Echoes of Creation: Decoding Vue's Genesis and the FTX Saga

Hey,

It's December now, and I have a new podcast episode out here:

​From 486 to Vue.js - Evan You's Full-Time Gamble on Open Source​

It's the unlikely origin story behind Vue.js and how Evan You's frustration with Angular sparked a side project that snowballed into one of today's most popular JavaScript frameworks.

Two of the big focuses are: 1) What happens when your hobby project takes on a life of its own? 2) The highs and lows Evan faced while balancing simplicity and approachability with ambitious plans to take Vue to the next level.

But my biggest take-away was about positive feedback and how it can empower you. Give it a listen, and let me know what you think.

​

Book Review: FTX and Going Infinite By Micheal Lewis

Micheal Lewis is a fantastic writer. I'm a huge fan. But I've had his latest book, Going Infinite, about Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and FTX, since it came out, and I've been afraid to read it.

The best writer of financial narrative non-fiction on the scene of the most enormous and craziest story about a crypto bank in the Bahamas collapsing into nothing. It was perfect and excellent, and I was so excited that he was there. So, I had the book pre-ordered.

But I knew Lewis was not going to write "Bad Blood" the fantastic book that exposed Theranos. Lewis brings you into the story and makes you care about the characters. The character in this book is in jail and is a fraudster and scam artist. And so I was worried for Lewis. Really truly worried that he would be writing a book propping up a fraudster. And the book has faced accusations of being just that.

But I consumed the book over two days. Today, I was on a four-hour plane ride, and that helped .. but man, the book is terrific. So good. And I did leave the book feeling better about SBF as a person. That doesn't mean I don't think he should be in jail, but I understand a lot about who he is now.

It wasn't investigative journalism. It was the story, the narrative of this strange man and the things he built.

One of the crazy things I heard about FTX was how they were all living in a polygamist relationship in this giant mansion in the Bahamas while taking amphetamines. And that was true, sort of. But in a truer sense, and the book outlines, seven nerdy guys lived in a big mansion, some with their girlfriends, and mainly they played board games and had sprinkled the place with gaming PCs and ethernet cables. It wasn't the Playboy Mansion. It was the place I lived in my second year of university but on a bigger budget.

SBF misappropriated clients' money and lied about things, but he also was a socially awkward person who was way overconfident in his abilities, didn't like his girlfriend very much, and mainly wanted to play video games and not have to deal with people.

This week's episode is with Evan You, and he is nothing like SBF.

(That's not the connection I'm trying to draw here.)

But sometimes I wonder when I try to connect, say, the creation of Vue.js with Evan's cousin's encouraging him to develop Flash websites when he was a kid and how one led to the other... I wonder if I should stick to the action. But I love these details, and while I can never claim to be Micheal Lewis, his book renewed in me this sense that those story elements, those motivational and backstory elements, really matter.

What Vue.js is today is a direct consequence of who Evan is and his desire, which started as a child with a 486, to create things and get feedback on them. You can't strictly follow in Evan's footsteps. Time only moves in one direction, and things have changed. But understanding someone, who they were, and where that led can teach us a lot about how the world works.

Reflecting on my initial apprehensions, Michael Lewis's "Going Infinite" transcended my expectations. Lewis unravels the complexities of Sam Bankman-Fried, not to defend but to humanize and contextualize his journey. This deep dive reaffirmed my own passion for exploring stories, reinforcing the power of narrative in understanding the people behind the projects. Thank you, Micheal Lewis.

Adam

( Also, what kind of stories or interviews would you find most valuable to hear in the future? Are there specific topics or areas you'd like to hear more about? )

Here is the episode link again:

​From 486 to Vue.js - Evan You's Full-Time Gamble on Open Source​

​@adamgordonbell​

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