Jargon

A program at University of California, Davis that provides virus-indexed plant material and scion wood certified to be free of known viruses, serving as a high-quality source for disease-free propagation material.

A collection of plant genetic material (seeds, cuttings, etc.) maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture for research and breeding purposes; available to university researchers for sourcing disease-free plant material.

Historic peach varieties that descended from peaches introduced to North America by Spanish missionaries along the Camino Royal, later cultivated by Native Americans for 200-300 years; some wild populations still remain.

A historic trade route and mission trail that ran from Mexico City through New Mexico, where Spanish missionaries first introduced peaches to North America in the colonial period.

A geographic classification system indicating the average minimum winter temperatures of a region, used to determine which plant varieties can survive outdoors year-round; examples include zone 4, zone 5 (colder) through zone 9, 10 (warmer).

A single tree with multiple different fruit varieties grafted onto it, producing a diversity of fruits from one rootstock; typically combines 40 or more varieties in Sam's projects.

The system of vessels and tissues in a plant that transports water, nutrients, and other compounds throughout the tree; in grafted trees, the rootstock's vascular system feeds all grafted branches.

The biological property that determines whether two plant tissues can successfully be grafted together; based on similarities in cellular structure that allow vascular tissues to merge and function as a unified system.

A measurement of the number of hours below a certain temperature threshold (typically 45 degrees Fahrenheit) required for fruit trees to break dormancy and flower properly in spring; varies by tree variety (e.g., 1,000 hours for apples).

Traditional fruit varieties that have been cultivated for many generations, often with historical significance and regional heritage; typically open-pollinated and grown before the industrialization of agriculture.

An intermediate variety grafted between the rootstock and the final fruit-bearing scion(s) to provide compatibility between genetically distant varieties that would not be directly compatible. Acts as a biological bridge or intermediary.

The stage when pollinated blossoms develop into fruit; in multi-grafted trees, frost after bloom can kill fruit set, preventing harvest despite successful flowering.

The flower stage of fruit trees, which determines fruit set and aesthetic appearance; timing and color of blossoms are deliberately designed in multi-grafted trees for visual effect.

Fruit from the Rosaceae family including apples and pears; distinct family from stone fruits, with different cellular structure preventing successful grafting between the two groups.

The microscopic arrangement of plant cells in different fruit varieties; grafting compatibility depends on cellular structure similarity, which allows vascular fusion between rootstock and scion.

Geographic climate classification system (USDA Zones 1-13) indicating minimum winter temperatures; used to select fruit varieties suitable for a region's climate.

Pruning technique where the center stem or main trunk of a tree is cut back, stimulating the development of lateral branches; used in multi-grafted tree training to create scaffold structure.

Primary structural branches of a tree's framework, typically 4-5 main branches that form the tree's shape and receive secondary grafts; in multi-grafted trees, these are the attachment points for interstock varieties.

U.S. Department of Agriculture repository of diverse plant genetic material (seeds, scions, rootstocks) maintained for research, breeding, and distribution to ensure genetic health and diversity.

Plant material (scion or rootstock) that has been tested and certified virus-free through laboratory analysis, ensuring genetic health before grafting or propagation.

Small apple varieties (wild or ornamental apples) often used as pollinizers or, in grafting, as aesthetic components in multi-grafted apple trees due to colorful blossoms.

Historic fruit cultivars, often with cultural or regional significance, typically propagated by seed or grafting rather than commercial breeding; valued for flavor, adapted characteristics, or historical continuity.

Units of accumulated cold temperatures (hours below 45°F) required by deciduous fruit trees to exit dormancy, reset buds, and trigger spring blooming; typical requirement is 700-1,200 hours depending on variety.

A cold-hardy plum variety selected by Sam for use as the base tree in colder climates because plums provide superior structural form for multi-grafting compared to other stone fruits.

