Newton the Alchemist. Gandhi the Black Swan | Episode 7 | Everything is Everything

Isaac Newton was not just a great scientist, but the last of the magicians. Mohandas Gandhi was a black swan event: a flawed, complex man who shaped history.

Welcome to Episode 7 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Ajay talks about Isaac Newton, and why he was a product of historical forces. Amit cites Mohandas Gandhi as an example of why historical currents aren't everything, and historical accidents can produce a man like Gandhi who changes everything. Ajay and Amit also recommend some of their favourite books -- and one outstanding bookshop.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:00 Teaser and packaging
01:01 Introduction: Ajay is an escaped convict
01:44 Chapter 1: Isaac Newton -- The Last of the Magicians
27:39 Chapter 2: Mohandas Gandhi -- A Black Swan Event?
1:00:27 Chapter 3: Ajay Recommends
1:03:08 Chapter 4: Amit Recommends

USEFUL RESOURCES:

1. Amit on Twitter:   / amitvarma  
2. Ajay on Twitter:   / ajay_shah  
3. The Seen and the Unseen -- Amit's audio podcast: https://seenunseen.in/
(Also on all podcast apps. And YouTube, though less than 1% of listens come from here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSeenAndTh...
4. Ajay's organisation, XKDR Forum, on YouTube:    / @xkdr  
5. In Service of the Republic -- Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah: https://amzn.eu/d/hwGILb3
6. The Art of Clear Writing -- Amit's writing course: https://indiauncut.com/clear-writing/
7. As Tears Go By -- The Rolling Stones:    • The Rolling Stones - As Tears Go By (...  
8. Isaac Newton on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_N...
9. Isaac Newton on Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/...
10. Epitaph on Sir Isaac Newton -- Alexander Pope: https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/ever...
11. Newton, the Man -- John Maynard Keynes: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk...
12. The Power Broker -- Robert Caro: https://amzn.eu/d/ig9pE1I
13. The social and economic roots of Newton's Principia -- Boris Hessen: https://philpapers.org/rec/HESTSA-2
14. The Great Man Theory of History: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_m...
15. The Essays of Paul Graham: http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html
16. Marginal Revolution: https://marginalrevolution.com/
17. Marginal Revolution University: https://mru.org/
18. Emergent Ventures: https://www.mercatus.org/emergent-ven...
19. Marching For Salt -- Amit Varma on Mohandas Gandhi: https://indiauncut.com/marching-for-s...
20. Understanding Gandhi. Part 1: Mohandas — Episode 104 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha): https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2019/1...
21. Understanding Gandhi. Part 2: Mahatma — Episode 105 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha): https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2019/1...
22. An Area of Darkness -- VS Naipaul: https://amzn.eu/d/3i9FjVV
23. Hind Swaraj -- Mohandas Gandhi: https://amzn.eu/d/dJlpnjM
24. The Mahatma and the Poet -- Letters between Tagore and Gandhi edited by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya: https://amzn.eu/d/fs8I5XW
25. The Atlantic Charter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanti...
26. The Discovery of India -- Jawaharlal Nehru: https://amzn.eu/d/3fQOIWE
27. Luck is All Around -- Amit Varma: https://indiauncut.com/luck-is-all-ar...
28. The White Crow Books and Coffee on Instagram:   / thewhitecrowbooksandcoffee  
29. The Ascent of Man -- Jacob Bronowksi: https://amzn.eu/d/6zVYLaE
30. Essays in Persuasion -- John Maynard Keynes: https://amzn.eu/d/2c4GJwX
31. Essays in Biography -- John Maynard Keynes: https://amzn.eu/d/4TG4Iqv
32. Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Hayek – The Original Economics Rap Battle!:    • Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Ha...  
33. Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek – Economics Rap Battle Round Two:    • Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Haye...  
34. Conversation and Society — Episode 182 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Russ Roberts): https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/7...
35. His Dark Materials -- Philip Pullman: https://amzn.eu/d/axI9ehC
36. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: https://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/...
37. Gandhi Before India -- Ramachandra Guha: https://amzn.eu/d/fC5NcUM
38. Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World -- Ramachandra Guha: https://amzn.eu/d/ctjoIdF
39. Great Soul -- Joseph Lelyveld: https://amzn.eu/d/eV6K0by
40. The Good Boatman -- Rajmohan Gandhi: https://amzn.eu/d/2gbf6uC


Produced and edited by Vartika Singh:    / @vartikasingh7  .
Thanks to Gaurav Chintamani for helping with the sound:   / gaurav_chintamani  
Chapter images by Simahina:   / i_am_simahina