Creative Risk Taking, Information Overload, Meaning, and Find Your Frontier
I'm joined by returning guests and friend Joe Jackowski in today's episode. We go deep on all of the psychological and philosophical ideas Joe has explored. We discuss the role consciousness and identity play in forming society, where society may be heading, and what we can do to steer this society in the right direction.
Show Notes
00:00 Intro
01:38 Where are the creative risks being taken?
Big tech is still pushing the edge with places like Neuralink - Wikipedia. Where are the creative risks in entertainment and media?
03:29 A loss of meaning
There’s a craving for nostalgia and this is driven by reboots and makes of films many of the current generations saw as kids.
Here’s a great video from Nerdstalgic that is fantastic at highlighting the issue here.
05:41 The Paradox of Choice
This idea was put forward by Barry Schwartz in 2004 in his book by the same name. This book demonstrates to us how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution and how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. (Amazon Link)
You can find the TED Talk Here
07:01 John Vervaeke - Meaning Crisis
John Vervaeke is a professor of cognitive science at the University of Toronto, who has published a 50-part lecture series on Youtube, called "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis." These quite challenging one-hour lectures attracted up to 150,000 viewers worldwide.
Why are zombies so big right now? - John Vervaeke
10:21 Casual conversation is not the same on the internet
How social media is changing the way people get to know one another | Penn State
15:52 Strong convictions loosely held
I first heard this idea from Dr. Peter Attia articulated this idea on this episode of his podcast.
21:58 Ideological Islands
27:24 The Objective Observer
30:58 Notice that you don't see your head
Sam Harris talks with meditation teacher and writer Richard Lang in this podcast. Richard Lang is the author of On Having No Head. #181 - The Illusory Self
34:14 Taking a limited perspective and Free Will
38:23 Limitation is the most foundational
42:02 Consciousness is the most fundamental piece of identity
Participation mystique - Wikipedia
44:32 Identify As and Identify With
46:49 Mythologies are low resolution concepts
Snake example:
50:48 Losing touch with our ancient parts of our brain
51:55 If you want to know where the future is going, look to the past
This quote is typically attributed to Albert Einstein, “If you want to know the future, look at the past.” Albert Einstein - Wikipedia
56:24 Collapse of the Roman Empire
8 Reasons Why Rome Fell - HISTORY
Fall of the Western Roman Empire - World History Encyclopedia
For a deeper dive on the history here check out Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: Death Throoes of the Republic Series. Hardcore History is Carlin's forum for exploring topics throughout world history. The focus of each episode varies widely from show to show but they are generally centered on specific historical events and are discussed in a "theater of the mind" style.
01:01:42 Judge’s harsher sentencing before lunch
"No, judges don't give harsher sentences when they are hungry"
The Origins And History Of Consciousness (Amazon)
Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson (Amazon)
01:06:29 The Road to Character
The Road to Character by David Brooks (Amazon)
With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his New York Times column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In The Social Animal, he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in The Road to Character, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives.
01:14:32 Creating a filter for your attention
01:23:33 Hyperreality
Hyperreality, in semiotics and postmodernism, is an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced postmodern societies. Hyperreality is seen as a condition in which what is real and what is fiction are seamlessly blended together so that there is no clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins.It allows the co-mingling of physical reality with virtual reality (VR) and human intelligence with artificial intelligence (AI).
01:27:25 People write code
01:32:30 Man-Machine Symbiosis
Man-Computer Symbiosis (Orignal Paper)
The Dream Machine (Amazon)
01:36:51 Aim for beauty
Acropolis of Athens - Wikipedia
01:40:56 The Hope
01:44:06 The best way to create to the future is to live in it
In the book, the research style was summarized as
“Don’t just invent the future; go live in it.”
A version of this quote is also attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”― Abraham Lincoln