Episode
#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
3:11:29
Published: Thu Sep 23 2021
Description
Travis Oliphant is a data scientist, entrepreneur, and creator of NumPy, SciPy, and Anaconda. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Novo: https://banknovo.com/lex - Allform: https://allform.com/lex to get 20% off - Onnit: https://lexfridman.com/onnit to get up to 10% off - Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil - Blinkist: https://blinkist.com/lex and use code LEX to get 25% off premium EPISODE LINKS: Travis's Twitter: https://twitter.com/teoliphant Travis's Wiki Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Oliphant NumPy: https://numpy.org/ SciPy: https://scipy.org/about.html Anaconda: https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual Quansight: https://www.quansight.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (07:06) - Early programming (28:47) - SciPy (45:41) - Open source (57:23) - NumPy (1:34:39) - Guido van Rossum (1:46:57) - Efficiency (1:55:49) - Objects (2:02:47) - Numba (2:11:53) - Anaconda (2:16:20) - Conda (2:31:56) - Quansight Labs (2:35:32) - OpenTeams (2:43:05) - GitHub (2:48:35) - Marketing (2:53:13) - Great programming (3:04:03) - Hiring (3:08:01) - Advice for young people
Chapters
Travis Oliphant, the creator of NumPy, SciPy, and Anaconda, talks about the impact of his programming and entrepreneurial efforts on the scientific and engineering communities, and how they have empowered others to solve difficult problems with the power of programming.
00:00 - 01:29 (01:29)
Summary
Travis Oliphant, the creator of NumPy, SciPy, and Anaconda, talks about the impact of his programming and entrepreneurial efforts on the scientific and engineering communities, and how they have empowered others to solve difficult problems with the power of programming.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Blinkist is an app that provides key insights from books, as well as recommendations for future reading, without hidden fees, monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, according to a speaker on a podcast.
01:29 - 06:41 (05:12)
Summary
Blinkist is an app that provides key insights from books, as well as recommendations for future reading, without hidden fees, monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, according to a speaker on a podcast.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The podcast discusses the relationship between music and math and why many people are put off by math due to early exposure being focused on memorization rather than understanding.
06:41 - 13:24 (06:43)
Summary
The podcast discusses the relationship between music and math and why many people are put off by math due to early exposure being focused on memorization rather than understanding.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
A discussion on the benefits and drawbacks of using abstraction in programming, including the limitations it places on what may be left behind, and how it affects communication and understanding between different cultures and languages.
13:24 - 19:02 (05:38)
Summary
A discussion on the benefits and drawbacks of using abstraction in programming, including the limitations it places on what may be left behind, and how it affects communication and understanding between different cultures and languages.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The challenge of APL is due to the array-based programming, which has very dense glyphs and requires a new keyboard to produce them, making code more compact and less readable.
19:02 - 25:39 (06:36)
Summary
The challenge of APL is due to the array-based programming, which has very dense glyphs and requires a new keyboard to produce them, making code more compact and less readable. The focus on leveraging Chinese language center in programming is still unclear.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast episode discusses the evolution of numerical computing languages, including the strengths and weaknesses of languages such as MATLAB and Python, and the ongoing development of Julia.
25:39 - 28:41 (03:02)
Summary
This podcast episode discusses the evolution of numerical computing languages, including the strengths and weaknesses of languages such as MATLAB and Python, and the ongoing development of Julia.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
4chan 90 is a great tool for programming subroutines since it's a high level language with the ability to extend easily.
28:41 - 33:22 (04:41)
Summary
4chan 90 is a great tool for programming subroutines since it's a high level language with the ability to extend easily. It has complex numbers, arrays, and an optimizer library which makes it a powerful scripting language.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast episode discusses how increasing the circle of empathy and making programs more accessible can lead to greater effectiveness and better problem-solving.
33:22 - 36:45 (03:22)
Summary
This podcast episode discusses how increasing the circle of empathy and making programs more accessible can lead to greater effectiveness and better problem-solving. It also explores how a scientist's dreams of conducting MRI research shifted to starting a software company focused on solving problems with empathy.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker talks about their experiences with developing tools, focusing on their time spent on their PhD and helping people use the tools.
36:45 - 40:58 (04:13)
Summary
The speaker talks about their experiences with developing tools, focusing on their time spent on their PhD and helping people use the tools. Additionally, they talk about Robert Kern creating a Windows installer for one of their packages.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The SciPy conference began as a gathering of scientists interested in coding and has evolved into a community that develops tools for scientific computing.
40:58 - 46:12 (05:13)
Summary
The SciPy conference began as a gathering of scientists interested in coding and has evolved into a community that develops tools for scientific computing. John Hunter played a significant role in the success of the SciPy library, specifically with the development of the plotting tool.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker reflects on their PhD program experience, which involved reading books on capitalism, Marxism, and the business of open source.
