiculous I know it sounds ridiculous But it won't be it's already happening There's an app called replica where People have an intimate relationship With an AI chatbot and they hurt Themselves I was thinking about this Yeah okay in dating what if you because You can train Like a chat bot to kind of mimic the way

That you talk to people and interact With people go on yeah but then I'm like Okay but what if we could all make AI Versions of ourselves and have them date Yeah like thousands of thousands of Other AI people and have that as a way To turn out potential potential Candidates like I feel like that's gonna Be what's what's the Yeah what's the what no but what's the Point of like meeting 20 people if You're like oh but if we just had our AI Versions of ourselves in Iraq they'd be Like oh your your method of conflict is Not going to match or what if the AI Version of you like sleeps around with All the other AIS and it becomes famous For that and it starts its own only fans And then it becomes and you're like what Did you do you come back home you'd Realize like I don't I didn't want to Created a monster create a monster I Mean do I get a cut exactly that's the Question I have to ask but I think it's Definitely like yeah the the human Technology interaction is really Interesting because I feel like I don't Love any of the machines that I have in My life really you haven't you haven't I Mean I don't love my phone I touch it All the time and it's there and it's Like constantly it's a constant presence But there's nothing in the meat that Feels like oh I love this object like I

Kind of despise it Well that might be the way you show love I don't know yeah that's a deeper that's Another psychoanalysis thing uh so you Know there's not robots whom you've Taken apart that you miss No they're all terrible I mean I I have Objects that I built that I love Um none of the robots I think but that's Also because it was a different that was A different era where I wasn't really Putting a lot of care into the projects I built so the more care you put into it Into the design to actually make it look To make it functional and look good That's where you put the love in yeah I Mean it is it's like I feel like any Technology company that figures out a Way to get you to actually genuinely Love your Roomba or like love it in the Way that you would love a pet There's a lot to Be gained yeah and I think it's scary Depending on who the company is because Then they can manipulate you yeah if you Love your Roomba And all of a sudden your Roomba starts Telling you To buy stuff yeah or it's leaving to put Lotion on Jeff bezos's head yeah yeah I Don't know where the lotion came in but Yes maybe if I certainly I just imagine My Amazon Echo being like hey Jeff Bezos Is really a great guy

But even though you haven't do you think It's possible to fall in love with the Robot yeah I mean people fall in love With things all the time well people Have fallen in love with Yoshi robots Probably I guarantee you there's people listening To this that are a little bit Heartbroken saying that you've never Fall in love with your shitty robots They're like but I had a relationship Like I have an emotional connection to That robot like the one with the parent Patsy on the back oh that one that one I Do like I like that one a lot um that's Probably my favorite like shitty robot Can you explain it so it's the machine It was my friend Daniel Beauchamp and I We had this long-running joke about a Proud parent machine that you could give A quarter and a passcode on the shoulder Says proud of you yeah Um so yeah I still have that hanging on My wall in my workshop so that one I'm I'm really happy with I just think it's A really Funny concept and also I executed the Build well so that was so it's an arm Like what's the build yeah I built it Off of an old lamp arm yeah basically It's just a motorized arm and this kind Of torso Of of a person so it's actually a hand Right that's not it correctly it's like

A laser cut it's just laser cut plywood And it kind of has like it looks creepy Yeah which I like yeah the creepy helps With the yeah And yeah it's as proud of you son Because I just thought that sounded more Funny than proud of you daughter and Also proud of you son just It immediately communicates that it's a Parent it's not just like a colleague or Something it's like proud of you Yeah oh my charges do a quarter for it Yeah but he added like Chad GPT on top Of that and uh fine tune it on Conversations you've had with your Parents and all of a sudden you have a Thing that can fundamentally transform Your psyche yeah That's all it takes that's a beautiful Creation how'd you come up with that Creation I was my friend Daniel and I Who had a long-running joke about it High level can you speak to your Creative process I think a lot of it I Mean it's changed for the Shady robots Yeah I mean it has a lot of overlap Um so it's identifying everyday problems And in the shitty robot era I would kind Of take an everyday problem like oh I Have a hard time getting up in the Morning and I would have solve it in the Most ridiculous spectacular way I could Think of so for waking up in the morning It was having an alarm clock that slaps

Me in the face with a rubber hand And what I'm doing now is still Identifying everyday problems but I'm Actually trying to like product design My way out of it what in your experience Was the funniest thing is it violence Like the hand slapping you food eating Is there is or is it just a case about It funniest Is no I think it's more like the proud Parent machine it's not violent it Doesn't there's no nothing it's just Emotional and it's kind of A commentary on this fraught Relationship that we sometimes have with Our parents and their pride of us Sometimes every time Sometimes my dad visited like last week And he was like I just want to say I'm So proud of you and for the built life You've built for yourself and that was Really sweet Yeah I'll put that on the back of my Autobiography too yeah it's not your Fault Simone it's not your fault that Stuff is my fault What was the longest one to complete for The Shady robots that you remember Because he spent on a few of them you Spent quite a long time [Music] Which is also inspiring when you take so Long in a project yeah I think um Can even the more like fun Whimsical

Department rather than shitty robots I Built recently Um this music box so like a small music Box that kind of has a barrel with Little spikes and it plays the song but I did a large version of that that pops A sheet of bubble wrap and then like Plays tones into a pan flute so yeah you Can actually program it to play Different songs That one kicked my butt in so many Creative ways that it was such a pain I Think that is probably the like Weird funny project that's taken me the Longest and like the biggest engineering Effort where's the all sound coming from So if you it all came from me realizing That if you pop bubble wrap and you pop It right in front of the opening of a Pamphlet or like one of the pipes you Can have it play different tones So that's what it does so I built this Music instrument off of that okay if It's okay can you describe some Something like how it works some of the The technical details here yeah so Basically I mean one of the Things that I worked with Um as of a year and a half back I hired An engineer stew so we were Collaborating on it Um but a big issue that we had was Feeding in the bubble wrap Sheet and like making sure that it feeds

Them straight and doesn't get skewed Because you need to make like the Popping feet which is where you program This Barrel to pop different bubbles Need to be so perfectly aligned on the Bubble of the bubble wrap for it to pop In the right location so there's a Feeder for the bubble wrap that's a Challenge and then you have to have a Barrel with the little baby feet on it Yeah that pops the ball around why is it So exciting that Barrel was a pain as Well I had to get a like this rotary Setup for my CNC and yeah it was it was A lot of work Um but that was really fun and it's just Like This is probably my Favorite Privilege of my job is that I can Go down any Rabbit Hole I think find Interesting did you have a lot of Joy from popping the Yeah the bubbles a lot of self-soothing And like I got to spend I think I spent A week trying to figure out the best Material to pop bubble wrap with because If you have two if you kind of put them To to through uh or through if you put a Sheet of bubble wrap through two rigid Tubes the air kind of just escapes from One side of the bubble into the other so What I realized was that if you have a Squishy material like kind of a yoga mat

