ow would you respond to such ways of of looking at data?
for - progress cheerleaders - response to - to - progress - Jason Hickel - responds to Steven Pinker - to - progress - Jason Hickel - responds to Bill Gates - https://hyp.is/go?url=https%3A%2F%2Fjacobin.com%2F2019%2F02%2Fsteven-pinker-global-poverty-neoliberalism-progress&group=vnpq69nW
I think all of these kind of public good uh infrastructures that we have came about in this very narrow special window of time uh where you had this kind of incursion of egalitarianism uh and and a and a spirit of of you know public-mindedness that's all being eroded.
for - public good - being eroded
So a lot of the goodness that was felt in the western world and experienced in the western world was thieved really really thieved and left a lot of damage in its wake.
for
our world and data does they do have some legitimate research because that's what think tanks do. They launder illegitimate research with legitimate research. uh and their tactic primarily is to uh set the scope of what they are commenting on or researching uh that it you know it puts forward the kind of results that they want uh that aligns with their ideology.
for - Our World in Data - discredited website - mix legitimate with illegitimate research to advance a biased ideology
he counted examples of violence done by an indigenous group in I believe Uruguay uh as an example of violence of prehistoric primitive societies. Uh >> even though >> the the actual violence that was reported was done by colonists against those indigenous people but he counted it as the opposite as violence done by the indigenous people
for - progress champion - Steven Pinker - discredited - one example of many - outright lie - he says violence committed BY indigenous Uruguay people but it was colonialist violence done TO THEM!
Steven Pinger's big book better angels of our nature uh inspired a whole literature debunking it
for - book - Better Angels - Steven Pinker - inspired literature debunking him - to - progress - Jason Hickel - responds to Steven Pinker - to - progress - Jason Hickel - responds to Bill Gates - https://hyp.is/go?url=https%3A%2F%2Fjacobin.com%2F2019%2F02%2Fsteven-pinker-global-poverty-neoliberalism-progress&group=vnpq69nW
Steven Pinker
for - progress - Steven Pinker - cheerleader of
is causing cognitive decline and uh hallucination psychosis, all of this stuff. and and so it's obviously extremely harmful
for - progress trap - AI
AI is it's both a kind of you Ponzi scheme, investment, you know, crime. Uh, [laughter] >> but it's it's also this real panic to scramble for a plausible narrative to keep people on the progress train.
for - AI - ponzi scheme - keep the progress narrative alive - while everything else is falling apart
he's he's kind of calling the bluff on the progress narrative
for - history - progress - Francis Fukuyama - liberalism won - calling the bluff
those have to deliver. They they can kind of get away with not delivering uh on their promises intergenerationally
for - history - progress - secular golden age promise - can procastinate by pushing it forward to the next generation
what's clever about the more religious progress narratives is that the golden age happens after you die
for - history - progress - religious golden age - is post death
even in the Old Testament, God has to keep promising land. He has to, you know, there has to always be this new kind of thing. Uh and it's it's never enough
for - history - progress - promised land - contemporary mythical promises - nothing new
these kind of secular ideas and trying to to uh reinvest them with uh religious and mythic ideas. Uh, >> and so there is, you know, a little bit of a reverse kind of enlightenment happening.
for - history - contemporary society - reverse enightenment
over the past few years as well, we've seen this real anti-science kickback
for - observation - anti-science blowback
we are now back in this sort of age of religiosity, particularly with the Trump administration, him claiming that he has essentially been anointed anointed by God in order to do whatever he wants.
for - history - Trump - back into age of religosity. He claims, like former kings, he was anointed by god!
