People I (Mostly) Admire, Episode 6: Nathan Myhrvold – “I Am Interested in Lots of Things, and That's Actually a Bad Strategy”

Date: February 7, 2026
Host: Steve Levitt (Freakonomics co-author)
Guest: Nathan Myhrvold (Polymath: physicist, inventor, ex-Microsoft CTO, cookbook author)

Episode Overview

In this lively conversation, Steve Levitt speaks with Nathan Myhrvold—a true polymath with a dazzling career spanning physics, technology, entrepreneurship, and culinary innovation. Myhrvold shares stories from his unconventional childhood, mentorship under Stephen Hawking, and subsequent leap from academic physics to Microsoft and then to his invention firm, Intellectual Ventures. The discussion delves into the challenges of innovation, barriers to technological adoption, the need for rational approaches to global crises like climate change, and reflections on parenting gifted children. Myhrvold’s openness and humor, paired with Levitt’s probing curiosity, make for a deeply insightful and entertaining exploration of a mind that refuses to specialize.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Years and Education

• Skipping Grades and Social Navigation

  • Myhrvold skipped four grades, graduating high school at 14. He reflects on how this affected his social and athletic life, never being the “most awkward” or “the worst” in any group, but always somewhat out of sync with peers.
  • Quote: “I was never the weirdest kid in class or the most misfit kid.” (03:02, Nathan)

• Decision to Advance Fast

  • It was Nathan’s idea to skip grades out of boredom, and he expresses no regret:
  • Quote: “It was just so damn boring otherwise.” (03:30, Nathan)
  • Quote: “We only get to live our lives once... I certainly don’t regret any of it.” (03:35, Nathan)

Academic Career and Stephen Hawking

• Time at Princeton and Cambridge

  • After earning multiple degrees, Myhrvold became a postdoc under Stephen Hawking.
  • Hawking’s approach to life (and science) inspired him:
    • Quote: “He had a terrific sense of humor, which made it very, very hard to feel sorry for yourself if you were with Stephen.” (04:09, Nathan)
    • Hawking viewed his disability as an advantage—he didn’t have to attend committees and learned to condense concepts due to inability to take notes, which he felt improved his science (04:30).

• Hawking’s Standing in Physics

  • Myhrvold counters critics claiming Hawking wasn’t a top physicist, noting his singularity theorems' importance and the broader issue of physics lacking new empirical data.
  • Quote: “Anybody who says that Stephen isn't a great physicist, I would say, okay, now tell me your answer about the singularity theorems...” (05:29, Nathan)
  • He laments the shortage of major theoretical leaps without new evidence, referencing Newton and Einstein:
    • Quote: “Unfortunately, we haven't had a scientist like that since Einstein. And if you count Newton as the previous one, we may only get them every 500 years.” (08:53, Nathan)

• Cultural Differences between Physics and Economics

  • Levitt contrasts physics (few big problems, many people racing on the same ones) to economics (many niche problems, few specialists per topic). Nathan agrees but notes excessive investment in trendy theories like string theory:
  • Quote: “In economist terms, the field over-invested in string theory. And now it's turned out that we don't have that much to show for it.” (11:26, Nathan)

Transition to Technology and Microsoft

• Joining Microsoft and Meeting Bill Gates

  • Myhrvold joined Microsoft after working on early PC software, recounting his first meeting with Gates as pivotal.
  • Quote: “If I'd had a bad meeting, subsequent history could have been quite different.” (16:17, Nathan)
  • Became CTO without formal computer science training—he’s self-taught in CS.

• Leaving Microsoft for Intellectual Ventures

  • Left the corporate grind to follow many interests:
  • Quote: “There's only one institution in life where they give you time off for good behavior, and that's prison.” (17:28, Nathan)
  • Founded Intellectual Ventures to invent and develop technological solutions to diverse problems.

Inventive Ventures & Technological Optimism

• The Salter Sink: Hurricane Mitigation

  • Describes a low-cost method (giant floating “plastic bags” to mix ocean water) to weaken hurricanes—proven scientifically but not adopted due to lack of proactive funding and tradition.
  • Quote: “Turns out, it doesn't take very many of these plastic bags to take the water temperature in an area and drop it below the temperature where a hurricane is dangerous.” (19:09, Nathan)
  • Points out that fish farming uses similar tech; reducing ocean “dead zones” could be a bonus.

• Innovation Frustration

  • Frustration comes not just from failed ideas, but from viable ones being ignored:
  • Quote: “The second one is that you can't get the world to adopt it. But it also is kind of the game.” (26:09, Nathan)

• Global Good: Inventing for the Developing World

  • Highlights the emotional challenge of inventing fixes for poverty where systems are broken, but finds reward in any life-saving impact.