Material in between it it actually it Prevents that and Pops it a lot more Reliably but like increasing the pop Reliability was a huge effort as well You have to pop a squishy thing with Another squishy because you don't need a Lot of force yeah like you just need it To not the air to not be able to escape Anywhere wow but then also we had there Was different qualities of bubble wrap Where there was a lot of transference Between different bubbles so instead of The bubble popping it would just seep The air and to a neighboring bubble and That like membrane would kind of so you Know I I just like getting to spend Weeks on weeks of just studying bubble Wrap did you ever think about like Publishing academic work on Bubble Wrap No Wouldn't that be epic because nobody's Done this I bet you nobody's done Squishing it squishing material on Squishy versus squishy For popping I bet somebody has but you Know I I always I thought I was gonna go Into Academia like I was such an Ambitious student I loved school I Actually applied to MIT but then I Pulled out because I was like no I don't Want to do it Um but now I realize it's really good That I didn't because I'm too much of a Spouse too much of the spaz now I'm

Distracted I'm thinking there must be Papers about when you have two bubbles Yeah you need to know the physics of two Bubbles when you have two bubbles Colliding One will pop first And there has to be good models of that But that's very that has to do with Chemistry and whatever the uh the Material the ball was made from but then No there's materials in here this guy Somebody must understand bubble wrap Deeply Like deeply So I'm just going to take a quick Restroom break because uh Lex is on his Own train now and I'm just gonna leave Yeah you actually don't need to go to The restroom okay So I'm going to insert like a two hour Uh instructional here with like a Blackboard right it's the skill The skill store it's I Throw you any topic and you could just Go on about it I don't know if I have That skill I just Okay Um Bubble on Bubble An interaction So you did mention Um MIT uh you went to college for Physics for one year and you dropped out What do you learn from that Who do you think should and shouldn't go

To college hmm I think first of all you shouldn't Listen to me Um That should be the name of your Autobiography I You know I realized that I was there for The wrong reasons I had this deep I got Completely like starting to get grades In school which in Sweden at that time We started getting in at eighth grade so When I was 14 it just kind of hijacked My brain because I realized that I could Put a number on how smart I was and I Got obsessed with it and I Wanted to study mechanical engineering Because I was like I like machines But then physics was kind of the hardest Thing you could do when I had this like Deep need to prove to myself that I was Smart so I started studying physics Realized I wasn't that smart I realized or I mean just mostly that I Like I love math but I don't love math 10 Hours a day yeah and also I think I am a Generalist through and through like I'm Decent at a fair amount of things but Definitely not a specialist and anyways And this it was such a specialist type Of area Um that I felt like the other parts of My brain kind of just dwindled and died

So I think I think most of all if people Are thinking about going to college and Especially if you're here in the States And it's so [ __ ] expensive Really Okay there's two there's two things I Want to do one is like actually go to a Workplace where people are doing the job That you think you want to do if you Want to become a doctor like be at a Hospital and like try to see how doctors Work and if you actually like it because I feel like people have a lot of ideas Of what it's going to be like and it Just doesn't match with reality and then I think when people figure out what they Want to do there's kind of That's two separate questions or there's Two questions that you can split out of That one is like what do you actually Want to do that for me For the last 10 years is building stuff But then there's a second part to that Question which is what context do you Want to do that do you want to build Stuff at a startup or at a big Corporation Do you want to build stuff For an art gallery or for the movies or For YouTube and I think that's often like people only Learn how to answer the first question But then it's like the context means as Much because I was building stuff at Punch through design and I wasn't

Getting that like deep fulfillment like I felt like I wasn't fully using myself and like Hitting all of my gears because I just Wasn't that motivated about building Stuff for other people and I changed the Context and everything changed And so sometimes you do need to consider Resume and stuff like that depending on The But some I think people consider that Way too much especially in modern times I feel like You don't need to go to college just for The resume I feel like the biggest benefit of College I mean there's a bunch but one Is just do hard things but you could do Hard things anywhere But Um some people need to be I was probably One of those people To be forced to do hard things and Um the other is to meet fascinating Humans from all walks of life That are pursuing they have all kinds of Different Passions And allows you to learn Depending on the major you can be you Can learn generally and you can search If you're doing it efficiently about What actually inspires you and the other Thing is the the resume thing yeah But Ultimately you don't need college to

Find your passion to run with it I mean I mean I have so much College fomo Though like I think it's I chose A different set of experiences and when I applied to MIT I was I think I was 24. Because I was like oh maybe I should Become an electrical engineer because I Really liked Electronics but then I Remember seeing that the average age was 18 and I was like [ __ ] no I can't hang Out or like be in a room filled with 18 Year olds who are smarter than me yeah Um so I think I definitely like missed The Train on having that experience but At the same time I did so many other Things and I chose other experiences and I wouldn't trade them But I still like I mean I'll go to on a Campus and I'll be like oh yeah but I Think it's also because I have a dreamy Idea of what it is because I never get To do it and practice fully exactly it's The fomo yeah Huh yeah a lot of people really struggle With that burden they'll they'll go it Doesn't matter how long you go through If you don't go all the way to the PhD You a lot of people have the fomo it Doesn't it's a silly silly silly little Notion I think Because I think you should be doing College or school until you find Something that lights your heart aflame Where you're like [ __ ] yes I want to do

This yeah and run with it I mean you can You can find that in other contexts as Well I've Found it yeah but yeah but it is a Buffet of experiences That you can have What about what was the most fun robot To make or um musical Artistic creation Where the process was the most fun oh They're all painful in different ways so Pain yeah you find pain fun No but it's it definitely The pride of make getting to pull Something off or like managing to pull Something off even when it was really Difficult is Is very satisfying what was the Difficult thing that you pulled off you Were like yeah this is cool I like Working on jigsaw puzzles but I don't Like how much table space they take up Because I like just have one big table Where I can do it and that's also my Dining table So I made this mechanical table where You can switch between two table tops And that was an incredibly painful Project and I'm really happy with the Outcome and like so proud that I managed To pull it off how does this wish table Tops it's Tambor mechanism so like Tambor like you'll have on like old Record player

Um like it's these like thin Slots of Wood with fabric on the back and you can Kind of get them to go around curves so Basically one of the table tops or table Surfaces is Tambor and then there's a Little crank and you can kind of roll it Off to the side and it reveals another Tabletop under it that you can then lift Up because it's on cams Um so you can switch between the two I Think that one was both really difficult To pull off and it's also one of few Projects that I use in my everyday life Like I use it almost every day you know What a really cool one was that uh that Was part of your TED Talk Where there's a rotating thing that you Wear on your shoulders was that hard to Make so for people who haven't seen your Ted Talk they should of course but it's Uh the best joke You put how would you call that device Sorry I don't even know I never used it Beyond the Ted Talk really Shoulder rig and it's this like almost Like saturn ring looking platform that Goes around I can't even remember what The problem proposition was that I was Trying to solve variety probably Introduce me to your life yeah maybe in This in an element of surprise because You can put popcorn as you did on it and It goes around as a little hand why is It like a tiny hand funny I don't know

