Reader TTS

United States & World Eager To Burst His Own Bubble, A Techie Made Apps To Randomize His Life By Alix Spiegel, Micaela Rodríguez Published June 8, 2017 at 4:00 AM EDT Facebook Twitter

LinkedIn Email Listen • 6:59 Max Hawkins' randomizer app sent him to the Czech Point Restaurant and Pub in Clutier, Iowa, among the many places he may never have found on his own.

This week, the podcast and show Invisibilia examines the nature of reality, with a Silicon Valley techie who created apps to randomize his life, a psychologist who trains herself to

experience the world like dogs do and a wildlife biologist who thinks bears aren't dangerous.

In San Francisco, the life Max Hawkins lived was arguably perfect.

He was employed by Google, surrounded by friends and had his routine nailed down. He woke to artisanal coffee, biked to work along the beautiful Embarcadero waterfront roadway, lunched on

Google's famed free food ("like four different kinds of kale" level) and — possibly the true mark of a successful millennial — got invited to many happy hours.

But something was missing.

Sometimes Max would lay awake at night pondering what felt so ... wrong.

"I just started thinking about these loops that we get into," he says. "And about how the structure of your life ... completely determines what happens in it."

Max's once beautiful routine suddenly seemed unfulfilling. He felt like he was growing closer to people in his own bubble and becoming isolated from those outside of it.

"There was something ... that just made me feel trapped," he says. "Like I was reading a story that I'd read before or I was playing out someone else's script."

As any computer developer would do, Max turned to technology to craft his way out — a series of randomization applications.

Max started small, with an app that integrated Uber. It starts like a regular ride-hailing app: He would press a button in the app and a car would arrive. But then, a twist: He couldn't

select a drop-off location; the app would choose a spot within a range without disclosing it. The only thing the rider had to do was enjoy the journey — and hope for a good destination.

From there, Max's applications became more complex. He built an app that used a Facebook search function for public events to find ones near him. Then the app would randomly choose which

event Max would attend.

At first, he was nervous: What if people wouldn't let him in? But, as a kind of unassuming white guy, he actually didn't have this problem. (And Max acknowledges this privilege.) Once Max

explained how and why he had arrived at these events, hosts usually welcomed him, often with only a few questions asked. Most of the time, people were taken by the idea of Max expanding his

bubble.

One night, he got to drink white Russians with some Russians. Another, he attended acroyoga (as in, acrobatics + yoga). A community center pancake breakfast. A networking event for young

professionals. The algorithm chose; Max attended.

Most of these events were something that the nonrandomized Max would never have thought to try. The computer was breaking him out of a life driven by his own preferences. He was suddenly

seeing the world in a whole new way, and he really liked it.

Slovenia.

"If I went out myself and said, like, 'I want to see the world!' I have an idea of what I need to see to do that," Max says. "But when I'm turning that over to a random algorithm, it has its

own different idea. You're taking on the computer's view of the world, and because that's not human, it's likely to be completely different from your own."

One year, Max decided to use the Facebook-event generator app to choose where he would celebrate Christmas. It came up with a party at someone's home in Fresno, Calif.

With a pie and a friend, Max drove for three hours and showed up on the doorstep of a retired psychologist, Karena Beasley. Karena was celebrating with a handful of friends and family — and

now, also two 20-something strangers.

"She was completely not fazed," Max says, describing the moment they met Karena. "She didn't miss a beat. She said, 'Oh, wonderful! We love Facebook, I'm so glad you're at the party.

Welcome.' And it was like instantly we were friends."

Max says he and his friend stayed at the party for five or six hours. In a video from the night, the group sings carols to guitar and Max looks as if he is right where he belongs.

Max lived a randomized life for the better part of two years. In fact, he went global. He created an app that chose the places he would live, travel and eat. When he traveled, he continued

using the Facebook events app to find random activities.

in Vietnam Onetime Google employee Max Hawkins let a randomized algorithm app send him around the world to places such as a pond in Vietnam / Courtesy of Max Hawkins 2 of 8  — Hawkins also

visited a temple in Vietnam as part of his two-year randomized journey. Hawkins also visited a temple in Vietnam as part of his two-year randomized journey. / Courtesy of Max Hawkins 3 of 8

 — Hawkins ended up in a garage sale in Iowa as the app scoured Facebook for public events. Hawkins ended up in a garage sale in Iowa as the app scoured Facebook for public events. /

Courtesy of Max Hawkins 4 of 8  — Hawkins' app landed him at random events, like a graduation party in Iowa, where he was usually welcomed by curious hosts. Hawkins' app landed him at random

events, like a graduation party in Iowa, where he was usually welcomed by curious hosts. / Courtesy of Max Hawkins 5 of 8  — Hawkins was able to take in a sunset in Gortina, Slovenia, an

experience he might not have chosen for himself. Hawkins was able to take in a sunset in Gortina, Slovenia, an experience he might not have chosen for himself. / Courtesy of Max Hawkins 6 of

8  — Hawkins says his app, which guided him to Slovenia, let him meet people whom he would have never encountered inside his prerandomization bubble. Hawkins says his app, which guided him

to Slovenia, let him meet people whom he would have never encountered inside his prerandomization bubble. / Courtesy of Max Hawkins 7 of 8  — The app that took Hawkins to southern Germany

factored in his budget and allowed him to set price parameters. The app that took Hawkins to southern Germany factored in his budget and allowed him to set price parameters. / Courtesy of

Max Hawkins 8 of 8  — Now away from the town of Essen, Germany, Hawkins has silenced the app and has moved to Los Angeles — by choice. Now away from the town of Essen, Germany, Hawkins has

silenced the app and has moved to Los Angeles — by choice. / Courtesy of Max Hawkins

Would the old Max have chosen to attend a socialists' rally in Berlin? Or a meetup for bloggers of central Iowa? Max's randomized travels sent him to Vietnam, Germany, India, United Arab

Emirates, Slovenia. He met people whom he would have never encountered inside his own perfect prerandomization bubble.

Max's app accounts for the costs of the globe-trotting style. "It knows about my budget," Max says — he can set price parameters. He freelances as a developer on the side. And, if he needs a

break, he just turns the app off. The computer isn't entirely in charge, yet.

In fact, these days, Max has silenced the app. He is taking time off and living in Los Angeles (by choice, not randomization) and finalizing his suite of randomization apps. He hopes to

introduce them for public use in the upcoming months. He has also created a Facebook group that encourages people to attend strangers' publicly listed events and offers tips and tricks for

doing so. He shares updates on his projects on his website.

Maybe what Max is doing can be called art. And maybe it's a lifestyle that few would want to live. But one thing is for sure: His new bubble is fluid and ever-expanding, capturing new

bubbles, other people's bubbles, and changing how he sees the world.

Micaela Rodríguez is the project assistant for Invisibilia. You can follow her @mikayrodr.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.