John Lockach uh who often called the father of liberalism uh who's putting forward these kind of secular value systems to uh at first to you know justif ify things like the slave trade uh of which he was an investor uh the dispossession of Native Americans and their land
for - trivia - philosopher John Locke - investor in slave trade and native american dispossesion!
it's not so much about we have to you know expand the scope of the church or you know civilize people who don't have Jesus Christ and becomes more about we have to uh expand the market and we have to uh you know increase the the you know national revenue and the acreage that's under cultivation
for - history - progress - after Enlightenment - no long about converting savages to Christians - became about expanding markets
the the big break that you see between uh secularism and religiosity even outside of progress narratives is European enlightenment
for - history - progress - European Enlightenment - broke secular off from religious progress very abruptly
difference between secular faith in progress and this kind of more religious or mythical faith in progress is a running theme through the book
for - history - progress - secular vs religious
we first start seeing uh kind of more uh closer something closer to monotheism with Zoroastrianism in Persia
for - history - progress - monotheism appears - Zoroastrianism in Persia (2nd millenia BCE)
polytheism I think is is uh you know expansive and and is part of the the Greek state expansion as well. Uh it's part of the Roman expansionism
for - history - progress - expansionism and gods - went hand-in-hand
rulers who claim to be champions of Marduk and and kind of justify their position at the top of this hierarchy by being you about the the representatives of the supreme god
for - history - progress - political and religious partnership narrative - top leader claimed to represent top god
Greco Roman is is you know the Jupiter and and Zeus
for - history - progress - polytheistic gods - Roman and Greek - Jupiter & Zeus
pinpointing this kind of break with these polytheistic uh religions that emerge in Mesopotamia. Um Marduk is is the kind of the supreme god.
for - history - progress - animism - gave way to polytheism in Mesopotamia - Marduk god
such a religious undertone to the progress narrative
for - progress narrative - often accompanied by religious undertones
hat the book is is kind of trying to do is trace that lineage from that initial uh you know the the very first kind of literary endeavors um through uh you know uh Judaism and and through the classical Greek uh thinkers
for - book - tracing history of progress / Growthist political economy narrative from Vikings to Mesopotamia to Judaism to Greeks to Islam to Enlightenment to US
every single inauguration speech is talking about how we've got great progress. We're going to get more progress.
for - progress - every inaugurations speech
finding that narrative just kind of reiterating over and over again through different cultures uh through along I mean you know thousands of years.
for - history - progress narrative - repeats over and over
what progress should be, why it is so vital, and how little time we really have to achieve it.
for - youtube - Planet Critical interview - Samuel Miller MacDonald - The Myth of Progress
By signing up, you'll get the Planet Critical newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every week. You'll also have access to the wonderful Planet Critical community who are full of inspiring thoughts, ideas, critiques, and determination.
for - SRG comment - join us - MEconomy - forces us all into silos for survival
rogress: A History of Humankind's Worst Idea
for - progress trap - book - to - book - Progress: A History of Humankind's Worst Idea - https://hyp.is/cMyt5tjMEfCGz9-Edzp-hA/harpercollins.co.uk/products/progress-a-history-of-humanitys-worst-idea-samuel-miller-mcdonald - author Samuel Miller McDonald
SRG comment - interview - book on Progress - see other references: - to - book - A Short History of Progress (2004) - https://hyp.is/93k5CtjLEfC1UpPEi59BHA/archive.org/details/shorthistoryofpr0000wrig - to - movie - Surviving Progress (2011) - https://hyp.is/sRPYJtjLEfCwuDdwG2xNnw/www.nfb.ca/film/surviving-progress/ - SRG article - Cogress
Samuel traces this narrative all the way back to 5,000 years ago
for - progress - myth of - 5000 years ago
for - Medium article - cogress - Part 1 - progress trap - James Gien Wong - definition - cogress - to - Medium article cogress - Part 2 - progress trap - James Gien Wong - https://hyp.is/t8FhpDGAEfC4J7f0NEFujg/medium.com/@gien_SRG/human-cogress-part-2-d6fd075a55c7 - to - Stop Reset Go hypothesis annotations - progress trap - Ronald Wright - https://jonudell.info/h/facet/?max=100&expanded=true&user=stopresetgo&exactTagSearch=true&any=ronald+wright - General - https://jonudell.info/h/facet/?max=100&expanded=true&user=stopresetgo&exactTagSearch=true&any=progress+trap - from - youtube - Planet Critical interview - Samuel Miller MacDonald - The Myth of Progress - https://hyp.is/r-hmFtjKEfCd8odATbINbA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEhmWEDkZUQ
for - book - A Short History of Progress (2004) - author - Ronald Wright - progress trap - Ronald Wright - A Short History of Progress (2004) - to - movie - Surviving Progress (2011) - https://hyp.is/sRPYJtjLEfCwuDdwG2xNnw/www.nfb.ca/film/surviving-progress/ - to - book - Progress: A History of Humanity's Worst Idea - from - youtube - Planet Critical interview - Samuel Miller MacDonald - The Myth of Progress - https://hyp.is/r-hmFtjKEfCd8odATbINbA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEhmWEDkZUQ
for - progress traps - movie - Surviving Progress (2011) - from - book - A Short History of Progress (2004) - https://hyp.is/93k5CtjLEfC1UpPEi59BHA/archive.org/details/shorthistoryofpr0000wrig - from - youtube - Planet Critical interview - Samuel Miller MacDonald - The Myth of Progress - https://hyp.is/r-hmFtjKEfCd8odATbINbA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEhmWEDkZUQ
for - book - Progress: A History of Humanity's Worst Idea - author - Samuel Miller McDonald - from - youtube - interview - Planet Critical - Samuel Miller McDonald
for - youtube - How the rich took over the economy - from - youtube - interview - Thomas Piketty - can't blame the top, so demonize the bottom - https://hyp.is/10dTvtheEfC_-8OXfzSTJA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeZoNTJgBZs
he was very [music] effective at telling that story. His main campaign slogan was, "Let's make [music] America great again.
for - Reagan slogan - blamed recession on taxes, social programs & regulations - Let's me America Great Again!
In 1979 and 1980, two political leaders came into power who would turn this economic revolution into a political one. Margaret Thatcher in [music] the UK and Ronald Reagan in the US.
for - economic history - Volcker Shock - 2 political allies - Thatcher (1979) and Reagan (1980) came to power - cast taxes, social programs and regulation as the bogeyman
David Harvey calls this [music] accumulation
for - economic history - Volcker Shock - David Harvey - accumulation by dispossession. Defaulted countries signing with IMF: - increased poverty - exploded inequality - collapsed public service - gave up economic sovereignty to global financial institutions - continuation of colonialist practice of extractionism and appropriation
conditions were called structural adjustment programs and they forced countries to adopt a very specific set of economic policies mainly the privatization [music] of public assets
for - economic history - Volcker Shock - IMF Structural adjustment program - privatize public assets, - cut spending of welfare, - austerity across the board - deregulation, - open domestic markets to foreign corporations, - remove protection of local businesses and workers - IMF - a deal with the devil
they had to turn somewhere for help. And that somewhere was the International Monetary
for - economic history - Volcker Shock - defaulted countries turn to IMF
subsaharan African countries and parts of Asia were also plunged into crisis
for - economic history - Volcker Shock - second casualties - Sub-Saharan African & Asian countries defaulted
the Latin American debt crisis
for - economic history - Volcker Shock - first casualties - Latin American debt crisis - Mexico, Brazil, Argentina defaulted on loans
Most global finance is denominated in dollars. US interest rates effectively set global interest rates. So when Fuler pushed rates towards 20%, developing countries who had borrowed dollars just a few years earlier saw their interest payments on those loans explode.
for - economic history - Volcker Shock - developing countries loans became unpayable overnight
Paul Fulker was appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve, essentially the head of the United States Central Bank. in 1979 and his appointment signaled a dramatic shift in US economic governance
for - economic history - 1979 - Paul. A. Volcker appointed chairman of Federal Reserve - Volcker Shock - shift - from employment to inflation - raised interest rates to an astounding 20%, intentionally causing a recession
monitoism offered Fulkar the intellectual and political cover he needed for this shift in monetary policy. Away from the Keynesian commitment to full employment and [music] economic stability and towards protecting the value of capital which had been eroded by years of high inflation.
for - economic history - Volcker Shock - used Milton Friedman's theory to provide cover to stop Keynesian commitment to full employment and instead protect capital from inflation. - Volcker raised interest rates to 20%,, causing massive plant shutdowns and unemployment to surge above 10%. - The recession closed shops, and labor lost its bargaining power when plants are shut down.