But it just slams whatever is online Into your face yeah I don't know was That easy to make yeah that one's fine I can There was I mean my TED Talk was so Yeah for one once again they cut out my Best joke what was the best joke my best Joke they didn't even ask me about it it Was Um So there's this whole lead up where I Built a chopping machine so it's a Machine that chops vegetables and has Two giant knives and it goes it's kind Of terrifying and I show A video of it and then it ends on this GIF of it chopping up a banana and I'm Kind of scrunching up my face being like And the whole reason I show that project Is because I'm leading it up to the Punchline of oh and as a bonus this gift Right here is the perfect response if Anyone ever sends you dick pics you Don't want Which brought down the house it does it Every time and they cut it out without Asking me because they're like oh but we Wanted people to be able to show it in Classrooms and I was like I have Abandoned the hope of being shown in Classrooms for years ago I think that's A good joke thank you that's a really That's a really good one you're you're Okay going sometimes a little bit edgy

I say that I'm I'm crude and wholesome Because I can be very crude but I also Try really really hard to be a good Person yeah and to like I'll say [ __ ] And [ __ ] all that stuff which I don't Even think is crude Um but Yeah but I really really try to wield The power that I have in a thoughtful Way So No I I wouldn't call me edgy because I'm Not I don't think it's edgy it's all Like shopping a banana one nice and Saying it's a good gift response to Anyone that sends you dick pics is Definitely not edgy you're correct yeah This is a funny joke oh yeah it's pretty Funny I feel bad that Ted cut that I Mean it's fine it's like it's a decision That I made really early on where I was Like what I'm I think often people Misinterpret what I'm doing as being for Children which I think is part because Like my projects were always really Colorful and fun But I think it also has some Sprinkles of sexism of being like Oh It's a woman doing something she must be Doing it for the children and I'm like [ __ ] the children I'm doing it for Myself good so I think I I would just Really early on excited of like oh no I Want to try to cater to that which like

Still I mean I get a lot of messages From parents being like can you please Stop cussing in your videos and I'm also Like I get it but also that is not what's Going to mess up your kids like I really Try to be Thoughtful and a decent enough role Model but I'll also acknowledge that Humans [ __ ] Yeah it's okay somehow that you being Able to say the fu [Laughter] Foreign Have you ever made a robot that dances With you no okay you need a dance Partner Yeah I feel like that's the theme of This whole podcast yeah What's the most embarrassed you've ever Been on your podcast So I don't know if you've experienced This but I generally embarrassed by most Things I say inside my head yeah It's like when I say something Like no it's just this voice inside my Head that goes Yeah like what Your disappointment Um like that the parent petting in the Back the the hand stops working yeah Just slows down Um Yeah

And then there's an awkward silence you Don't know what to say next that's Really embarrassing usually Um Mr work as a journalist so I know how To sit with the silence and try to drag It out of you Foreign See what I did there You gave up I quit you're like sweating literally Sweating okay also because you're in a Full [ __ ] suit what is that like how Did that come about Actually it was probably on my tea is Because everybody Was dressing in like sweatpants very Chill wear and I was like I like taking everything seriously It just felt like a as it was my way of Saying Fu to the way things are because I like I always admire Richard Feynman I Like it how there's like a classiness to It So I don't know if it's for visual Purposes but it's just how I feel when I Put on a suit it makes it makes me feel Like I'm going to take this really Really seriously yeah and if I embarrass Myself It's all my fault because I tried There's no excuse I tried 100 The interesting thing about your Ted Talk to go to a dark topic Um

This is what happened when I walked off Stage now what happened when you walked Off station found out that I had a brain Tumor Was that not where you're going there's Nothing else dark about my yeah well yes Um I thought you knew through the Ted Talk You found out right after I mean the Reason that I found out was partly Because of the Ted talk because my mom Came into town to be there for it And my right eyelid was swollen and it Kind of been swelling over a while And I even gotten comments about it on My YouTube channel and I thought it was Allergies because I was like oh it's Just pollen allergies it's just Affecting my one eye because maybe I Sleep mostly on that side I don't know And my mom came into Um The stage in the Vancouver for my TED Talk and she's like Simone you have to Like have a scan or see what's up like We have to go to the doctor and she Really pushed me to do it because I was Like playing fine Um And I had an MRI scan On like 5 p.m on a Friday night my Boyfriend at the time was there and I remember like halfway through an MRI Scan they kind of pull you out and they

Put inject contrast fluid Or this like thing that yeah just gives Them another type of scan and the nurse Looked at me in this way and was like How long have you had symptoms for and That's what I knew that they'd found Something and then they like shove you Back into the machine for another 20 Minutes and my ex was just seeing like Them like zooming in and out of my scans And there was like this obviously Something that just looked wrong in There and they sent me to the ER and I Found out that I had A brain tumor the size of a golf ball They've probably been grown since I was A teenager so I'd been growing over like 10 15 years And yeah I had surgery to remove it and Then it kept on growing the parts that They couldn't remove and I went through Radiation treatments so that was like Two years that just Was kind of dedicated to just getting Better and getting back to where I am Now and I remember like I was so stoked About 2020 because I was like this is The first year that I'm not held back by My health and I'm like finally going to Be able to do everything on feathered And then the pandemic happens and you're Kind of it's like okay just in the back Seat of what's happening and things that Are out of my control again

In your public you made a couple of Videos about yeah about it I have a Brain tumor my brain tumors back You kind of you know you name your tumor Brian you kind of make it a Light-hearted thing But so you don't reveal much of the Darkness But were you scared or some low plants Of of course I was of course I was Scared I mean it's terrifying it's like And also when it's in your brain like You know I was like take any other part Of me but don't take my brain Um no it's this unfathomable thing that Happens and you're like I'm healthy I've Had how could this possibly be a brain Tumor like my eye is swollen like There's nothing there I haven't had any Seizures I haven't had any cognitive Issues I haven't had any headaches even Like how is that even possible Um so you go through a lot of different Stages of just trying to understand what It is and I think I remember Being hit like right as I found out when We're in like an Uber poor Uber driver From where I had my MRI scanned to the ER where they sent me And I was really both really grateful That I've gotten so much more out of Life than I ever thought I would like I've had

A hell of a life and even if we would Have ended really early I would have Done so much more than I ever thought But I was also really really sad that I Hadn't had kids yet like that was my big Grief of like [ __ ] I haven't had had Time to have kids yet Um but no it's terrifying I mean the Prospect of somebody cutting up your Head Like that's Terrifying but it honestly Wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna Be what about the radiation treatment What are some things that You know people should you learned about It about the process and about yourself Or that the the people might be Interested about I think Surgery was both harder and easier than Radiation treatment because it was it Was harder because it was So much more intense and it's such a Dramatic thing like going to the Hospital that morning and being like I don't know and you feel so awful when You wake up and but then the recovery From it was pretty linear like almost Every week I would get a little bit Better the thing about radiation is that It was not linear at all and it kind of Drained me in this weird like it was so Hard to predict and also they put me on These um