A hybrid plum variety developed by Luther Burbank, created by crossing Japanese, American, and Chinese plum species; notable for genetic diversity and compatibility with multiple stone fruit varieties.

A widely used rootstock variety derived from cherry plums, known for high compatibility with European and Asian plums and many other stone fruits; standard in commercial stone fruit production.

The practice of selectively removing roots to manage tree size, improve soil establishment, and encourage development in container-grown plants before field planting.

In horticulture, the diameter of a tree's trunk or branch, measured in inches; used to assess tree maturity, establishment capacity, and grafting suitability.

A category of fruit trees (peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, almonds) characterized by a hard pit or stone in the fruit center; genetically compatible within the category for multi-grafting.

An intermediate plant variety grafted between the rootstock and the final fruiting varieties; acts as a genetic bridge enabling grafting compatibility between otherwise incompatible plants.

A cutting or shoot from one plant variety that is grafted onto the rootstock of another plant; determines the fruit type and characteristics of the grafted variety.

Horticultural technique of joining plant tissue from two different plants (scion and rootstock) so they grow together as a single organism, commonly used to propagate fruit trees or create multi-variety trees.

The body's ability to utilize oxygen for energy production during exercise; improved aerobic function allows athletes to sustain higher intensities at lower heart rates

The heart rate at a fixed exercise intensity or pace that is below maximum effort; used to track fitness improvements or training status because it reflects aerobic efficiency rather than maximum capacity

The phenomenon where heart rate increases progressively during prolonged exercise even when pace remains constant, due to loss of blood volume from sweating that reduces oxygen delivery per heartbeat, forcing the heart to beat faster to maintain the same oxygen supply

Temporary reduction in muscular strength and endurance capacity due to repetitive muscle contractions, typically recovering with rest

Arching the lower back and kicking the feet backward while hanging, creating lumbar extension and destabilizing the pelvis

Neck alignment where the cervical spine is in a relaxed position with the head aligned over the shoulders, avoiding forward or backward bending

Voluntary activation and stabilization of shoulder muscles during hanging to provide dynamic stability to the shoulder joint

Passive hanging from a bar with completely relaxed arms and body, without any muscular engagement

Hanging grip with hands positioned close together, palms facing away or neutral, which opens the shoulder joint and stretches the lats

Hanging grip with palms facing inward (toward the body) and hands positioned close together, typically used for chin-up pulling exercises

Hanging hand position where the thumb is underneath the bar with the fingers, creating a closed fist position

Hanging hand position where the thumb wraps over the top of the bar alongside the fingers

Hanging grip where hands are positioned far apart on the bar, engaging outer shoulder and lat muscles more heavily

Hanging grip where one palm faces forward and one palm faces backward, creating asymmetrical loading

Optimal postural alignment where bones, joints, and muscles are positioned in their most biomechanically efficient and least restrictive state

Process of building resilience and load-bearing capacity in fascial tissues through progressive loading while maintaining mobility

The uppermost portion of the vertebral column in the neck region, containing seven vertebrae (C1-C7) that support the head and enable neck movement

Excessive inward curvature of the lumbar spine, often caused by anterior pelvic tilt and weak deep core muscles

Excessive forward curvature of the thoracic spine, often caused by poor posture and chronic forward shoulder positioning

Large back muscles extending from the mid-back to the pelvis, responsible for pulling movements and arm depression; commonly restricted in people who do not regularly reach overhead

The range of motion and freedom of movement available in the shoulder joint, including strength and flexibility of supporting ligaments and muscles

Looseness or excessive elasticity in the ligaments of the shoulder joint, resulting in reduced stability and increased risk of injury

Process of creating space in the vertebral joints, discs, and surrounding structures by reducing compressive forces on the spine

Process of creating space between ribs that have become restricted and stuck together, allowing for improved breathing, movement, and expansion

Suboptimal functioning of organs due to restrictions in surrounding fascia and connective tissues that prevent organs from moving and gliding as needed