Milton [music] Freriedman, the economist most associated with neoliberalism, whose work was heavily financed by business elites. It was his theory, monitoism, which framed inflation as the ultimate economic threat
for - economic history - Milton Friedman - represented business elites - Monetarism - inflation seen as ultimate threat to elites
The business round table was established in 1972
for - economic history - 1972 - Business Round Table established
from 60,000 businesses in 1972 to over a quarter million just 10 years later
for stats - economic history - corporate power - 10 years - American Chamber of Commerce - from 60,000 to 250,000 members
Powell memo. It was written by Lewis Powell,
for - economic history - powell memo - Lewis Powell - inequality - corporate lawyer who became supreme court judge - memo that started a long term political campaign to exploit the elite crisis for corporations to take control of universities, media, law and public opinion FOR THE ELITES
People are so disgusted, you know, with this working of the of the economic systems that in the end because you tell them they cannot look up and they cannot do anything with people at the top. They start looking down
for - inequality - Thomas Piketty - opinion - middle class can't get tax relief from the elites - so they take it out on those below them - to - youtube - economic history - what started the chain reaction of modern day inequality - https://hyp.is/SIBPoNjHEfCxI8N7cC7ntw/www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAV0bkTHui8
A major evolutionary transition in individuality is defined by two conditions
for: - MET - METI - Major Evolutionary Transition in Individuality - definition - Major Evolutionary Transition in Individuality (METI) - two conditions for METI - 1. living forms that were capable of independent replication before the replication can only replicate as part of a larger unit after the MET - 2. there is a lack of within-group conflict such that the larger unit can be thought of as a fitness-maximizing individual in its own right. - When these 2 conditions are met, evolution lea a new higher level organism. - The new individual acts with a single purpose where the interests of the previously independent individuals are now aligned.
t’s a very generic definition that I think gets to the heart of what we mean by intelligence, which is the ability to adaptively navigate a problem space with some degree of competency to get your needs met
for - definition - intelligence - Michael Levin the ability to adaptively navigae a problem space with some degree of competency to get your needs met (to fulfill your goal seeking activity)
understanding how that alignment happens, how an entire collective buys into the same story. In an important sense, models of the world, AKA stories, hold collectives together
for - stories - unity - cells - humans - Michael Levin - whether you are a cell or a human, you need to buy into the same story in order to solve problems together.
stochasticoptimization of dominance relationships, in which a dominance hierarchy ofindividuals with exclusively self-centered characteristics (the desire to dominate,resentment at being dominated) transitions spontaneously to egalitarianism as theircapacity for language develops
for - language - shifts - dominance hierarchy to egalitarianism
for - paper - The emergence of egalitarianism in a model of early human societies (2017) - author - Guillaume Calmettes - James N. Weiss
How did egalitarianism emerge in early human societies?
for - question - egalitarianism - how did it arise in early human societies?
for - paper - Major transitions in sociocultural evolution (2025) - author - Arsham Nejad kourki - criitque of sociocultural systems as ETI
sociocultural systems typically lack the core conditions required for an ETI, including autonomous reproduction at the group level and the operation of natural selection in the reproductive mode
for - ETI - sociocultural systems as ETI - critique - lack autonomous reproduction at the group level - lack operation of natural selection in the reproductive mode
Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality (ETI)
for - Evolutionary Transition in Individuality (ETI)
major evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI)
for - Major Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality (METI) - Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality (ETI)
for - paper - Characteristic processes of human evolution caused the Anthropocene and may obstruct its global solutions (2023) - author - Timothy M. Waring - Zachary T. Wood - Eörs Szathmáry
SRG comment - validation that cultural evolution must make a dramatic shift because - the patterns of cultural evolution that brought human civilization to modernity and the Anthropocene - could end up destroying it - progress trap - cultural evolution - patterns of existing cultural evolution and progress could be our ultimate progress trap
characteristic patterns of human group-level cultural evolution created the Anthropocene and will work against global collective solutions to the environmental challenges it poses
for - cultural evolution - futures - cannot be like the past
We conclude that our species must alter longstanding patterns of cultural evolution to avoid environmental disaster and escalating between-group competition.