I spent months feeling like I was high Out of my mind And I couldn't process reality in a way That I normally would like everything Just felt off like I felt yeah I felt Like I was high on drugs and I kept on Asking my doctors what was going on and They're like no I don't know don't think It's anything related And I was on this Alzheimer's medicine that They put you on to prevent dementia from Radiation treatment like kind of as a Preventative and I found all these Subreddits of people using that Alzheimer's medicine to get high and People be like oh my God bro like 20 Milligrams yesterday and I was high out Of my mind and I'm like I'm on 30 Milligrams a day like of course it feels Weird and that was honestly one of the Scariest parts of it because that was The first time where I felt like it Genuinely affected my way of processing Reality and yeah I was so relieved when I found out that that was what was Causing it because I felt like I was Going crazy but even after surgery like I woke up and I felt like myself like Everything was I got no brain injury so Obviously this is like my experience From somebody who came out of it pretty Unscathed who didn't get any brain Injuries and didn't have to do any of

That recovery it's more just the Recovery from like the physical act of Somebody cutting your skull open and Taking a large chunk out did you Research all the things that can go Wrong no brain surgery no I honestly am I'm a bit surprised by how I acted Pausing for you to pour Your welcome editors Actually a commercial This is like work injury from being a YouTuber it's not like freeze if there's Audio that comes in Ah yeah yeah sponsored by tap water Um I was surprised by How little I was willing to Think critically about what my doctors Told me to do Like I very early on I I the neurologist That I worked with He was the one who was on call at the ER The day where I came in and he was the One who ended up doing my surgery and he Kind of became like by Rock in this and I just 100 trusted him and he turned out To be an amazing doctor and like did a Great job and was just like a So I got so so lucky but I remember my Mom being like Oh but we should like Talk about second opinions and like we Should try to do more research and I was Like so unwilling to do that because Opening up to the idea that There are

Multiple ways or multiple things that Might be right or wrong was so Terrifying like I wanted there to just Be like no this is the only option this Is what we need to do And if I started questioning that then I Don't know if I would have been able to Go through with it so yeah it was Estranged I just really wanted to trust The doctors that I worked with and I was Very scared to question them in any way How did that process change your Relationship with death Are you afraid of death You Ponder your mortality yeah I think It took away a part of Youth For me like the Innocence yeah I mean You kind of think of terrible things as Something that happens to other people And death and illness Um So I think it kind of fast tracked that For me But it mostly changed my relationship to Life It changed it's made me so much more Gentle with myself like going through Illness It forces you to redefine what it means To be good and before being good had Been pushing myself really hard it had Been working and I don't know just just being really hard With myself and disciplined and when

You're healing from something being good Is listening to your body it's resting It's like really being in tuned with What your health where your health is at And I think that is something that's Kind of stuck with me since then I'm Like so much more gentle and delicate With myself And with others oh yeah I think it definitely it's like when You're young and healthy it's really Hard to yeah Um Know what it feels like to be ill and I Remember You know you like go to yoga class and You'd be like oh my God this is too slow Like I wanted to be I have so much more Energy like I need to and when I was Recovering from my brain surgery there Was this yoga studio nearby my house and They had uh yoga for seniors and I was So stoked because I was like oh this is The yoga class I'll be able to take yeah And I think that was really eye-opening Of just like there's no you kind of Imagine that it's just like oh just push Yourself harder but no that's not it With age or sickness or it's just you've Got to be so gentle with yourself and You have to Cater to people where they're at Yeah just uh appreciation of this like Biological vehicle you get and you

Should take care of it being sick It's awful and I really I'm really Motivated to Postpone that for as much as I can and Also I was so tremendously grateful when I got ill that I felt like I had so much To take from like I had so many energy Arrested Wars I'd spent my life taking Pretty decent care of my body and like Exercising and eating well and like not Wrecking my body in any way and I felt Like This was the first time where that was So critical and I felt like my body was Ready for it you know I thought you're gonna go the other way Like um you can you can take care of Your body all you want and it's Um bad stuff happened so you should you Should go on drug binges and go wild and Do crazy things and I mean I also had That good I [ __ ] floss every day how do I have A brain tumor I've been good like why Does this happen to me but more so it Was like my body was so resilient and Ready for it and Um I was I was really really proud of it It's amazing that the human body is able To recover from even the harshest things Yeah it's it's wild and my brain so After After surgery because yeah I had to Brain tumor the size of a golf ball kind

Of behind my right eye and after brain Surgery you kind of just have this big Hole in your head like this void and Usually your brain stays that way like It retains the shape even after the Brain tumor is gone but for some reason My brain was feeling really ambitious And it has completely flopped back and I Have almost like a normal looking brain Now where doctors are like oh we would Almost not be able to tell that you had One Um so yeah that just blew my mind I feel Like when did it was that why I had all Those headaches yeah for surgery it's Just my brain being like Trying yeah Oh pretty cool thing I want to ask you About is the everyday calendar that you Worked on That was a long time that took a long Time yeah so basically I I designed this Calendar like I wanted to start Meditating every day But it's really hard to meditate every Day and to like kind of build that habit And what I would do is I would make These grids in my notebooks where I Could like check a box for every day Like I just wanted like a little ding I Did it and like this thing of Accountability But then I was like this is I don't want To have a notebook that I do this in

Like I want an art piece that I can hang On my wall like accountability art and I Made uh this thing called the everyday Calendar which has an entire year on it So it's 365 days and if you tap any of The days you light it up and we turn it Into a Kickstarter campaign and it's not A product that I'm selling my through my Product business the extra door what's It called the yacht store yeah and uh That for people who are confused is the Right way to pronounce your last name Which does it it's right but it's so Wrong It makes my last name is spelled G-i-e-r-t-z who does that song uh If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want to Be Right yeah There's nothing in my last name yeah That's what that's all means because uh What's his name uh uh the the from the Office he covers it Um from the British office which is the Better office Okay uh tangent upon a tangent upon Tangent so you said you created the Everyday calendar to make a more Beautiful in quotes and more sacred gold Star system on a wall not a notebook That gets thrown into a drawer yeah well Well said passed me You uh you said that making this Calendar taught you a lot in quotes I Feel like a like a real investigative

Journalist uh You've said in 2018 yeah I'm waiting for The gotcha can you share some of the Lessons you've learned like what do you Mean you've you've learned a lot from Making this calendar what are we talking About as somebody who builds things Manufacturing something is such an Unrelated process like making one of Something and making ten thousands of Something like they're not even distant Cousins like it's completely different Beasts to tackle and Um yeah so that was one of it everything Takes so much longer than you think it's Going to I did a Kickstarter campaign That we launched in 2018 After my surgery and Yeah it's just you know you think you're So generous with the timelines we still Ended up being a year late but we Shipped We're good Um but yeah I mean I'm trying to get my Product business off the ground we Launched in May And it's just yeah it's just the pain as Somebody who's terrified of Disappointing people I'm like why have I Chosen some of the jobs where it's the Easiest to disappoint people you can Disappoint people at scale no yeah I can Disappoint people at scale and also them Actually haven't paid me money to

