Shows
Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)Narrative, mastery, and character bleed in games, with Ricki HeicklenPatrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined again by Ricki Heicklen to discuss Metagame 2025, a conference where 250 attendees were divided into Purple and Orange teams competing for territories across campus. Patrick built a complete roguelike RPG in 25 days using LLMs, discovering that providing minimal world-building context transformed generic fantasy outputs into emotionally resonant storytelling. They discuss the power and responsibility of game designers, how games create pedagogical experiences that traditional teaching cannot, and what happens when the line between player identity and character identity starts to blur.–Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/narrative-mastery-character-bleed-in-games-with-ricki-heicklen/...
2025-10-161h 32
Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)Think like a trader, with Ricki HeicklenPatrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined again by Ricki Heicklen to discuss the evolution of her trading education business, Arbor, one year after their first conversation. They dive deep into the pedagogy of trading, exploring how simulated markets teach concepts like adverse selection, team dynamics, and risk management through hands-on experience. Ricki shares war stories from the bootcamp trenches—infinite loop bugs that mirror Knight Capital's disaster, WiFi outages that create unexpected trading opportunities, and that the most successful trading teams often focus on internal team communication even more than trade execution or technical acumen.See the full tr...
2025-07-101h 55
Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)The capitalist's guide to podcasting, with Ross Rheingans-YooIn this episode, Patrick McKenzie (patio11) and returning guest Ross Rheingans-Yoo discuss the strategic advantages of starting a podcast, particularly for professionals seeking to build trust, expand their networks, and support fundraising efforts. They explore the nuts and bolts of podcast production models, recording logistics, transcript creation, and how to make the experience frictionless for high-value guests. Ross shares his thought process around his newly-launched show Development and Research while Patrick gives a behind the scenes look at the makings of Complex Systems. –Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/capitalists-guide-to-podcasting-with-ross-rheingans-yoo–Spons...
2025-05-221h 03
Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)Retrospective on 2024, with Sammy CottrellIn this special episode, Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) and his EA/producer Sammy Cottrell examine the production function behind Complex Systems, from studio logistics to transcript annotation and guest selection. They reflect on their most memorable episodes while discussing the podcast's core mission of making complex systems more legible and ensuring valuable content remains freely available on the internet. The conversation explores the subjective best episodes from 2024, plans for the year ahead, and how LLMs might transform both the systems they study and how we write about them.–Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/2024-year-in-review-sammy-cottrell/...
2025-01-091h 03
LessWrong (Curated & Popular)“Stanislav Petrov Quarterly Performance Review” by Ricki Heicklen Quarterly Performance Review, Autumn 1983Colonel Yuri Kuznetsov looked out the window anxiously. The endless gray landscape did little to soothe his nerves. He only had one employee review left to get through, but he’d saved the hardest one for last. He wasn’t upset about having to dismiss Lieutenant Colonel Petrov—he couldn’t wait to be rid of the little shit—but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. He took a swig from his flask. “Stanislav, you can come in now,” Yuri shouted as he opened the door and nearly smash...
2024-09-2909 min
Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)How the Smart Money teaches trading with Ricki HeicklenPatrick McKenzie (patio11) and Ricki Heicklen discuss Ricki’s innovative approaches to teaching trading. Trading is traditionally taught only by practitioners, to practitioners. The curricula that trading firms use are not published externally, to avoid empowering competitors. Ricki explains how she teaches trade mechanics, how markets and traders react to new information, and the security mindset necessary for trading, including protecting sensitive information and avoiding signaling strategies inadvertently.–Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/episodes/teaching-trading-ricki-heicklen/–Sponsors: SafebaseReady to save time and close deals faster? Inbound security reviews shouldn’t slow do...
2024-07-111h 40LessWrong (Curated & Popular)[HUMAN VOICE] "Toward a Broader Conception of Adverse Selection" by Ricki HeicklenSupport ongoing human narrations of LessWrong's curated posts:www.patreon.com/LWCuratedThis is a linkpost for https://bayesshammai.substack.com/p/conditional-on-getting-to-trade-your“I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member” -Marx[1]Adverse Selection is the phenomenon in which information asymmetries in non-cooperative environments make trading dangerous. It has traditionally been understood to describe financial markets in which buyers and sellers systematically differ, such as a market for used cars in which sellers have the information advantage, where resulting feedback loops can lead to market coll...
2024-04-1221 min