The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]

2025-12-27 · 97 min · 21 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ appeared on Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST podcast

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evidence rules-v4
Guest: César Hidalgo, Director of the Center for Collective Learning
→ references Innovators Dilemma Revolutionary Change Business book

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Revolutionary-Change-Business/dp/0062060244
→ references Romer concept

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://web.stanford.edu/~klenow/Romer_1990.pdf
→ references IdeaPF concept

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://web.stanford.edu/~chadj/IdeaPF.pdf
→ references Samuel Slater person

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater
→ discusses Technology company

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Technology
→ references The Infinite Alphabet By Hidalgo Cesar A website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://penguin.co.uk/books/458054/the-infinite-alphabet-by-hidalgo-cesar-a/9780241655672
→ references 7312037d 2b2d 6bd4 E053 0100007fdf3b website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://dash.harvard.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/7312037d-2b2d-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b/content
→ references Organizational Learning From Experience To Knowledge website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://researchgate.net/publication/228754233_Organizational_Learning_From_Experience_to_Knowledge
→ references CorporateInfo website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-02.html

Entities found in this episode

websites 8

mentioned The Infinite Alphabet By Hidalgo Cesar A website

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://penguin.co.uk/books/458054/the-infinite-alphabet-by-hidalgo-cesar-a/9780241655672
mentioned 7312037d 2b2d 6bd4 E053 0100007fdf3b website

0.45

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://dash.harvard.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/7312037d-2b2d-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b/content
mentioned Organizational Learning From Experience To Knowledge website

0.45

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://researchgate.net/publication/228754233_Organizational_Learning_From_Experience_to_Knowledge
mentioned CorporateInfo website

0.45

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-02.html
references The Infinite Alphabet By Hidalgo Cesar A website

0.38

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://penguin.co.uk/books/458054/the-infinite-alphabet-by-hidalgo-cesar-a/9780241655672
references 7312037d 2b2d 6bd4 E053 0100007fdf3b website

0.38

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://dash.harvard.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/7312037d-2b2d-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b/content
references Organizational Learning From Experience To Knowledge website

0.38

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://researchgate.net/publication/228754233_Organizational_Learning_From_Experience_to_Knowledge
references CorporateInfo website

0.38

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-02.html

concepts 4

mentioned Romer concept

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://web.stanford.edu/~klenow/Romer_1990.pdf
mentioned IdeaPF concept

0.90

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://web.stanford.edu/~chadj/IdeaPF.pdf
references Romer concept

0.77

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://web.stanford.edu/~klenow/Romer_1990.pdf
references IdeaPF concept

0.77

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://web.stanford.edu/~chadj/IdeaPF.pdf

persons 3

mentioned Samuel Slater person

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater
mentioned Cesar Hidalgo person

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evidence rules-v4
Guest: César Hidalgo, Director of the Center for Collective Learning
references Samuel Slater person

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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater

podcasts 2

mentioned Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST podcast

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evidence rules-v4
Feed title: Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST)
appeared on Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST podcast

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evidence rules-v4
Guest: César Hidalgo, Director of the Center for Collective Learning

books 2

mentioned Innovators Dilemma Revolutionary Change Business book

0.90

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Revolutionary-Change-Business/dp/0062060244
references Innovators Dilemma Revolutionary Change Business book

0.77

evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "The 3 Laws of Knowledge [César Hidalgo]": https://amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Revolutionary-Change-Business/dp/0062060244

companys 2

mentioned Technology company

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Technology
discusses Technology company

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Technology

Episode description as stored

César Hidalgo has spent years trying to answer a deceptively simple question: What is knowledge, and why is it so hard to move around? We all have this intuition that knowledge is just... information. Write it down in a book, upload it to GitHub, train an AI on it—done. But César argues that's completely wrong. Knowledge isn't a thing you can copy and paste. It's more like a living organism that needs the right environment, the right people, and constant exercise to survive. Guest: César Hidalgo, Director of the Center for Collective Learning 1. Knowledge Follows Laws (Like Physics) 2. You Can't Download Expertise 3. Why Big Companies Fail to Adapt 4. The "Infinite Alphabet" of Economies If you think AI can just "copy" human knowledge, or that development is just about throwing money at poor countries, or that writing things down preserves them forever—this conversation will change your mind. Knowledge is fragile, specific, and collective. It decays fast if you don't use it. The Infinite Alphabet [César A. Hidalgo] https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/458054/the-infinite-alphabet-by-hidalgo-cesar-a/9780241655672 https://x.com/cesifoti Rescript link. https://app.rescript.info/public/share/eaBHbEo9xamwbwpxzcVVm4NQjMh7lsOQKeWwNxmw0JQ --- TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 The Three Laws of Knowledge 00:02:28 Rival vs. Non-Rival: The Economics of Ideas 00:05:43 Why You Can't Just 'Download' Knowledge 00:08:11 The Detective Novel Analogy 00:11:54 Collective Learning & Organizational Networks 00:16:27 Architectural Innovation: Amazon vs. Barnes & Noble 00:19:15 The First Law: Learning Curves 00:23:05 The Samuel Slater Story: Treason & Memory 00:28:31 Physics of Knowledge: Joule's Cannon 00:32:33 Extensive vs. Intensive Properties 00:35:45 Knowledge Decay: Ise Temple & Polaroid 00:41:20 Absorptive Capacity: Sony & Donetsk 00:47:08 Disruptive Innovation & S-Curves 00:51:23 Team Size & The Cost of Innovation 00:57:13 Geography of Knowledge: Vespa's Origin 01:04:34 Migration, Diversity & 'Planet China' 01:12:02 Institutions vs. Knowledge: The China Story 01:21:27 Economic Complexity & The Infinite Alphabet 01:32:27 Do LLMs Have Knowledge? --- REFERENCES: Book: [00:47:45] The Innovator's Dilemma (Christensen) https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Revolutionary-Change-Business/dp/0062060244 [00:55:15] Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned https://amazon.com/dp/3319155237 [01:35:00] Why Information Grows https://amazon.com/dp/0465048994 Paper: [00:03:15] Endogenous Technological Change (Romer, 1990) https://web.stanford.edu/~klenow/Romer_1990.pdf [00:03:30] A Model of Growth Through Creative Destruction (Aghion & Howitt, 1992) https://dash.harvard.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/7312037d-2b2d-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b/content [00:14:55] Organizational Learning: From Experience to Knowledge (Argote & Miron-Spektor, 2011) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228754233_Organizational_Learning_From_Experience_to_Knowledge [00:17:05] Architectural Innovation (Henderson & Clark, 1990) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200465578_Architectural_Innovation_The_Reconfiguration_of_Existing_Product_Technologies_and_the_Failure_of_Established_Firms [00:19:45] The Learning Curve Equation (Thurstone, 1916) https://dn790007.ca.archive.org/0/items/learningcurveequ00thurrich/learningcurveequ00thurrich.pdf [00:21:30] Factors Affecting the Cost of Airplanes (Wright, 1936) https://pdodds.w3.uvm.edu/research/papers/others/1936/wright1936a.pdf [00:52:45] Are Ideas Getting Harder to Find? (Bloom et al.) https://web.stanford.edu/~chadj/IdeaPF.pdf [01:33:00] LLMs/ Emergence https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.11135 Person: [00:25:30] Samuel Slater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater [00:42:05] Masaru Ibuka (Sony) https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-02.html