Neal Stephenson on Depictions of Reality

Neal Stephenson on Depictions of Reality

If you want to speculate on the development of tech, no one has a better brain to pick than Neal Stephenson. Across more than a dozen books, he's created vast story worlds driven by futuristic technologies that have both prophesied and even provoked real-world progress in crypto, social networks, and the creation of the web itself. Though Stephenson insists he's more often wrong than right, his technical sharpness has even led to a half-joking suggestion that he might be Satoshi Nakamoto, the shadowy creator of bitcoin. His latest novel, Fall; or, Dodge in Hell, involves a more literal sort of brain-picking, exploring what might happen when digitized brains can find a second existence in a virtual afterlife.

So what's the implicit theology of a simulated world? Might we be living in one, and does it even matter? Stephenson joins Tyler to discuss the book and more, including the future of physical surveillance, how clothing will evolve, the kind of freedom you could expect on a Mars colony, whether today's media fragmentation is trending us towards dystopia, why the Apollo moon landings were communism's greatest triumph, whether we're in a permanent secular innovation starvation, Leibniz as a philosopher, Dickens and Heinlein as writers, and what storytelling has to do with giving good driving directions.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded June 14th, 2019

Other ways to connect

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(288)

Jonathan Haidt on Morality, Politics, and Intellectual Diversity on Campus

Jonathan Haidt on Morality, Politics, and Intellectual Diversity on Campus

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on morality, politics, disgust, how to maintain free speech on campus, the enriching effects of LSD, antiparsimonialism, and why...

24 Maalis 20161h 9min

Nate Silver on the Supreme Court and the Underrated Stat for Finding Good Food (Live at Mason)

Nate Silver on the Supreme Court and the Underrated Stat for Finding Good Food (Live at Mason)

Nate Silver joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on data, forecasting, My Bloody Valentine, the social value of gambling, Donald Trump and the presidential field, vacation advice, Supreme Court picks,...

23 Helmi 20161h 21min

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Fighting Bruce Lee, Growing Up in Harlem, and Basketball (Live at Mason)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Fighting Bruce Lee, Growing Up in Harlem, and Basketball (Live at Mason)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joins Tyler Cowen for a conversation on segregation, Islam, Harlem vs. LA, Earl Manigault, jazz, fighting Bruce Lee, Kareem's conservatism, dancing with Thelonious Monk, and why no...

2 Helmi 20161h 22min

Cliff Asness on Comics and Why Never to Share a Gym with Cirque du Soleil (Live at Mason)

Cliff Asness on Comics and Why Never to Share a Gym with Cirque du Soleil (Live at Mason)

Tyler and investment strategist Cliff Asness discuss momentum and value investing strategies, disagreeing with Eugene Fama, Marvel vs. DC, the inscrutability of risk, high frequency trading, the econo...

18 Marras 20151h 22min

Dani Rodrik on Premature Deindustrialization and Why the World is Second Best at Best

Dani Rodrik on Premature Deindustrialization and Why the World is Second Best at Best

Tyler and Dani Rodrik discuss premature deindustrialization, the world's trilemmas, the political economy of John le Carré, what's so special about manufacturing, Orhan Pamuk, RCTs, and why the world ...

1 Loka 20151h 24min

Luigi Zingales on Italy, Google and Conglomeration, and Donald Trump (Live at Mason)

Luigi Zingales on Italy, Google and Conglomeration, and Donald Trump (Live at Mason)

In the third event of this series, Tyler and Luigi Zingales discuss Italy, Donald Trump, Antonio Gramsci, Google and conglomeration, Luchino Visconti, Starbucks, and the surprisingly high productivity...

16 Syys 20151h 16min

Jeffrey Sachs on Charter Cities and How to Reform Graduate Economics Education (Live at Mason)

Jeffrey Sachs on Charter Cities and How to Reform Graduate Economics Education (Live at Mason)

Tyler Cowen and Jeffrey Sachs discuss the resource curse, why Russia failed and Poland succeeded, charter cities, Sach's China optimism, JFK, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, whether Africa will be able to over...

31 Maalis 20151h 32min

Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not to Call your Company (Live at Mason)

Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not to Call your Company (Live at Mason)

Peter Thiel and Tyler Cowen, both New York Times bestselling authors, are among today's top global thought leaders and influential innovators. Listen as these two engage in a serious dialogue on the i...

25 Maalis 20151h 20min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
adhd-podi
rss-rahamania
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-luonnollinen-synnytys-podcast
rss-narsisti
rahapuhetta
kesken
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rss-niinku-asia-on
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
rss-arkea-ja-aurinkoa-podcast-espanjasta
aamukahvilla
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
dear-ladies
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi