Why Elon Musk Started a School

Welcome to?The?Art?of?The?Impossible, a weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces?of?content which I hope will both inspire?and?embolden you. But before we get started, here is a quick ad from today's sponsor, Masterworks.

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Back to the newsletter…

PODCAST

The story behind how one teacher and Elon Musk reimagined education

What does the future of education look like? This is a question I have pondered for the last ten years or so and today’s guest - Josh Dahn – has the answer.? Listen here or wherever it is you get your podcasts from.

Eight years ago, Josh Dahn was teaching Elon Musk’s kids at Mirman – a private school for highly gifted children in LA when Elon approached him about rethinking the traditional education model. Josh jumped at the opportunity and in today’s episode, Josh talks me through that first meeting with Elon and how they worked together to found the Ad Astra school based at SpaceX.?Listen here or wherever it is you get your podcasts from.

Based at the SpaceX site, it was a school where the children weren’t separated out by year group or grades as you say in the US, but instead, the education matched the aptitude of the children, and the education was focused around problem solving and teaching to the problem, as opposed teaching to the tools.

Josh went on to co-found Synthesis which is an innovative online school, helping students to prepare for the future by getting them engaged and excited about complexity and solving for the unknown.?Listen here or wherever it is you get your podcasts from.

Josh is Founder and Executive Director of Astra Nova School (previously known as Ad Astra) in Los Angeles.

Enjoy! Listen here or wherever it is you get your podcasts from.

QUOTE

INTERVIEW

The Man Behind Windows

The great Dave Cutler of Microsoft - a seminal figure in computer science, renowned for his contributions to operating systems. Born in 1942, he played pivotal roles in the development of several operating systems, most notably VMS for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Windows NT for Microsoft.

Cutler's design principles emphasize performance, reliability, and scalability. His work on Windows NT laid the foundation for many subsequent Windows versions, solidifying its place in enterprise and personal computing. A stickler for detail and a rigorous engineer, Cutler's influence is still evident in modern OS design and architecture.

He is also a recipient of the Computer History Museum's Fellow Award for his unparalleled contributions.

A lengthy but enjoyable interview!

BOOK

Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading by Chris Anderson

From the bestselling author, media pioneer, and curator of TED, an inspiring book about one of humankind’s defining but overlooked impulses, and how we can super-charge its potential to build a hopeful future “I flew through these pages with an increasing sense of joy. I hope that millions read this book.”—Elizabeth Gilbert,?author of Eat, Pray, Love.

Let’s face it: Recent years have been tough on optimists. Hopes that the Internet might bring people together have been crushed by the ills of social media. Is there a way back? As head of TED, Chris Anderson has had a ringside view of the world’s boldest thinkers sharing their most uplifting ideas. Inspired by them, he believes that it’s within our grasp to turn outrage back into optimism. It all comes down to reimagining one of the most fundamental human virtues: generosity. What if generosity could become infectious generosity?

Consider...

? How a London barber began offering haircuts to people experiencing homelessness—and catalyzed a movement

? How two anonymous donors gave $10,000 each to two hundred strangers and discovered that most recipients wanted to “pay it forward” with their own generous acts

? How TED itself transformed from a niche annual summit into a global beacon of ideas by giving away talks online, allowing millions access to free learning.

In telling these inspiring stories, Anderson has given us, “the first page-turner ever written about human generosity” (Elizabeth Dunn). More importantly, he offers a playbook for how to embark on our own generous acts—whether gifts of money, time, talent, connection, or kindness—and to prime them, thanks to the internet, to have self-replicating, even world-changing, impact.

Out Jan 2024. Available for pre-order here.

FILM

Ruby on Rails Documentary

Ruby on Rails has one of the most faithful communities online, it also has one of the most controversial, rabble-rousing creators out there, Danish programmer, David Heinemeier Hansson. Widely known as DHH, David tells us how Rails went from a crazy idea to one of the most talked-about full-stack frameworks over the course of 20 years. Get the whole spill by the people who had a front-row seat to the creation and development of Ruby on Rails. Jeremy Daer, Jason Fried, Tobias Lütke, Jamis Buck, and… DHH tell the tale of Rails. A tale seeped with passion, pushback, and (after Rails 3.0) maturity.

Thank you for reading?the?newsletter?and?for listening to?the?podcast, and?if you enjoy them, please do share with your network - my goal is to have these stories reach as many as possible so that others can be inspired too.

PS I will be on the Digital Europe podcast soon, hosted by Pau Garcia-Milà - check it out here.