In Memoriam Jim Rutt

Complexity lover, GameB pioneer, worldview explorer. Real thinking about deep ideas.

Early March, I was on a call with Jim setting up for an interview. Jim was changing his mic and messing around with cables. Suddenly he stopped and said: “You know I’m having trouble with seeing straight”. And followed with: “Got diagnosed with brain cancer end of Autumn. They’ve given me six to twelve months”. I was dumbfounded. In typical Jim fashion, he told me all of this quite matter of factly. “Let’s not mention that in the recording” he said cheerily, “I’ve got another six months or so and plenty I want to do”.

And now three short months later he is gone. What I loved and inspired me about Jim was his openness and curiosity. You didn’t have to agree with him on everything, in fact he wouldn’t have wanted that. His show lived up to its tagline: real thinking about deep ideas.

I checked if he really wanted to do this interview. Of course, Jim wanted to: this is what he loved doing. We had such a good time we even arranged a follow up dialog about worldviews, AI, the Fermi paradox and existential risk, a fitting testimony to Jim’s interests and style. (We’ll release it in the next few days as a fitting tribute).

I had the privilege to get to know and speak to Jim quite a bit over the last two years. To interview him about his life and path to GameB and beyond. To talk about complexity, membranes, ProtoBs, AI, tech, religion, the second renaissance and more.

Jim was a great bear of a man. What touched me in him was his infectious enthusiasm, his rambunctious open-mindedness, his willingness to explore. He wasn’t afraid to have strong opinions and they were always generously held.

Jim also had a way with words that matched the persona: direct, blunt, not totally PC. I wasn’t surprised to learn that The New York Times once referred to him as “the Internet’s bad boy” due to his reputation for creative mischief. He wore his significant achievements lightly.

He also loved the quest. Right up to the end he was working on his GameB book, recording his worldview series, releasing episodes of the Jim Rutt Show.

Below I’ve included the biographical interview we did with Jim last year where he shares about his own life journey, GameB and much more.

Here’s to you Jim!