Deliver on something which is a terrible Transaction but it's I'm just stoked to Realize that I love the job still like I Love the product development aspect of It I love trying to design stuff for Manufacturing and figure it out and like Anticipate how people are gonna use your Products and like the everyday calendar I mean we've sold thousands of them now They're all over the world and it's like People actually finding something useful That I made and implementing them into Their lives it's just Mind-boggling especially because this is Tracking habits good habits so they're Bad ones you can do it forever You can use it however you want I went In a drinking binge again today yes Kicked another kid What does it take to a mass manufacture Something what did you learn about that Like what what are can you like Elucidate the gap between the one the Prototype versus the the product Development for Mass manufacture I mean For one of it is like yeah the Manufacturing the tooling that they use In manufacturing and to do things in a Cost-effective way is really different Like I can make a one-off then it's Going to take me 17 hours but obviously You can't spend 17 hours per calendar When you're doing something in Factory Um

I think it's that like quality control Is such a beast you cannot trust anybody Telling you that things are going to be Okay like you're you have to have such Trust issues and it's also terrifying I Mean as somebody who's doing everything Independently I haven't raced any Capital for it like it's all Self-invested and we're doing it all In-house It's just you know yeah I could buy 10 000 calendars but then what if all of Them are have a manufacturing issue or You know it's just It's just terrifying because the risks Are so high but also I got to this point Where for when this is something that I Wanted to do for a long time but Something that going through health Problems taught me Is how fragile my business model is Because I mean I'm basically running an Influencer business where I make videos on YouTube and then I have An ad spot and I talk about a brand so Like I'm a human billboard which is fine It grants me a lot of freedom to play Around Um but if I am not well enough to be on A stage giving talks or be in front of a Camera everything stops like it's such a Pillar of a business and it can topple Over at any given moment or like YouTube could change the algorithm like

Legislation could catch up and change How you're able to advertise on the Internet like it's so frail and I really Felt like I need to diversify what I'm Doing and also just to keep it Interesting for myself So what I decided was to start a product Business because also it's kind of this Perfect combination of businesses where I can turn my YouTube channel into an r D Department because I have a reason to Constantly be exploring things and Churning out new products I can also do that as early audience Testing and see what people are actually Excited about and if there's something That I think would make an interesting Product I can pass that over to the Product business and then once I'm ready To Market that and sell it I can pass it Over to the YouTube channel so it's like I can kind of Once I realized that YouTube didn't feel Like an end goal for me I was like okay then I can use it as a Tool to accomplish these other things That I want to do and this was one of Them so yeah it's a lot that went into It and one of the tools like it says r d But it's also kind of advertisement for The cool stuff that you're doing I think I think Mr Beast is one of the creators That's also starting to understand this Power of this uh reputation that you've

Built Of like people trust you like they love You To do cool stuff they trust that you put Your heart and soul into a thing yeah so Like and they feel your pain and the Struggle too you know like if a product Like for example say the everyday Calendar like there was issues in Manufacturing something like this but it Was hot yeah it would feel the pain of That and there was still support I mean That that's the beauty of it when you Have the actual person right there Struggling with their with their lows And highs that's a decision that I made Really early on where I was like the yet Store is supported by me but it's Separate from me it's not merchandise You don't have to know who I am or care About who I am to be interested in this Product and if you go on the website Uh like you have to go to the about page To find anything about me like it's Definitely not like this is the most Brand and I think anybody who's followed Me for a long time will see that like my Personality is sprinkled into it but It's still like clean off of me and I Think that's also because I wanted Something that was separate from me Because I I'm also running out of narcissism Believe it or not like I don't feel like

I wanna I don't want it to be about me And I want it to be something that can Also run independently of me and doesn't Like I want to be able to retire my face And still do like the other stuff Because I think it's fun but I don't Want that to be the core of it what Other kind of stuff uh have you worked On for the product design Uh yeah for for you so I mean a lot of The products I decided to launch the Store with a really small roster of Products because developing products is Such a it's it's such upfront heavy like Cost wise and just investment such a Very big a friend investment so and I Know that it would take a while or I Knew it would take a while for me to Kind of find the right tonality and Visual language for the brand so I just Wanted to launch it have it be out there Start working on it start like learning More about what it entails uh even if we Just had a small roster product so we've Released it with we have a puzzle Yes this is the web uh but I wanted to Release the puzzle that has one piece Missing so it's actually as far as I can Tell it's the world's first officially Incomplete puzzle you get 499 out of 500 Pieces I keep the 500th piece so I have A box In my workshop with everybody's missing Pieces yeah and I don't know what to do

With it yet but someday it will come to Me profound artistic statement it is Something uh it's definitely something And I I'm surprised by how many of them We've sold which I'm also like I kind of Wanted to have that product product out There because I was like can you imagine Having a pitch deck if I do ever raise Money of being like You know how good I am at selling things I sold people 5 000 incomplete pencils Also have No it's like a lot of the products I Call them basket fillers like they're Kind of just like stuff where I'm like Yeah this is like easy to throw into Your basket I mean we have these rings I'm wearing them so there's a Screwdriver ring which is a Phillips Head screwdriver and then a screw ring That kind of has a recess like a Phillips head screw I have these sawdust Socks that make you look like your feet Are covered in sawdust like you spent All time in the all day in the shop Without having to put any of the actual Effort in but then We have four more products on the Pipeline that we're working on and that Are kind of the more the the big Ambitious Products that are more in line with what I want the brand to be like the tagline Is unique solutions to Everyday problems

And it's just a lot of like trying to Develop novel takes on existing products This is something where the function Becomes a bigger bigger part of the Design yeah so what's the process of Creating something like that like the Even the everyday calendar so like what What are some challenges that are Interesting along the way so you have to Sketch it out you have to like Brainstorm draw things out and then Create a schematic and see like how how Do you know what it's going to look like Visually don't yeah and it's I mean I so The everyday calendar the first so I Just built it for myself first like that Did not come as a as a product idea First and that's kind of been the Process that I've had for a lot of Things like I make it for myself and Then I'm like oh maybe other people Would find this useful too so the Everyday calendar the first prototype I Made It had actually physical mechanical Toggle switches so 365 toggle switches That you could flip so if you worked out That day or meditated for me was Meditating Um you can just flip that switch and That was great but when I started Evaluating it as a product it's If you have 365 of something in a Product like The Runaway cost is crazy

So the cheapest option most reliable Option we could find was capacitive Touch so basically it's a touch Interface and the front plate is the Circuit board itself so it's this like This darkest word Um that's designed in this really Fancy way so it looks like a A beautiful piece of art not to do my Own horn too much uh but it's actually a Circuit board Um which I also thought was really Interesting of like using this that People usually hide away in in products And it felt like a nod to my career in Electronics as well being like no let's Make it pretty let's make it put it Front and forward Um But yeah I mean what I'm realizing now More and more is like there's so many of Like I would love to turn the puzzle Table into a product But then it's like that would be a seven Thousand dollar table and I don't want To sell a table for seven thousand Dollars so you're kind of limited to the Price bracket you're in and it's like Your margins are tough like maintaining Your margins are really really tough and As somebody who's like I would love to Sell the stuff that we're doing cheaper But you just it's just not feasible like You need those marches to survive and

