Zvi Mowshowitz

Zvi Mowshowitz
Zvi Mowshowitz playing poker at the Manifold conference in 2023
Born	(1979-01-08) 8 January 1979 (age 46)
Residence	New York, NY, USA
Nationality	American
Pro Tour debut	1998 Pro Tour Los Angeles
Winnings	US$ 147,010 [1]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)	1 (4) [2]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)	2 (9) [3]
Lifetime Pro Points	261 [4]
Planeswalker Level	47 (Archmage)

Zvi Mowshowitz is an American writer specializing in artificial intelligence. He is a former competitive Magic: The Gathering player, and was CEO of MetaMed, a defunct medical research analysis firm.

Career

Mowshowitz was the CEO of MetaMed, a medical research analysis firm. ^[5] After that, he worked at Jane Street Capital. ^[6] He also attempted to launch an online trading card game, Emergents. ^[7]

Magic: The Gathering

Mowshowitz held a developer intern position at Wizards of the Coast Magic R&D.^{[ citation needed ]}

Mowshowitz is known for having created innovative and sometimes game-breaking decks TurboZvi and My Fires. His first-place finishes include a Pro Tour and a Grand Prix. He has placed in the top eight of four Pro Tours, and earned over $140,000 playing Magic competitively. ^[8] In 2007, Mowshowitz was elected into the Magic Hall of Fame. ^[9]

Mowshowitz was also an avid internet writer on gaming, previously with The Dojo, Mindripper, Brainburst, StarCityGames, and then for the official Magic website MagicTheGathering.com. ^[8] In April 2006, he stopped writing for MagicTheGathering.com.^{[ citation needed ]}

Top 8 appearances

Season	Event type	Location	Format	Date	Rank
1998–99	Grand Prix	Boston	Block Constructed	5–6 September 1998	4
1998–99	Pro Tour	New York	Block Constructed	30 April–2 May 1999	3
1998–99	Grand Prix	Washington D.C.	Limited	19–20 June 1999	4
1998–99	Nationals		Special	2–4 July 1999	4
1998–99	Worlds	Yokohama	National team	4–8 August 1999	1
1999–00	Invitational	Kuala Lumpur	Special	2–5 March 2000	3
2000–01	Grand Prix	Manchester	Limited	7–8 October 2000	8
2000–01	Pro Tour	Chicago	Standard	1–3 December 2000	7
2000–01	Pro Tour	Tokyo	Block Constructed	16–18 March 2001	1
2000–01	Masters	Barcelona	Booster Draft	1–4 May 2001	4
2001–02	Masters	New Orleans	Booster Draft	31 October–3 November 2001	5
2001–02	Masters	Osaka	Team Limited	14–17 March 2002	5
2001–02	Grand Prix	New Jersey	Team Limited	29–30 June 2002	2
2002–03	Grand Prix	New Orleans	Extended	3–4 January 2003	1
2002–03	Grand Prix	Boston	Limited	22–23 February 2003	7
2002–03	Masters	Yokohama	Booster Draft	8–11 May 2003	5
2002–03	Grand Prix	Pittsburgh	Team Limited	31 May–1 June 2003	1
2003–04	Grand Prix	Atlanta	Standard	29–30 August 2003	5
2003–04	Invitational	Los Angeles	Special	11–13 May 2004	4
2012–13	Grand Prix	Portland	Modern	11–12 May 2013	3

Last updated: 12 May 2013
Source: Wizards.com

Other accomplishments

• Magic Hall of Fame class of 2007

Writing

Since then has focused more on writing for his newsletter, LessWrong and his blog, all under the name "Don't Worry about the Vase". He focusses on variety of topics, but primarily on Artificial intelligence, Economics and the COVID-19 pandemic, when the pandemic was ongoing. ^[10] As part of this work he also founded Balsa Research, a nonprofit think tank which focuses on the repeal of the Jones Act, increasing the housing supply and reform of the National Environmental Policy Act. ^[11]

Personal life

Mowshowitz is the son of American biochemist Deborah Mowshowitz.

Mowshowitz is an alumnus of Columbia University and holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics. ^{[12] [13]}

Further reading

• Kushner, David (2005). Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids : how a gang of geeks beat the odds and stormed Las Vegas. Random House. ISBN   1-4000-6407-4.

External links

• Zvi Mowshowitz’s blog, “Don’t Worry About the Vase”
• Zvi Mowshowitz’s old blog on LiveJournal

Preceded by United States Matt Linde Mike Long Bryce Currence Jon Finkel	Magic: The Gathering Team World Champion With: John Hunka Kyle Rose Charles Kornblith 1999	Succeeded by United States Jon Finkel Chris Benafel Frank Hernandez Aaron Forsythe

References

1. "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
2. "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Archived from the original on 14 March 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
3. "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
4. "Lifetime Pro Points". Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
5. "Our Scientists, Doctors & Researchers". MetaMed. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
6. "AI #72: Denying the Future". 11 July 2024.
7. Hackett, Robert; Roberts, Jeff John (13 June 2020). "Emergents: Zvi Mowshowitz's quest to shake up the video game business". Fortune. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
8. "Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame Profiles – Zvi Mowshowitz". Wizards of the Coast. 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
9. "The Class of 2007". Wizards of the Coast. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
10. Mowshowitz, Zvi (13 December 2023). "The Best of Don't Worry About the Vase". Don't Worry About the Vase. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
11. "FAQ". Balsa Research. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
12. "LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
13. "Should we halt progress in AI? Reflections on our interview with Zvi Mowshowitz". 16 May 2023.