Into the Rabbit Hole We Go...Cautionary Tales of Philosophical Fiction
Episodes
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Humanity’s relationship to the future is like falling dominoes, where the momentum of the present surges forward to create what’s next. But since our actions enact this cause-effect chain, does this mean the future is knowable? Or do humans not even matter in this cosmic cycle?
The post (EF49) S2-E10: The Domino Effect: The Momentum of an Unstoppable Future appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday May 12, 2020
Tuesday May 12, 2020
Experiencing life through the eyes of a child is to see the world with an intensity and excitement to learn long since lost in most adults. Do the secrets to life fulfillment exist in this simple mindset shift? And would this help define what is a good life?
The post (EF48) S2-E9: Checkmate: A Child’s Guide to the Good Life appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Investigating human limitations beyond the veil of perception is as disconcerting as looking at an image repeating into itself in an infinite regress. What would it mean to have a complete grasp of the entire picture? And would that define for us what is reality?
The post (EF47) S2-E8: Infinite Regress: Drawing Back The Veil of Perception appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Apr 14, 2020
Tuesday Apr 14, 2020
Like a rigged scale of justice, life in society and within cultures is inherently unfair. But what if there were ways to live true to yourself while also being compassionate to everyone? And is a just world even possible?
The post (EF46) S2-E7: Empathetic Distortion: Rigging the Scales of Justice appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Cocooned in webs of lies about happiness and freedom, many people overwork, chained to careers they despise. Would a society without work function and also make people happier? Or would it fail because work is one of the most meaningful human pursuits?
The post (EF45) S2-E6: Weaving Society’s Web: Purpose in a Future Without Work appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Society and culture can be shackles locking us in a mental prison cell. Iconoclastic thinking is a sure way to break the chains and reveal the truth, but it is risky. Does this make ‘why this stuff and not some other stuff’ the most dangerous question you can ask?
The post (EF44) S2-E5: Reality Unchained: Smashing the Icons of Social Delusion appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Mar 03, 2020
Tuesday Mar 03, 2020
The urges of human nature are like fire: they can cook your food or burn your house down. Is evil perceived consistently across people, or should the situation, culture, and individual psychology have a say in its characterization? And does this help define what is evil?
The post (EF43) S2-E4: Evil Urges: The Fiery Duality of Human Nature appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
Going against society has the empowering feeling of standing alone on the top of a mountain. But is it even possible to climb to such heights without falling into the lonely pit of self-delusion? And what does it really mean to be an individual? Sam Payne is finishing her Ph.D. in physics under the advisement of a professor making a controversial claim as to why the Big Bang wasn’t the beginning of the universe; his new theory of everything posits a universal force which is being interpreted as proof that God exists. Sam gets caught in the crossfire between the professor and the angry mob of protesting college students who believe he is trying to bring Creationism to universities. On a knife’s edge in life and career, the increasing pressure on Sam’s individualism is insisting on a drastic plan. Will Sam have the guts to carry it out?
The post (EF42) S2-E3: Civil Individualism: Loneliness Atop Mount Empowerment appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Technology is like a powerful drug that can either improve you or make you miserable and dependent. Is it our evolutionary fate that we will become superhuman? Or is the codebase of human nature inherently too fallible for the story of transhumanism to end well? Will Storia is a graduate student whose Ph.D. work in history and evolutionary psychology is evolving into a manifesto about radically changing the trajectory of civilization. On his show, The Next Evolution, he argues to a global audience that we are at the edge of an abyss, about to hand off what remains of our humanity to machines. His latest guest is John Weber, a revolutionary techie, who believes technology will solve all of humanity’s problems. As they publicly clash with the world watching, Will worries how people might twist his ideas; because it’s increasingly obvious that John’s transhuman ideology has already become a religion.
The post (EF41) S2-E2: Transhuman Fallibility: The Existential Risk of a Superhuman Future appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
Sam, a 16-year-old from the South, organizes a school walkout to protest the technological trends leading society towards an AI-run government-owned by corporate tech royalty. Will this lead to a near future of radical inequality between the transhuman haves and have-nots? Facing backlash from the previous generation which refuses to look itself the mirror to see the truth, Sam learns that social conformity hasn’t changed since at least the 14th-century witch hunts. Instead of getting burned on a stake, will Sam get devoured by cultural pressures where everyone is expected to wear their given mask and mimic one another in the social mirror?
The post (EF40) S2-E1: Dehumanized: The Search for Self in the Devil’s Looking Glass appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Thursday Jan 09, 2020
Thursday Jan 09, 2020
Life in society is a complex web of humanity, egos, varied cultures, clashing ideals, shifting values, conventional wisdom, and conflicting rules. There are no universal rules defining how to live and be happy; but a life unchained and upgraded is a wise, if difficult, path.
The post (EF39) S2-E0: LIFE, UPGRADED: Welcome to Season Two of the Evolve Faster Podcast appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Dec 10, 2019
Tuesday Dec 10, 2019
EF38 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF13 (The Bloody Fingerprint of Creativity). Where does creativity come from?! It’s impossible to understand if creativity is born as soon as we are or is creativity a quest we need to work to achieve. Or maybe, it’s both?
The post (EF38) AMA-EF13: Flow, Creative Improvisation and Other Altered States of Consciousness Ask Me Anything for Episode EF13 appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Nov 26, 2019
Tuesday Nov 26, 2019
EF37 is a Behind The Podcast about Episode EF13 (The Bloody Fingerprint of Creativity). The driving question of this episode is ... Where does creativity come from?! Art, imagination, and creativity aren't mystical powers divinely granted to only a few, but instead are a cumbersome process where you need to wake up every day and work hard — just like any other job requiring hard work and years of practice. Although everybody wants to be creative, it's the will we usually lack. But, unlike some mysterious force we can't define, the will is more than attainable. Do you have the guts to face the failures you'll have to endure to attain it?
The post (EF37) BTP-EF13: Where Creativity Comes From and How to Find Your Uniquely Bloody Fingerprint Behind the Podcast of Episode EF13 appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
EF36 is an Ask Me Anything about Episode EF12 (Wired to Fail: Leveling Up in the Game of Life). What defines us? Success, failure and fear are the three main ingredients that define what we are and what we can and will be. But how much freedom and power do we have at controlling how much of each ingredient goes into the pot?
The post (EF36) AMA-EF12: Pyrrhic Victory and Finding the 10% of Your Mind that Defines Who You Are Ask Me Anything for Episode EF12 appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
EF35 is a Behind The Podcast about Episode EF12 (Wired to Fail: Leveling Up in the Game of Life). The driving question of this is ... What defines us? What have you done in your life that makes you feel proud? Although it can be anything — from having a satisfying job to a blossoming relationship with a person you love, we often don't know what defines us. It's not as easy as its three simple words imply.
The post (EF35) BTP-EF12: Cryptocurrencies Gaming and Leveraging Failure to Help Us Define Who We Are Behind the Podcast of Episode EF12 appeared first on Evolve Faster with Scott Ely.