Well one of the the genius things in the Conversations I've had with Elon is the Ability through sort of systematic Questioning of how things have been done In the past to discuss what is the Lowest cost way to solve a problem And so he's very good at getting to like With Optimus robot for example the Humanoid robot how do you get the cost Down yeah and that seems to be like one Of the essential things to do In um in any product that you have to Mask manufacture is constantly discussed Like how do we simplify simplify it's Definitely a design limitation that's Interesting it's both hard and Interesting to work within and that's Such a different thing as well it's like As I talked about before like what is The context and what you're creating Things like I'm still building things I'm still inventing things but I changed The contacts and has a very different Set of limitations and constantly trying To simplify your product to make it Cheaper and yeah it's a really Interesting and different type of design Process you can lose some of the magic Though right like People can do that a little bit too much I think apple is famous like Johnny Ive Is famous for sort of focusing on design First and not worrying about the cost Later because you don't want to

Sacrifice there's some stuff that's Gonna cost more but it keeps yeah some Of the magic I think is for some of the products that We're working on it's like I'm like Let's just make it the best we think it Can be and then we can scale back from There like just like let's not impose These limitations on ourselves up front Like let's just make it the most Beautiful version of itself and then we Can decide what we want to compromise With or compromise on yeah that's what I Say every day when I look in the mirror It's beautiful and then we can Compromise yeah Yeah and see how [ __ ] goes wrong later All right all right uh back a little bit To the robots just um or actually to one Of your more epic projects I mean They're all Epic but chocolate yeah You cutting into a Tesla and turning Into an epic truck what was that like Where did the idea come from The idea came from that I really wanted An electric pickup truck like I'm only Really driven electric because I got my Driver's license pretty late and I'm Like one of the first generation drivers It's like probably never gonna have a Gas vehicle Um but yeah this was in 2018 as well 2018 was a big year yeah yeah uh or 2019. I can't remember and I

Figured that we could just make our own So you took a Tesla Tesla Model three Model three um And you cut off a piece of it And you turn it into a pickup truck What's the um Uh it looks pretty badass so like what What are some of the challenges of doing That it's unlike other projects you've Done yeah it's very much outside of my Realm like I'm not a car person I Haven't worked on cars before so we Brought in a big team Um and had another project manager for It and stuff because also like cars you Definitely don't want things to go wrong Like there's no part of me that wants to [ __ ] around and make something that's Going to be really unsafe for me or for Other people who are driving with me Um So yeah I mean it was about a year of Planning And then we got the car and then we Spent a month just tearing it apart and Trying to make it I was so set like I Really wanted the car just for its Function and I was like I'm so fine with if it's Really ugly but then we managed to make It actually look really good so that Wasn't part of the discussion like how The final thing looks I was I wasn't so I wasn't that fussed about it I was like

I just wanted to I just want it for its Function like I really want this car I Don't want it because it looks cool but Then it ended up looking pretty cool as Well and I'm really I mean even now a Couple of years later when there are Some more options of electric pickup Trucks I still stand truck law Like she's like rivian Ford F-150 like They're all great but they're giant You're sitting there on the porch in Your in your Cowboy hat yeah drinking whiskey and Saying with my Cattle Dog yeah yeah Shotguns I wanted like a small 90s Pickup truck Back to shitty robots you reused parts Of previous robots a lot what's like a Memorable example of that it's just a Graveyard of parts I mean it works out I've gotten better at keeping projects Intact in the beginning I used to Disassemble every project because I was Also much a much more stringent budget So if I needed a motor then I would like Steal it off of an existing robot or Previous robot but I've got a really Good at not doing that now Because I'm like maybe one day I want to Have a museum exhibit and then it would Be nice to have all of those machines Intact and not having to rebuild them Centuries from now they'll you know you Can look at Benjamin Franklin's house

Oh yeah nobody's gonna look at my house Yeah There's some weird [ __ ] uh yeah that Goes great with my idea of myself With the autobiography yeah you said That people keep requesting in the Comments they did I put a dildo on it Yeah they have I have I mean was that Actually where you were gonna ask yeah I Have dildo written in my notes I thought I just made it into a raunchy Punchline we're actually gonna get there Yeah that was in the early days in the Studio robot days but now I have a Filter on my YouTube channel for every Possible spelling of dildo so I mean People want to probably sexualize robots Right and then or or they put they want To sexualize my relationship with them Yeah oh you know because I have majority Male followers and they're so sweet and So receptive like respectful 99 But I realized like if there is a lot of I've realized that Society hasn't taught Men how to have female role models and The way that people Channel it is Through being like Oh it's because I Want to [ __ ] her or I want to date her I Want to marry her And I'm like I don't think you want any Of those things I think you actually Just admire my work but you don't know How to look up to a woman yeah That's beautifully put

Uh what about weapons do you give Requests to put weapons on a thing yeah It's interesting I kind of started in Robotics that's just like a happy camper Who is really into like tinkering and Now I'm kind of seeing some of the Darker parts of it And I remember first time I went to a Proper Factory and I saw like big Industrial robot arms at work and I was Like oh well this is what it is about You know and it was almost scary where I Was like oh I've just been like playing Around with these tiny versions of this And I'm like oh my God everybody Robotics is cool and fun and then you Get in there and you're like this is Kind of terrifying you were platforming The very things that will destroy no You're making it fun and entertaining I'm the mouthpiece and I'm like getting People into Robotics and engineering and We're all just building our demise yeah Accelerating speed no but I mean I had That in like the same with also with Like Companies who are Saying that they're never going to put Weapons on their robots and then have Military contracts and stuff like that You're like this is dark and scary Fortunately I haven't gotten a lot of Requests for it yeah drones are Terrifying especially they're [ __ ]

Terrifying and it's really Everything I mean we're humans are so Good at creative ways of killing and [ __ ] each other it's like almost how Everything goes like and it's yeah I I'm Terrified of the future where we are Going to use more robust to kill each Other And come up with new new creative ways To kill and hurt each other yeah Emotionally psychologically physically Yeah Speaking of which what are your thoughts About I don't know if you've been paying Attention but Chad GPT the investment in Our in language models and artificial Intelligence have you added speaking Capabilities to any of your devices Yeah I used to have an Amazon Echo in my House but then I removed it uh it just Freaked me out that I could whisper from My bed and heard me yeah I'd be like Alexa Play Spotify I feel like playing Spotify Uh Uh I I think it is a powerful tool that we Are not fully ready for yeah yeah and I Don't know I I think um the internet is Kind of a parade of us using Powerful things and harmful ways and I Think Chat Bots are really really exciting I'm Stoked to have a personal assistant