for - cultural evolution - futures - directional change<br /> - our species must alter longstanding patterns of cultural evolution to avoid - environmental disaster and - escalating between-group competition
for - ACE Lab - Applied Cultural Evolution Laboratory - from - article - University of Maine - Culture is driving a major shift in human evolution, new theory proposes - https://hyp.is/S1QxRtf2EfCxxAP798Jrpw/umaine.edu/news/blog/2025/09/15/culture-is-driving-a-major-shift-in-human-evolution-new-theory-proposes/
Applied Cultural Evolution Laboratory at the University of Maine
for - to - Applied Cultural Evolution Laboratory - University of Maine - https://hyp.is/aVSgkNf2EfChbceMGSBicA/timwaring.info/
for - cultural evolution - overtaking - genetic evolution - Waring & Wood - to - paper - Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution - https://hyp.is/OPBwzNeYEfCiTgP0i-iBhQ/academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-abstract/75/10/803/8230384
a transition in individuality is driven by an underlying transition ininheritance from DNA to cultural signals
for - transition - in individuality - from genetic to cultural
evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI)
for - evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI)
for - gene-culture coevolution - paper - prepress - Cultural inheritance is driving a major transition in human evolution - author - Timothy M Waring - Zachary T Wood
evolutionary transition in both inheritance and individuality (ETII).
for - gene-culture coevolution - definition - Evolutionary Transition in both Inheritance and Individuality (ETII) - authors - Timothy M Waring - Zachary T Wood - paper - Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution 2025
for - paper - 2025 - Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution - author<br /> - Timothy M Waring - from - U of Maine News - Culture is driving a major shift in human evolution, new theory proposeshttps://hyp.is/7sMSFteXEfC_tNvhW0UTPA/umaine.edu/news/blog/2025/09/15/culture-is-driving-a-major-shift-in-human-evolution-new-theory-proposes/ - Zarchary T Wood
We speculate that, in the long term, culture will continue to grow in influence over human evolution until genes become secondary structures that encode human biological design blueprints but are ultimately governed by culture.
for - genes subservient to culture - We speculate that, in the long term, culture will continue to grow in influence over human evolution - until genes become secondary structures that encode human biological design blueprints - but are ultimately governed by culture.
for - progress traps - speed of cultural vs genetic evolution
SRG comment - As Ronald Wright pointed out, it is the speed of our cultural evolution that creates a gap between the evolutionary "hardware" we are equipped with and the novel phenomena that we have never encountered before
The issue with genetic change is that it tends to be slow and gradual. Cultural evolution, in contrast, can occur within the time it takes to pass a piece of legislation.
for - comparison - cultural vs genetic evolution - speed
“On reviewing the evidence, we find that culture solves problems much more rapidly than genetic evolution. This suggests our species is in the middle of a great evolutionary transition.”
for - evolutionary transition - from genetic to cultural - progress trap - cultural evolution
Wood, Waring, and many scholars in the field of evolutionary biology believe we are in the midst of another transition, one that has the potential to turn us into a “superorganism.
for - MET - major evolutionary transition in individuality
culture has overtaken biology as the predominant evolutionary force in our species
for - cultural evolution vs biological evolution - cultural evolution has overtaken biology as the predominant evolutionary force in our species
Cultural evolution eats genetic evolution for breakfast,
for - quote - cultural evolution eats genetic evolution for breakfast - Zachary Wood
for - human social superorganism
each person is, on average, an assemblage of 37 trillion eukaryotic cells combined with 300 trillion bacterial cells; the 20,000 protein-coding genes in the eukaryotic genome supplemented by 2 million bacterial genes.
for - stats - cells in body - eukaryotic vs microbiotic - eukaryotic - 37 trillion vs microbiome and bacteria - 300 trillion - eukaryotic - 20,000 protein coding genes vs microbiome and bacteria 2 million
for our bacterial partners, a human lifetime is deep time.
for - microbiome - one human lifetime is deep time - relativity
Because one human lifetime may encompass a million bacterial generations, individual species and the microbiome itself can evolve within a single host.
for - quote - one human lifetime - evolution of a million generations of bacteria - Because one human lifetime may encompass a million bacterial generations, individual species and the microbiome itself can evolve within a single host.
