Episode 07: Matt Russo - DJ to the Cosmos
Matt Russo defies categorization. He holds degrees from the University of Toronto in Jazz Guitar Performance, Astronomy and Physics, a Ph.D. in Astrophysics and a minor in Mathematics thrown in there for good measure. He has fronted a Hip Hop/Fusion band and is now a part of an indie pop group, RVNNERS. He develops sound-based planetarium shows, giving a voice to the cosmos and has a TED talk from last year on the subject that has been viewed 1.5 million times and is one of the coolest talks that I have ever seen.
Matt juggles all of these projects and more while also finding time to be a lecturer at the University of Toronto and Seneca College and an advocate for science outreach.
It’s hard for me to relate how excited I am that he is on Origins - enjoy!
Show Notes:
Matt’s bands (1:30): Tiny Danza and RVNNERS
Being singularly focused versus pursuing multiple curiosities. Tim Ferriss blog on one way to think about this: Push vs. Pull Processes
Sonification (9:03)
TEDx talk University of Toronto (10:12)
Matt’s interaction with the six-year old fan of his work (11:00)
Matt discusses acting almost unconsciously during his TEDx talk because of his preparation - this might be similar to a ‘flow state’ (discussed by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi on the TED stage) (13:30)
Idea of education being built on ‘really clear scaffolding’ (18:40)
Antidisciplinary and Joi Ito (20:45)
Sara Mazrouei and dating craters on the moon and listening to their impacts (24:15)
Matt on Twitter (@astromattrusso) (26:30)
The age of data (28:10)
Looking to what’s next vs. living in the now (32:00)
Derek Sivers “if it’s not a HELL yes, then it’s a no” (34:55)
Books:
Planet Hunters (36:50)
Music of the Spheres (37:20)
Figuring (37:45)
Breakfast of Champions (39:00)
Nerding out about taking notes (41:00)
Where to find Matt online:
Planetarium shows: System sounds
Matt’s Five-cut Fridays and my Spotify account with all Five-Cut Friday playlists
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