Technology and Wealth: The Straw, the Siphon, and the Sieve | Frankly 119

Technology and Wealth: The Straw, the Siphon, and the Sieve | Frankly 119

In this week's Frankly, Nate explores the relationship between technology and wealth when viewed through a global biophysical lens. He uses the visualization of a straw, siphon, and sieve to describe how technology enables the acceleration of physical resource extraction and the concentration and filtering of resulting 'wealth' towards the human species. Running contrary to the commonly-held idea that technology automatically creates monetary wealth (and therefore prosperity), this episode asks listeners to view real wealth as the underlying stocks and flows that make life on Earth possible – whether in the form of forests, social trust, or entire functioning ecosystems.

Nate also discusses the ways that technologies have been deployed to rearrange natural systems around narrow, growth-centric priorities throughout much of human history. Utilizing examples regarding agriculture, finance, and artificial intelligence, he suggests that tools effective at small scales might behave very differently when applied globally – setting us on the path to overshoot that we find ourselves walking today.

If technology reflects human priorities, what does current innovation and development reveal about what we currently value? What would it mean to shift towards prioritizing life-giving flows within natural systems and away from accelerating the liquidation of Earth's stocks? Finally, how can societies and individuals begin to distinguish between innovation that serves to borrow from our future versus genuine progress toward a more stable world?

(Recorded December 25, 2025)

Show Notes and More

Watch this video episode on YouTube

Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.

---

Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future

Join our Substack newsletter

Join our Hylo channel and connect with other listeners

Jaksot(357)

The Mad Scramble for Power: Global Superpowers' Strategies for Energy, Economics, and War | Reality Roundtable #16

The Mad Scramble for Power: Global Superpowers' Strategies for Energy, Economics, and War | Reality Roundtable #16

The rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape of recent years can be hard to follow. With economic conflicts between global superpowers and violent clashes across multiple continents, today's events can...

23 Maalis 20251h 29min

Thinking and Feeling | Frankly 89

Thinking and Feeling | Frankly 89

The human brain has proven to be particularly good at breaking down all sorts of things into categories and dichotomies - even our perception of the world itself is often split between 'thinking' and ...

21 Maalis 202510min

Threats to U.S. Security: Aging Infrastructure, Fragile Systems, and Information Warfare with Dan O'Connor

Threats to U.S. Security: Aging Infrastructure, Fragile Systems, and Information Warfare with Dan O'Connor

The threats facing the United States' stability seem to be escalating daily - from aging electric grids and deteriorating infrastructure to rising information warfare from domestic and international s...

19 Maalis 20251h 25min

The Lost Art of Grieving: Grief as Ritual, Resistance, and Resilience with Francis Weller

The Lost Art of Grieving: Grief as Ritual, Resistance, and Resilience with Francis Weller

Western culture, particularly in the United States, is often characterized by a profound discomfort and suppression of grief. Without healthy outlets to process loss and pain – especially in communal ...

12 Maalis 20251h 38min

Snow, The Singularity, and Rocks in the River | Frankly 88

Snow, The Singularity, and Rocks in the River | Frankly 88

As the world continued its increasingly chaotic series of events this week - with disruptive events in everything from politics to artificial intelligence, a spring blizzard swept through the upper Mi...

7 Maalis 202514min

2000-Watt Society: The Realities of Living a Low(er) Energy Lifestyle with Peter Strack

2000-Watt Society: The Realities of Living a Low(er) Energy Lifestyle with Peter Strack

Caught between increasing energy prices and rising carbon emissions, the idea of reducing our energy consumption is a practical and forward-looking necessity. Yet, with communities in the United State...

5 Maalis 20251h 17min

(Some of) The Central Questions of Our Time | Frankly 87

(Some of) The Central Questions of Our Time | Frankly 87

The period of relative peace and stability we've known - enabled by the energy surplus of the Carbon Pulse and the ecological stability of the Holocene - is slipping away. AI is turbocharging the Supe...

28 Helmi 202517min

Wisdom Over Power: Why Contemplation & Wonder Are Essential for the Future of Humanity with Iain McGilchrist

Wisdom Over Power: Why Contemplation & Wonder Are Essential for the Future of Humanity with Iain McGilchrist

(Conversation recorded on January 2nd, 2025) When looking at our global challenges, it can be easier to focus on the external factors that could be different. Yet a critical part of creating impac...

26 Helmi 20251h 59min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
tiedekulma-podcast
rss-poliisin-mieli
utelias-mieli
rss-lihavuudesta-podcast
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-laakaripodi
rss-opeklubi
docemilia
sotataidon-ytimessa
hippokrateen-vastaanotolla
mielipaivakirja
rss-vaasan-yliopiston-podcastit
rss-mental-race
rss-ylistys-elaimille