46:12 - 50:35 (04:23)
Summary
The speaker reflects on their PhD program experience, which involved reading books on capitalism, Marxism, and the business of open source. They discuss the challenges of balancing cooperative development with the need for profits and mention a conversation about not having kids in order to succeed in the tech industry.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The guest, a scientist, believes that accessibility to tools can benefit people like him who have desires to do things, and accessibility to such tools can include giving scientists and engineers ones that don't require programming skills.
50:35 - 54:51 (04:16)
Summary
The guest, a scientist, believes that accessibility to tools can benefit people like him who have desires to do things, and accessibility to such tools can include giving scientists and engineers ones that don't require programming skills. The guest has some interesting ideas that would require time to emerge.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The interviewee recalls a conversation he had with a colleague in 2005 about using Numeric for an iteration linear algebra project, but they encountered challenges due to limitations with array types.
54:51 - 59:27 (04:36)
Summary
The interviewee recalls a conversation he had with a colleague in 2005 about using Numeric for an iteration linear algebra project, but they encountered challenges due to limitations with array types. The interviewee also mentions his familiarity with morphology as a medical imaging student.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker discusses his contributions to Numpy, specifically writing CAPI documentation and creating a digital MRI class.
59:27 - 1:02:53 (03:25)
Summary
The speaker discusses his contributions to Numpy, specifically writing CAPI documentation and creating a digital MRI class.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The complexity in object design is sometimes driven by the goal of backward compatibility to other communities.
1:02:53 - 1:07:40 (04:46)
Summary
The complexity in object design is sometimes driven by the goal of backward compatibility to other communities. Lack of expertise and support can add to the challenges of creating libraries for certain tasks.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The scientific community started utilizing tools of computers at a large-scale, but it is important for programmers to empathize with the culture and usage patterns of people that love a particular API to create the same draw.
1:07:40 - 1:16:45 (09:04)
Summary
The scientific community started utilizing tools of computers at a large-scale, but it is important for programmers to empathize with the culture and usage patterns of people that love a particular API to create the same draw. Support from unsung heroes is critical in both programming and the scientific community.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The NOPI book became the basis for documentation-driven development, where the book serves as the primary reference point for the team.
1:16:45 - 1:21:42 (04:56)
Summary
The NOPI book became the basis for documentation-driven development, where the book serves as the primary reference point for the team. Despite some criticism for charging for a documentation book, it became the basis for collective documentation efforts within the company.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The D programming language has been criticized for not having a Python type system and for difficulty in creating new data types.
1:21:42 - 1:27:30 (05:48)
Summary
The D programming language has been criticized for not having a Python type system and for difficulty in creating new data types.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The guest explores the challenges faced by NumPy development and its funding, as well as the future of multi-dimensional arrays and how they could potentially operate over smarter systems in the future.
1:27:30 - 1:33:27 (05:56)
Summary
The guest explores the challenges faced by NumPy development and its funding, as well as the future of multi-dimensional arrays and how they could potentially operate over smarter systems in the future.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker talks about the Walrus operator and how it relates to deference in science and technology.
1:33:27 - 1:39:12 (05:45)
Summary
The speaker talks about the Walrus operator and how it relates to deference in science and technology. He also mentions his admiration for Scott Guthrie.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The founder of Anaconda, Travis Oliphant, discusses the importance of projecting positive intent in software engineering projects and in life, pointing out the benefits of filling "in the gaps with the good, with the best, with the positive, with the hopeful."
1:39:13 - 1:43:06 (03:53)
Summary
The founder of Anaconda, Travis Oliphant, discusses the importance of projecting positive intent in software engineering projects and in life, pointing out the benefits of filling "in the gaps with the good, with the best, with the positive, with the hopeful."
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker talks about his journey and experience with Python 3, stating that it wasn't until version 3.3 that the language felt complete enough to be widely used and highlights the most useful feature, the matrix role play operator, introduced in version 3.5.
1:43:06 - 1:46:10 (03:03)
Summary
The speaker talks about his journey and experience with Python 3, stating that it wasn't until version 3.3 that the language felt complete enough to be widely used and highlights the most useful feature, the matrix role play operator, introduced in version 3.5.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
NumPy challenges users to rethink problems as multi-dimensional array problems instead of relying on scalars for computation, allowing for efficient and high-level computation through vectorization.
1:46:10 - 1:54:31 (08:21)
Summary
NumPy challenges users to rethink problems as multi-dimensional array problems instead of relying on scalars for computation, allowing for efficient and high-level computation through vectorization.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Dictionaries are essential in programming because they make arrays more accessible and less error-prone to users by attaching human-readable names, while ordered dictionaries provide a more natural way to construct dictionaries.