That's like a virtual assistant that Actually does a good job and can solve Problems for me But Yeah it also feels like it can get dark Really really quickly yeah because uh You can form close connections like We're talking about with it and then it Can be used to manipulate you Manipulate you in terms of what is true And manipulating in terms of getting you To buy stuff yeah or um maybe because at Least for now it's centralized getting Everybody to think the same way I mean For I mean it's the same in like Algorithms being used to radicalize People or kind of having that as a Consequence of the way that they work And combine that with a really Advanced Language model and like you can Control people's world view in a way That you could I mean it's just It's it's wild and I think we're not Ready for it and I don't know if we ever Would be because we're Very impressionable a little squishy Flashbacks which takes us back to the One the squishy flash flashbags interact Which one pops first still um Bubble new people paper coming out like Three minutes talking about oh Um what about consciousness So you never anthropomorphize the robots Did they ever come to life for you

Where you kind of thought no because They built them and I know how they work So that prevents you from being able to See the magic I don't know yeah but I Think it's like I definitely when I did a lot of the Shitty robot stuff like I wanted them to Move like a human or like in a more Organic way and not just like point A to Point B which is the easiest way to Program stuff Um so I wanted other people to Anthropomorphize them but I don't think I I did necessarily I am trying to think of a piece of Technology that I've Kind of projected feelings upon but no I Can't so sometimes what makes me Anthropomorphize something even though I Built it is uh There's a element surprise so especially With machine learning you're surprised By the kind of things it does have you Ever been surprised by a robot No because they're all pretty dumb like Also the robots I built it's like They're all just servos moving from I Mean they're I don't think I've built anything with a Huge amount of sensors or like they're Just moving in a pattern that I program Them to move what's the most complex Thing you've built I mean probably truckload yeah was

Complex just for the sheer scale of it And like the I mean but I think that was my biggest Project both in terms of build scope but Also in terms of impact that it had like That project just went wild but then Yeah then I don't know the bubble wrap Music box I know they're all called in Different ways that that one is epic how Does the bubble wrap connect to the Flute by the way what's how does that Work And the flute is just right where like Mounted right where it pops it okay yeah So fascinating yeah I'm fun funny enough Uh in my in Deep investigative journalistic research Of you yeah says you're you used to be An MMA reporter yeah How how how how did that happen how did You get into it I was really into Martial arts I was like a huge UFC buff I mean this is 2010 maybe did you practice martial arts Yourself I did yeah I was mostly stand Up I did like um I did a lot of Muay Thai and then some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu And just yeah I was really The thing is I I get really intense About my hobbies Into it I was all in awesome and Um I had worked a little bit as a Journalist and I was like oh I should Like

Do MMA reporting And I emailed uh this uh MMA website in Sweden I was like hey can I come and Write for you and they were like oh Actually we're going to an event in Gothenburg tomorrow do you want to come Yeah and I was like wow this is a lot It's like 11 p.m at night but sure I'll Come And I went there to their office I'd Never really met them and I'm like this Is kind of scary like I'm a 20 year old Girl and going there in a group of men With a group of men and Um they were so rude They'd like I went there and I was like Hey what's up and they were all kind of Ignoring me and just like not looking at Me or interacting with me Until they realized that Simon was a girl because we'd only Talked over email and they're like oh This guy named Simon is Gonna Come and Then they were like oh [ __ ] Simon it's Actually Simone yeah and it's a girl uh So I kind of like slid into that in a Very very strange way and I did that for A year but then I got kicked out of an Interview with Alexander Gustafson and Pronunciation is so good And then I just kind of never went back And I was done with it and now I'm not Allowed to do martial arts because of Brain stuff so I've kind of put all of

That behind me and it's it's interesting It's like I definitely see the Athleticism in it and the skill that Goes into it I think as the older I get The more concerned I am about the health Impacts of the sport and of the people Who are practicing it on an elite level And I'm just not as Um Cannot as the 100 just here as somebody Beats somebody else up into a pulp yeah Especially considering the effects you Might have on the brain may I ask why You got kicked out yesterday is anything Fun so embarrassing what happened it Wasn't I didn't it was not I didn't Intend to get kicked out I didn't Realize I was going to get kicked out so It was Alexander Gusto song was going to Fight Jon Jones yeah and he had just he Was kind of like this Golden Boy in Sweden and he had just come out to the Press that he had actually been to jail For violent crimes And all I wanted to ask all I asked was What was the reason that you wanted to Bring that forward now And apparently that was completely like Blacklisted but I hadn't gotten briefed About it at all and the Um the pr man had a PR of the UFC was Just yelling at me and they kicked me Out of hell in Stockholm and I Immediately called my mom and I was like

Mom you will not believe what just Happened I got kicked out of an Interview Because in the 90s she got kicked out of An interview with Mel Gibson from the Gun Hotel so that's like runs in the Family so I was just like she party so Yeah no it was just this weird Generational skip where we both gotten Kicked out of interviews at this same Hotel You spent uh quite a bit of time in China as a student uh is that something You could speak to the differences And culturally maybe even from like a Student in an engineering perspective Between China and us maybe even Sweden Those are like technologically speaking Just such fundamentally different places I mean I moved to China when I was 16. Yeah and I went through as an extreme Student so that is before I had ever Touched upon those things and it was and Then I went back when I was 19. To work as an English teacher for a Little bit It was It was incredibly challenging To be there the language barrier the Language the culture all of it I mean I Was like now when I look at 16 year olds I'm like you're a baby and I moved sorry 10 or 16 year olds listening to this but Like I just can't believe I did that and

Yeah I didn't speak the language I got Placed in like a small City with almost No foreigners it was just a constant Audience of people staring at you Because They haven't interacted with a lot of Foreigners before and yeah I definitely And then after that I moved to Kenya And I think that was one of the reasons why It was so interesting to move to the States because people were like oh isn't It like hard with the language barrier Or the cultural difference and I was Like yeah there's this nothing and I Could speak the language like I could Speak English well and I could kind of Pass as an American even just as I moved Here and it was such a relief where I Was like wow I'm like an undercover Foreigner because I got to a point where I realized like it doesn't matter how Good my Mandarin is I'm never People are never gonna Fully Accept me here so yeah and you moved you Uh went to Kenya you've spoken about This after your parents got divorced I know I know so many things what do you Think this is is it from when I have my Amazon Echo installed yeah yeah I came home from China first time I was There for a year It's

One of the most turned upside down days Of my life I spent a year there and I Was so excited I had really rough year And I was so excited just to come home And like be a child again I remember Thinking and just like feeling like I Belonged and then I came home and I Found out that my parents had separated When I was gone and they hadn't told me Because they wanted to like not affect My stay there which I think was 100 the Right decision of them to make but I Kind of came home to a house that was Starting to get picked apart and A big shock to your world it was both Yes and no I think I remember I just sat down on my Bed and I was like well this isn't what I expected but I guess I'll move to Kenya because I was one of the few there Were a few Swedish boarding schools in The world there was one in Brussels Paris London and then one in Nairobi and I didn't want to miss more school Because I'd taken a gap year when I went To China So I was like I guess I'll go to Nairobi And I'm thinking now like I I think if My parents had stayed together granted It was amazing that they they did made The right decision in every way but I my Roots kind of never grew back after that And I think I just kept on moving abroad and

