Books both Balaji Srinivasan and Patrick Collison recommend

balajianthology.com · Balajis Recommended Reading

“The most prescient thing in the world. You can take one page and turn it into a Ph.D thesis.”

Balaji recommends it as the foundational text for understanding how cryptography will replace territorial sovereignty — the direct intellectual predecessor to his Network State concept.

balajianthology.com · Balajis Recommended Reading

“If I were stuck on a desert island this is the one book I want, because it's basically all of math.”

Quoted in The Anthology of Balaji's recommended reading archive.

x.com

“Lee Kuan Yew wrote a book. From third world to first. Back then he admired San Francisco. But today, history is running in reverse. Going from Singapore to San Francisco… …is from first world to third.”

Tweet from September 16, 2023 contrasting Singapore's ascent with San Francisco's decline.

tim.blog · Balaji Srinivasan

Linked in the show notes of Tim Ferriss episode #506 (March 24, 2021) where Balaji discussed centralized-planning failures.

twitter.com

“It's not easy [to rebuild after black swan events] but may be easier...”

From a tweet by Balaji Srinivasan referencing the book.

balajianthology.com · Balajis Recommended Reading

Balaji recommends it to explain the recurring boom-bust-build cycle in crypto and why periods of demoralization produce the most durable companies.

twitter.com

“The book is short and well worth reading. Presages much of today's...”

From a tweet by Balaji Srinivasan recommending the book.

Patrick Collison's Bookshelf

Flagged blue on Collison's bookshelf — substantially above average.