Episode 26: Alfred Nash - Insatiable curiosity, NASA and Team X, and the return of the Renaissance Man

Origins Podcast with Ryan McGranaghan

Show Notes:

• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (05:15)
• Mentors (07:20)
• Building and leading teams (13:15)
• Comfort with uncertainty (15:30)
• Waleed Abdalati Origins episode (18:30)
• What drew Nash to JPL (19:00)
• Trajectories to JPL (20:00)
• Why you need to read sociology books (22:00)
• Being a Renaissance Person - curiosity across human endeavors (22:40)
• T-shaped people (23:00)
• Challenging yourself (29:45)
• The change in mentality that comes with public service (32:50)
• NASA JPL Team X (35:15)
  • What is Team X?
• van Allen, von Braun, and Pickering famous picture (38:00)
• What networked computers did for JPL (40:30)
• Alfred’s contribution to Team X efficiency - paper (42:15)
• Three types of fun (44:10)
• Thinking about how you provide information (46:15)
  • Related: see discussion of human-centered design in Rachel Young Origins episode
• "Murphy was an optimist” (48:00)
• Melanie Mitchell Origins episode (56:10)
• Writing (56:45)
  • Helping Writers Become Authors podcast
  • Children of Tendu podcast and parallels to proposal writing
  • Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way
  • Why you need to learn about design
  • “All endeavors of humanity are communicative endeavors"
  • “Vision without action is a daydream, action without vision is a nightmare"
• “You can never be too clear” (01:05:30)
• Thinking in questions (01:06:00)
  • “The people who really make it in life are not those who get the right answer, but the ones that ask the right question”
  • Right question is the quantum leap to the right answer
• Lightning round (01:08:00):
  • Book: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
  • Passion: Gift of gab
  • Heart sing: Broadest possible definition of product development (The Invincible Company book)
  • Screwed up: Leading people during Planck Mission project
• Find guest online:
  • Twitter @aeniii
  • NASA JPL
• 'Five-Cut Fridays’ five-song music playlist series
  • Alfred’s playlist