Connective tissue that wraps around muscles, organs, and other structures throughout the body, holding them in place and enabling movement and function

Suppression of gluteal muscle activation due to postural dysfunction, often occurring when the pelvis is misaligned and other muscles compensate for stabilization

Internal stabilizer muscles of the abdomen and pelvis, including the transverse abdominis, pelvic floor, multifidus, and diaphragm, which maintain spinal stability

Process of restoring proper postural alignment and muscle activation patterns in the deep abdominal and pelvic stabilizer muscles

Lack of stability in the pelvic girdle and hip region due to improper postural positioning, leading to compensatory muscle patterns and widespread dysfunction

Competition-based incentive mechanism where a large prize is offered for solving a specific global challenge, mobilizing teams from around the world to develop solutions through competitive innovation.

Innovation that fundamentally alters an industry by creating new markets, changing customer behavior, or rendering existing solutions obsolete, typically emerging from unexpected competitors.

Problem-solving approach that breaks complex problems down to fundamental truths and physical constraints, then rebuilds solutions from scratch rather than accepting expert conventional wisdom.

Business methodology emphasizing rapid experimentation, minimum viable products, and validated learning over extensive planning; developed by Eric Ries based on principles from Toyota and Steve Blank.

Gamification framework identifying eight core human motivations (empowerment, epic meaning, ownership, social influence, scarcity, unpredictability, avoidance, social inclusion) and mapping 150+ game mechanics (leaderboards, progress bars, etc.) to these motivations, enabling prescriptive engagement design.

Method of raising capital by soliciting small contributions from large numbers of people, typically via platforms like Kickstarter; enables validation of product demand and capital raising without traditional investor gatekeeping, exemplified by Pebblewatch raising $10M when VCs rejected it.

Tool for systematically thinking through business model elements including: partners, channels, customers, value proposition, vendors, without building anything; helps surface errors and assumptions before product development begins.

Organization operating primarily through smart contracts and decentralized governance without centralized management, where protocols and code enforce rules rather than hierarchy; endpoint of the autonomy principle in exponential organizations, with Bitcoin cited as example of fully autonomous protocol-based system.

System where digital tokens (cryptocurrency) are used as direct rewards for desired behaviors, creating transparent, programmable incentive structures; example: Micro Strategies Lightning Rewards where employees receive Satoshis in wallets for attendance, training completion, and other behaviors.

Amazon policy requiring that managers cannot say 'no' to employee ideas; if a manager wants to reject an idea, they must write a 2-page public thesis explaining why, creating friction and embarrassment around rejection that forces ideas to be tested rather than killed by authority.

Economic principle by Ronald Coase stating that large organizations exist because internal transaction costs are cheaper than external transaction costs; this principle justified the existence of large corporations during the industrial era but is now declared obsolete by exponential organizations theorists because technology has inverted the transaction-cost economics.

A framework describing how technologies disrupt industries through six sequential stages: Digitize (convert analog to digital), Dematerialize (reduce to information/zeros and ones), Demonetize (reduce replication cost toward zero), Democratize (enable global access at zero transmission cost), with initial growth appearing deceptive but accelerating exponentially (doubling 20 times = millionfold, 30 times = billionfold).

Five internal mechanisms enabling exponential organizations to maintain culture and control while scaling: I=Interfaces (APIs automating customer/partner interaction), D=Dashboards (real-time external metrics and internal OKRs), E=Experimentation (data-driven, rapid iteration culture), A=Autonomy (decentralized decision-making at organizational edges), S=Social Technologies (peer-to-peer collaborative tools).

Five external attributes enabling exponential organizations to scale with minimal resource footprint: S=Staff on Demand (independent contractors, gig economy), C=Community and Crowd (nested circles from core team to broader community), A=Algorithms (AI and data processing), L=Leverage and shared assets (using others' assets or renting yours), E=Engagement (incentive prizes, gamification, token economics).