For many if not all members of the human microbial fauna, generation times are measured in hours or even minutes. These short generation times, coupled with the large population sizes of many bacteria, effectively elide the boundary between ecological and evolutionary time
for - microbiome - blurs ecological and evolutionary time - due to short generation time of microfauna
Anthropogenically driven climate change is occurring too quickly to enable the majority of plant and animal species to respond through genotypic change. Instead, most species can only change their geographic distribution,
for - genotypic change - anthropogenically driven climate change - too quick for genotypic change adaptation
In contrast to the traditional focus on the individual organism as the target of selection and the unit of evolution, the genetic information embodied by each of our microbiomes may itself be the target for and the product of the evolutionary process.
for - unpack - microbiome as the target for / product of evolution
The collective microbial genome in our gut may include 100-fold more genetic information than what can be found in our own eukaryotic cells.
for - trivia - microbiome - 100x more genetic information here than our other body cells -meme - most of the genetic information inside you is not really you
bacteria engage in extensive horizontal gene transfer
for - definition - horizontal gene transfer - genetic material transfer across species boundaries
efficient removal of potentially toxic by-products of metabolism, and provides a homeostatic environment for bacterial growth
for - microbiome - functions - efficient removal of toxic byproducts of metabolism - homestatic environment for(beneficial) bacterial growth
Marked differences between one human microbiome and the next suggest that no single bacterial species must always be present in the gut—or in any other body environment—to ensure a working microbiome.
for - microbiome - keystone ROLES - no keystone species - can vary from person to person
keystone roles
for - keystone roles vs keystone species - microbiome
keystone species
for - definition - keystone microbiome species - critical species that, if removed, can engender collapse of the entire microbiome system
microbiome is clearly linked to the maturation and regulation of the human immune system,
for - adjacency - human microbiome - immune system
the passage through the birth canal seeds the newborn’s microbiome. Infants delivered by cesarean section, in contrast, exhibit a distinct microbiome that more closely resembles the composition of the mother’s skin
for - trivia - birth - microbiome - natural childbirth vs cesarean - birth canal seeds newborn's microbiome. Cesarean section alters it - microbiome more like mother's skin!
nstead, such perturbed ecosystems may settle on a new composition that includes different species, many of them resistant to antibiotic treatment.
for - progress trap - long term antibiotic use - can create new composition of microbiome with species resistant to antibiotic treatment
the Human Microbiome Project
for - The Human Microbiome Project - progress trap - antibiotics - severely disrupts the microbiome (Human Microbiome Project)
microbiomics
for - definition - microbiomics - the study of the multiple microbial ecosystems that constitute the (human) bidy
what we are saying is we do not know how the soul generates the intelligence it clearly has but that it has it is obvious it doesn't divide until it knows that the genome has been accurately replicated
for - cell intelligence - the cell knowns when to divide - it won't divide until all replication errors have been fixed
both replication is dependent on the living cell and the function of the proteins is dependent on the living cell. Neither automatically follow from the DNA alone
for - key insight - cell replication AND function of proteins are both dependent on the living cell. Neither follow from DNA alone - Denis Noble
don't think at the molecular level we know exactly how a cell can be said to know the time has come to divide but it won't do so until that is the case
for - unanswered question - when cells know when to divide
cut and paste enzymes
for - definition - cut and paste enzyme - living cells provide cut and past enzyme to run along the genome and correct all the replication errors
about dozen years ago, chemists actually checked if you unravel the DNA in a dish without a cell, how does it replicate?
for - DNA replication experiment - in vitro - lots of errors - 1/10,000 pairs error rate - our genomes 3 billion base pairs long each - so 300,000 errors - would be fatal to any cell
It was actually Shreddinger who formulated that idea way back in 1942 when he wrote a book called what is life?
for - book - What is Life? Schrodinger - formulated the idea behind the central dogma of molecular biology
Francis Crick had formulated what he called the central dogma of molecular biology
for - definition - The central dogma of molecular biology \ - our genes generate proteins - proteins form bodily structures - everything within our body can therefore be predicted from the level of the DNA
the teological sin
for - definition - the teological sin - biological systems aren't suppose to have agency!