Moving around and being really restless And Yeah and have you ever been able to find A home Spiritually I have a home yeah I mean I Have a home In the people around me and I have I Have a lot of different homes you know It's I think what I'm realizing more and more Is like you cannot live without Consequence and compromise and sometimes I can envy people who have that like Same friend group that they had their Entire life or that you know just really Belong in a place And I realized that would be amazing but I've chosen different experiences And one of the upsides of that is I can Feel home almost anywhere One of the downsides of that is that I Cannot feel fully at home anywhere Oh that's deeply and Darkly poetic do You feel at home Probably the way you put it is uh really Beautifully put yeah No I have to find home in the people I love Yeah What advice would you give to young People Uh that look at your Stellar life the Trajectory of of your career as a human Being as a Creator as a engineer as a

Designer As a incredibly interesting personality Who's working on an autobiography what Advice would you give them um like how How to make their way in this life maybe High school students maybe college Students on um How they can have a career they can be Proud of or life they can be proud of oh My God looks Um You know it's this is not the advice but There are very few moments in a career That feel as good as you think they are Going to And there are very few moments of Feeling really proud of yourself like I Feel like I often Just feel like I'm not doing it well Enough or big enough or And now I just had one of those moments Like hearing you say that I'm like oh I'm actually doing okay Um I think my main advice is Enthusiasm is a much more potent fuel in Life than Duty And just because something is boring Doesn't mean that it's important I I kind of realized for myself that like I'm so much better at the things I enjoy But school doesn't really teach us how To stay excited about something and how

To stay enthusiastic about something and If you can find that then like you got a Gold mine of potential So I kind of had to reprogram myself to be Like just because this is fun doesn't Mean that it's not important Because I had so much guilt about it in This weird way or where I'm like no this Is too fun this can't be work and I'm Like no it still work The boring stuff isn't more important And the vice versa says you said Just because it's boring and hard Doesn't mean it's the right thing to do Yeah that's interesting I um I'm gonna Have to take that advice and think Through it because I'm my genetically I'm built a little bit like if this is Really unpleasant it's probably good for Me yeah and it's a dangerous thing to to Think sometimes it's true sometimes it's Not yeah No and it's like what comes really easy And where do you have that kind of Effortless momentum and enthusiasm and That is kind of The Sweet Spot I think that I'm also really happy that I spent time trying out so many Different jobs I mean I had I've had so Many different jobs before I did it and I would do things for a year and then I Quit and it feels like I tried on a Bunch of different pants and you're like

Okay I can kind of wear this but they're Like not super comfortable or I don't Love the look of them or whatever and Now I feel like I found this pair of Pants that just like fits me perfectly And that perfectly caters to my Strengths and my weaknesses like I used To work as an editor for the Swedish Government And I remember thinking like Oh I need to be okay that not a lot of Things are happening and that things are Moving slowly and that the work is kind Of like monotonous and then I realized Like or maybe I should be in a workplace Where it's a benefit or strength that I Want a lot of things to happen and that I can handle a high speed yeah you know And I think that is really such a good Question task as well like what are my Strengths what are my weaknesses and What context are most of these things Strengths If you know that you know the Measurements you can find the right Fitting pants yeah or the right suit As Lex will tell you Um uh what do you think is the meaning Of life No I don't think there's any meaning It's a meaningless void no just that it Doesn't have any meaning doesn't mean That it's meaningless I don't think that There's this big Grand meaning I think

Um a more important question is what Brings you substantial joy in your life To me it's the relationships with people That I have Love Yeah I mean love in all different kinds Of form it's um I'm really working on figuring out how To build more Community especially in a Society that isn't really made for it Um I want more passive Hangouts with people or like I just want People who are there Together To get high no together to get high Together yeah I mean I like I I think Seeing somebody for lunch and kind of Shooting the [ __ ] and what's what's the Latest with you is great but like what I Want is somebody to just roll up in Sweat pants and open my fridge and like Be like what are you gonna do I don't Know maybe I'll read a book like yeah I Think that sharing kind of like silence Sharing silence being alone together and That just that type of community I think Is what I'm really seeking out now Um because I think yeah and also like Working on a goal on a joint goal Together with other people you know I Think being a YouTuber can be really Lonely Um I mean as much as I'm working with a Team it's like

Yeah I just want to work in a bigger Project and kind of have that sense of Wow we're like doing this together Because I think that access is my pride A lot better than just being proud of Myself it's so much easier for me to be Proud of a team Than for me to be proud of myself That's probably good advice for people Who are doing creative work on YouTube Too to work on to work on a team yeah And just choose Try to do things and take it from the Queen of shitty robots but like try to Do things with Integrity form a queen Robots Do things with Integrity like anything You do on the Internet is kind of I Think of things as tattoos on my Internet And on my internet self and I'm I'm Really happy that I said no to some Things early in my career that I know That I would have regretted now and You know just think of it in the long Term like going viral is overwhelming And so stressful and so fun but like so Intense and I'm I'm really happy that I Managed to build that into a more Long-term career Than just have it be something that Passed And come down from the the viral moment And maintaining your Humanity yeah and

Also Really deliberately defining what Success means to you because there are So many Reasons or so many definitions that Other people will give you and Especially when you're working on the Internet there are just numbers upon Numbers that are like you're doing well You're not doing well and something I'm Really happy that I did was early on I Really try to think of like what does Success look like for me and I realize That it's not having the world's biggest YouTube channel It's being proud of the projects that I Put out and having full say in how I Spend my time Like that is the most important thing to Me and if I had a huge YouTube channel And I was making so much money but I Kind of had this machine run me rather Than the other way around like to me It's so important to be able to wake up In the morning and be like I don't want To do this anymore and for that to be Okay Um and I think I defined that for myself Early on and I've really tried to live By it and made decisions after that and I'm really happy that I did that and Also you're with the the store with the Design you're doing now you're putting A little bit of love in the products you

Create a scale I mean that's what Johnny Ive did hmm that's the cool thing so you Can create something beautiful and then People can share that love at skills It's terrifying and beautiful and I'm so Here for it I'm here for it too Um I'm a big fan I'm a big fan of who You are I'm a big fan of everything you Do of putting yourself out there putting Your love out there in terms of the Designs you create also just because I'm A fan of Robotics I think you inspire a Lot of people I think The shitty robots are actually Incredible robots And uh it's incredible engineering That's all that's that's the best Combination of design engineering and Fun all of it together so thank you for Doing that you're I'm a big fan you're An inspiration and thank you for sitting Down with me this is awesome thank you So much for having me Thanks for listening to this Conversation with Simone yet to support This podcast please check out our Sponsors in the description and now let Me leave you with some words from Kurt Vonnegut We have to continually be jumping off Cliffs and developing our wings on the Way down Thank you for listening and hope to see You next time

Leave a Comment