Evolutionary tendency to be 10x more sensitive to negative information (danger) than positive information (opportunity); explains risk aversion and regulatory caution toward new technologies

Mental orientation of questioning, asking great questions, and maintaining beginner's mind; antidote to expertise bias and enables adaptation and pivoting

Orientation toward 1,000% (10x) improvements rather than 10% incremental gains; seeks breakthrough changes; sustained by MTP and emotional resonance

Belief that progress in the next decade will equal the past century; understanding that every company and industry will be disrupted; drives founders to disrupt themselves before competitors do

Asset-sharing enabled by technology and algorithms (Uber, crypto, platforms) that provides socialism's benefits (shared resources, collective value) without its pathologies (corruption, inefficiency, centralization)

Peer-to-peer collaborative tools (Discord, Slack, Zoom, Asana) enabling distributed teams to coordinate without hierarchy; more effective than top-down communication

Organizational structure that pushes decision-making authority to the edges/periphery where people have closest contact with customers and problems; enables rapid adaptation and reduces bottlenecks

Smallest set of features needed to test a product hypothesis with real customers; goal is rapid feedback, not beauty or completeness; enables iterative learning

Real-time visibility systems with two components: external engagement metrics (user counts, churn, MRR) and internal OKRs (objectives and key results); enable rapid feedback and decentralized decision-making

When a complex infrastructure gains a simple, usable abstraction layer (e.g., Mosaic browser on Arpanet, ChatGPT for LLMs), enabling rapid adoption and market disruption by removing expertise barriers

Automated connection points between organizations and customers/stakeholders; enable scaling without human bottlenecks; turn organizations into platforms by automating supply and demand matching

Framework by Yukai Chou mapping 8 core human motivations (empowerment, epic meaning, ownership, social influence, scarcity, unpredictability, avoidance, social inclusion) to 150+ game mechanics, enabling prescriptive engagement design

Practice of using platforms, leasing infrastructure, accessing shared data, and enabling others to leverage your assets instead of building proprietary infrastructure; enables asset-light scaling

Use of machine learning, large language models, and algorithmic decision-making to automate decisions, detect patterns, and scale operations; essential as the dominant technology in 2020s

Concentric circles of engagement (core team, customers/alumni, vendors/partners, staff on demand, the crowd) that enable exos to crowdsource ideas, development, marketing, and quality without traditional functions

Practice of hiring independent contractors and gig workers instead of full-time employees, using platforms (TaskRabbit, Fiverr, Amazon Mechanical Turk) to access on-demand labor without fixed headcount or benefits

Five internal organizational mechanisms enabling exos to manage culture and control: Interfaces (APIs), Dashboards (OKRs and metrics), Experimentation, Autonomy, Social technologies

Five external organizational attributes enabling exos to scale with minimal headcount: Staff on demand, Community and crowd, Algorithms, Leverage and shared assets, Engagement

Economic theory (1937) proposing that large organizations exist because internal transaction costs are lower than external; Peter and Sem argue this is now obsolete as external transaction costs (platforms, APIs, gig networks) are now lower than internal

Antibodies within legacy organizations that reject and suppress disruptive ideas, innovation, or changes that threaten existing business models; prevents internal disruption despite having resources and expertise

Framework for applying Moore's Law to any business: digitize (convert to zeros and ones), dematerialize (remove physical), demonetize (cost approaches zero), democratize (globally accessible), with additional steps of disruption and deification

A decade-long, emotionally resonant, problem-focused commitment to solving a fundamental challenge; serves as a magnet for community, alignment for teams, and compass for organizational focus

A purpose-driven, agile, scalable organization that leverages accelerating technologies (Six Ds: digitize, dematerialize, demonetize, democratize) to deliver 10x better performance than non-exo competitors

Sequential numbers printed or written on each page of a notebook to enable precise location and cross-referencing of content within the document