Clean Energy and TerraPower

• A New Nuclear Reactor
  • Nathan explains the limitations of conventional reactors and his vision for a “passive breeder” reactor that:
    • Uses nuclear waste (U238) as fuel.
    • Can run 60 years without refueling.
    • Is proliferation-resistant and much safer.
    • Could, with current U238 waste stockpiles, meet world energy needs for centuries.
  • Quote: “We both need to convert from the carbon-based energy to a non-carbon based energy. ...Let's use something that burns all of the uranium, not just the U235.” (27:23, Nathan)
  • Encountered obstacles: the US government revoked a license that would have allowed a prototype in China due to geopolitical concerns.
  • Quote: “We do not yet have a plan to build our reactors in the US that really replace what we had to walk away from. And that's frustrating.” (35:33, Nathan)
  • Encourages focusing elite scientific effort on global energy.

Cooking Science and Cultural Lore

• Modernist Cuisine Project
  • Levitt jokes about the physical weight of Myhrvold’s massive cookbook (six volumes), to which Nathan joyfully recounts the blending of physics, chemistry, and culture in cooking.
  • Quote: “The actual process of cooking is governed by the laws of nature, as everything is. Cooking is also a cultural artifact.” (43:10, Nathan)
  • Next project: a modernist exploration of pizza, with mythbusting about what really bakes pizza (infrared light, not air temp, in ovens).
  • Quote: “Pizza is baked with light.” (44:29, Nathan)

On Parenting and Giftedness

• Advice for Parents of Exceptionally Talented Kids
  • Support kids’ academic talents with the same enthusiasm as for sports or music. Don’t starve their minds.
  • Quote: “If you have a child that is talented in academic pursuits, don't starve their little minds.” (47:27, Nathan)
  • Cautions against suppressing kids' curiosity in academics due to fear of making them “weird”—they already are, and that’s okay.

Knowing When to Quit

• Perseverance versus Pragmatism
  • A balanced view: sometimes it's heroic to persevere, but often better to shift strategies or problems after sufficient effort.
  • Quote: “After you've given the wall a few good cracks, move over and try to find a softer spot on the wall, for God's sakes.” (48:23, Nathan)

Leading a Good Life

• Specialization versus Curiosity
  • Admits that his generalist approach is “actually a bad strategy” for external rewards—the world rewards specialists more.
  • Quote: “I am interested in lots of things. I know that that's actually a bad strategy. The world is much better at rewarding specialization than they are at generalization. ...Only I just am interested in everything and at some point trying to deny who you really are just isn't a smart strategy.” (49:57, Nathan)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Stephen Hawking's Advantage:
  “They don't expect me to go to committee meetings... so I get to think about my physics.” (04:30, Nathan)

• On the Culture of Academic Physics:
  “If you went away for two weeks... you were going to fall hopelessly behind.” (11:26, Steve Levitt)

• On Leaving a Successful Tech Career:
  “There's only one institution in life where they give you time off for good behavior, and that's prison.” (17:28, Nathan)

• On the Challenge of Innovation:
  “Frustrations being an inventor: first, when you can't solve a problem... second, that you can't get the world to adopt it.” (26:09, Nathan)

• Rationality and Climate Change:
  “If we abandon rationality in the face of gigantic problems, what the hell are we going to do? Just panic?” (39:26, Nathan)

• On Specialization vs Curiosity:
  “I am hugely in favor of logic for almost everything, but the fact I'm passionate about lots of topics—that just is. ...Trying to deny who you really are just isn't a smart strategy.” (49:57, Nathan)

Important Timestamps (MM:SS)

• 00:32 – Myhrvold’s philosophy on hard problems and innovation
• 02:50 – 03:35 – Skipping grades; early academic life
• 04:09 – 04:30 – Humor and philosophy of Stephen Hawking
• 05:29 – 08:53 – Hawking’s greatness and the limits of physics progress
• 11:26 – String theory, competition in physics
• 12:45 – 13:09 – Myhrvold’s shift from academia to software
• 15:42 – First meeting Bill Gates; joining Microsoft
• 17:19 – 18:24 – Leaving Microsoft, founding Intellectual Ventures
• 19:00 – 24:30 – The Salter Sink invention & market failures
• 26:09 – The frustration of ignored innovations
• 27:13 – 37:59 – TerraPower nuclear reactor; nuclear innovation challenges
• 42:30 – 44:24 – Modernist Cuisine cookbooks and pizza science
• 46:09 – 47:27 – Advice for parents of gifted children
• 48:23 – 49:48 – Knowing when to quit
• 49:57 – 51:32 – Leading a good life; the pitfalls and inevitability of being a generalist

Conclusion: Tone and Takeaway

The conversation is spirited, intellectually generous, and often lightly humorous, befitting its two cerebral yet self-effacing participants. Myhrvold’s central tension—loving a multitude of fields despite the world’s preference for specialists—underscores both the episode’s title and ethos. The message: it’s okay, and even essential, to be true to your multidisciplinary curiosity, even if it’s “bad strategy.” The world needs more openness, rationality, and wonder—whether in physics, food, or saving the planet.