Mattan Griffel: Journey over Outcome

Learning is not about the outcome, like getting a good grade on your final. Learning is about the journey, the feeling you get when something finally makes sense, the moments of connection you have when studying with friends, the thrill of teaching a concept to another person. Learning is not a perfect process, it's messy and challenging, but it's necessary to adapt to failure or adversity.

Mattan Griffel is an expert on the importance of learning as a journey, not an outcome.

In his new book, "Python for MBA's", Mattan instills the mental models needed not only to code, but to look at the world with an artist's eye and a craftsman's heart.

Mattan is an award-winning faculty member at Columbia Business School, author of Python for MBAs, and two-time Y Combinator-backed entrepreneur. He is co-founder and COO of Ophelia, a company that helps people quit opioids without having to go to rehab. Mattan is also an Innovation Fellow at the Lang Center for Entrepreneurship and was selected as one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Education. Mattan advises companies on innovation and technology and has worked with companies like Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, Condé Nast, American Express, NYSE, and JPMorgan. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and the MIT Technology Review. Mattan studied Philosophy and Finance at New York University and wrote his thesis on the metaphysics of consciousness under David Chalmers and Ned Block.

In this episode, Mattan and Chris dive philosophically deep into Python, life, and learning.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

• Mattan giving credit and thanks to his middle school teacher (3:22)
• Teaching things you love (6:54)
• Developing critical thinking (11:01)
• Approaches to learning (17:57)
• Why coding is so essential (23:25)
• The technological revolution that is coming (27:18)
• Putting feelings first with code (29:41)
• Giving people the permission to fail (33:29)
• Python helping people have more integrity (35:14)
• What's next for Mattan (42:10)

Links:

• Connect with Mattan on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattangriffel/
• Python for MBAs - https://www.amazon.com/Python-MBAs-Mattan-Griffel/dp/0231193939
• Ophelia - https://ophelia.com