1:54:31 - 1:59:22 (04:51)
Summary
Dictionaries are essential in programming because they make arrays more accessible and less error-prone to users by attaching human-readable names, while ordered dictionaries provide a more natural way to construct dictionaries.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The episode discusses the use cases and limitations for writing high-performance computing in Python and the potential benefits of investing in education instead of allocating resources to other endeavors like military actions.
1:59:22 - 2:04:47 (05:25)
Summary
The episode discusses the use cases and limitations for writing high-performance computing in Python and the potential benefits of investing in education instead of allocating resources to other endeavors like military actions.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The guest shares his experience in writing a compiler in a typed and well-typed language, and how it relates to why computer science is taught in a certain way.
2:04:47 - 2:09:48 (05:01)
Summary
The guest shares his experience in writing a compiler in a typed and well-typed language, and how it relates to why computer science is taught in a certain way. Later, he explains how the JIT in Python compiler works.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The venture fund expects companies that they give money to, to either go big or go home, while retaining their money making consulting work.
2:09:48 - 2:14:19 (04:31)
Summary
The venture fund expects companies that they give money to, to either go big or go home, while retaining their money making consulting work.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Two programmers discuss the creation of a non-profit corporation for Python and how to improve package management.
2:14:19 - 2:20:21 (06:01)
Summary
Two programmers discuss the creation of a non-profit corporation for Python and how to improve package management.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The popularity of pip has led many people to believe it's the easiest way to install packages in Python including scikit-learn.
2:20:21 - 2:25:44 (05:22)
Summary
The popularity of pip has led many people to believe it's the easiest way to install packages in Python including scikit-learn. However, using Conda might be a better option for some users, especially in certain use cases.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The Conda Forge community has done a great job of creating recipe creation community, but Anaconda should focus on bringing in more community contributors than fighting against PIP and Docker.
2:25:44 - 2:30:02 (04:17)
Summary
The Conda Forge community has done a great job of creating recipe creation community, but Anaconda should focus on bringing in more community contributors than fighting against PIP and Docker.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast discusses consulting services that aim to help people improve their data science, engineering and management processes.
2:30:02 - 2:35:28 (05:26)
Summary
This podcast discusses consulting services that aim to help people improve their data science, engineering and management processes. They use various python libraries such as pandas, NumPy, and SciPy for scaling.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Open Teams serves as a mediator between companies and open source communities to provide enterprise software solutions.
2:35:28 - 2:42:36 (07:07)
Summary
Open Teams serves as a mediator between companies and open source communities to provide enterprise software solutions. By working with Fortune 100 companies, they educate on the value of open source and aim to meet companies' needs for growth and profit.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Open source developers create invaluable programs, and it's important for companies to recognize their worth by providing financial support.
2:42:36 - 2:46:26 (03:49)
Summary
Open source developers create invaluable programs, and it's important for companies to recognize their worth by providing financial support. This not only helps the developers, but it also promotes the use and further development of open source programs.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker expresses disappointment in iRobot's marketing campaigns, which prioritize product appearances and pretty models over demonstrations of the genius behind the engineering and software.
2:46:26 - 2:53:19 (06:53)
Summary
The speaker expresses disappointment in iRobot's marketing campaigns, which prioritize product appearances and pretty models over demonstrations of the genius behind the engineering and software. The speaker suggests a more authentic approach to marketing.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker reflects on the past and his experience in hiring salespeople to provide insight into what it takes to be a great programmer, emphasizing the importance of listening and experimentation to understand what works.
2:53:19 - 2:58:23 (05:03)
Summary
The speaker reflects on the past and his experience in hiring salespeople to provide insight into what it takes to be a great programmer, emphasizing the importance of listening and experimentation to understand what works.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The discussion revolves around the importance of programming languages in business and how certain languages like Basic, Visual Basic, Excel, and SQL Server have changed the development scene in recent times.
2:58:23 - 3:03:45 (05:21)
Summary
The discussion revolves around the importance of programming languages in business and how certain languages like Basic, Visual Basic, Excel, and SQL Server have changed the development scene in recent times.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Open source communities may lack a strong product management strategy, making it difficult for companies to contribute, but creating a team focused on learning and development can help overcome these challenges.
3:03:45 - 3:10:07 (06:22)
Summary
Open source communities may lack a strong product management strategy, making it difficult for companies to contribute, but creating a team focused on learning and development can help overcome these challenges.
Episode#224 – Travis Oliphant: NumPy, SciPy, Anaconda, Python & Scientific Programming
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Travis Olyphant, a software engineer, stresses that following your curiosity and letting it not just money is essential to success.
3:10:07 - 3:11:21 (01:13)
Summary
Travis Olyphant, a software engineer, stresses that following your curiosity and letting it not just money is essential to success. He also emphasizes that a grounding in love, family, and friendship is key to personal and professional fulfilment.