I was faced in 1958 when I started graduate study at University College London with that extraordinary fact. Nobody knew how it could be that a muscle could excite itself to be rhythmic.
for - history - Denis Noble - 1958 - question - heartbeat of embryo - how? no nervous system yet.
The first heartbeat in an animal as complicated as us occurs after about 28 days of an embryo
for - embryo - 28 days - first circulation system - why? CO2 and O2 diffuse over distances of a few microns - at 28 days, the embryo is about 30mm so needs a circulatory system to diffuse CO2 and O2
for - Denis Noble - youtube - interview - Denis Noble - We're stuck in a DNA dogma
in your latest book that you wrote with your brother brother Raymond Noble living system
for - book - Understanding Living Systems - Denis and Raymond Noble - to - book - Understanding Living Systems - Denis and Raymond Noble - https://hyp.is/M7xm0NeMEfCqc2PC5Mwj2A/dokumen.pub/understanding-living-systems-9781009277365-9781009277396.html
Understanding Living Systems
for - book - Understanding Living Systems -o Denis and Raymond Noble - from - youtube - Denis Noble - interview - We're stuck in a DNA dogma - https://hyp.is/gWe8MteLEfCpKr-k4niKcg/www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAPhBt8VJCM
Can our social evolution save us from the path of our social evolution that began 10 000 years ago?
for - question - evolution - can our social evolution save us - from the path of our social evolution that began 10,000 years ago?
Let me reiterate, global capitalism is the legacy of the agricultural system.
for - relationship - agriculture - is the parent - of global capitalism - It (global capitalism) is an elaboration of the agricultural system. - Surplus and expansion and - profound, almost mechanistic, interdependency in material life, and - duality in the human relationship to the more-than-human world - became the order of the day beginning with grain agriculture. - The basic structure and dynamic of the agricultural system were subsequently extended with elaborations that have eventually led to global capitalism.
division of labour creates ‘a built-in enforcer for cooperation
for - agriculture - division of labor - enforcer of cooperation
No humans are superorganisms in the way insects are, but some insect species and most of humanity became economic superorganisms when they engaged agriculture.
for - economic superorganism - human species qualifies
The term 'economic superorganism' is not to be interpreted as biological
for - definition - economic superorganism - The cohesive whole brought about by agriculture and the architecture that underlies it. Not to be interpreted as biological. - Used more in the sense of Henrich (economic superorganism) which refers to the structure and dynamic in cooperative material life particular to agriculture - NOT used in the strictly biological sense of E.O. Wilson, Holldobler
Humans are now organized in a global economic system that is difficult to alter in meaningful ways
for - insight - polycrisis - agricultural system - agriculture-based economic system - difficult to halt
All engage positive feedback loops that are expansive. That process can be understood for humans in this way
for - agriculture - expansiveness - description - Nice description!
Global capitalism can be considered ‘a system within a system’ in the sense that it models the agricultural system in its structure and dynamic
for comparison - agriculture - capitalism - one is the parent, the other is the uncontrolled offspring
for - economic superorganism
SRC comment - This paper is so eloquently written! Reading it, one really senses the enormous impact that agriculture has had on the cultural evolution of our species, so much so that we think of it as natural and absolute, rather than relative. - We did not have to be on the cultural trajectory we are now on, all made possible through the dependency on agriculture, the culture of plants.
James C. Scott tell us that humans were ‘disciplined and subordinated to the metronome of our own crops …. Once Homo sapiens took that fateful step into agriculture, our species entered an austere monastery whose task master was mostly the genetic clockwork of a few plants
for - origins - agriculture - beautiful description - our dependency on agriculture changed our sense of time!
In fact, by the time humans began the practice of cultivation of annual grains the total human population on Earth stood at around 6–10 million people. One might say that hunting and gathering is an energetically contained system and not an energetically expansionary system.
for - comparison - hunter gatherer vs agricultural - energetically contained vs energetically expansionary - stats - hunter -gatherer humans - population before agriculture - 6 to 10 million people.
There is no place where this cultural hubris is more evident than with the discourse on our present war between economy and Earth.
for - economic system vs cultural change - hubris - The global economic system at play is bringing about - the sixth mass extinction and - unmitigated climate change - and we continue to tinker around the edges of altering its structure and dynamic in any significant way. - One could easily make the claim that - it is the global economic system that has the upper hand - and not our capacity for cultural change.
Once humans attained culture, the pressure on genetic change is less significant and adaptation can take place through the flexibility afforded through cultural change.
for - key insight - culture - adaption through culture, not genes - SRG comment - danger is progress traps! - This is a key insight. Once we have sophisticated culture, we don't rely on slow moving genetic change to adapt anymore. Instead we rely on culture! - This is the world of human progress, but is also a dangerous one because progress (cultural adaptation to environmental pressures) comes with progress traps.
In the longer run, genes are evolving to adapt to these culturally constructed worlds
for - quote - genes evolve to adapt to culture - Joseph Henrich - in the longer run, genes are evolving to adap to these culturally constructed worlds
The evolution of the capacity for culture was an evolutionary transition just as the evolution of the superorganism was an evolutionary transition in insects.
for - comparison - culture vs superorganism
it acts much like genetic change, only quicker
for - progress traps - why it happens - culture evolves much faster that genes
Herbert Gintis
for - quote - gene-culture co-evolution - Herbert Gintis We are the species that we are because … genes provide individuals with the capacities and incentives to transform culture, and culture guides the transformation of the gene pool from generation to generation
Humans have a unique ability for building and expanding on previous knowledge, adding to the cumulative cultural endowment.
for - human superpower - timebinding
gene–culture coevolution
for - gene-culture coevolution
Culture makes possible modern complex societies where technological advancement is cumulative and extensive cooperation occurs among people who are not related.
for - superorganism - human - insight - culture - culture makes possible modern complex societies where cooperation between strangers is enabled. - money does this! transactional. no need to know who you transact with.
This type of extreme sociality does not occur in humans, so humans do not attain the status of a superorganism
for - superorganism - humans? no - extreme sociality doesn't occur
The superorganism is a form of extreme sociality and cooperation
for - superorganism - characterized by extreme sociality and cooperation in insect world, for example.
he basic elements of the superorganism are not cells and tissues but closely cooperating animals
for - quote - the basic elements of the superorganism are not cells and tissues but closely cooperating animals - E.O. Wilson & Holldobler
We do not fully understand yet the complex causal mechanisms between how something happens in one person's mind moves through neural networks then moves through social ecological networks um and actually may create change in entire sector or give rise to systems
for - anthropocene - signalling - intrabrain - interbrain - SRG comment - individual / collective gestalt - SRG comment - how information flows from one brain to another - networked language!
Christopher Broom's work on in hierarchy in the forest
for - book - Hierarchy in the Forest - shared struggle against inequality - the most important part of human heritage, intelligence and history - SRG comment - recognizing the sacred in all beings - adjacent to Michel Bauwens and the oscillation of the commons - to - book - publisher's page - Hierarchy in the Forest - The Evolution of Egalitarianism - 2001 - Christopher Boehm - https://hyp.is/_w4TEtZoEfCcjmPIvOEOaQ/www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674006911
book Goliath's Curse, the history and future of societal collapse
for - to - book - Goliath's Curse: the History and Future of Societal Collapse - Luke Kemp
democracy can basically help save the world. That the use of things like citizen assemblies and citizens juries would lead to far better governance outcomes.
for - citizen assemblies & juries - lead to better governance outcomes - can save the world
Edward Tellella, another physicist, had naughty calculation that there's a nonzero chance that detonating the bomb would ignite the entire atmosphere of Earth, killing not just all humans, but every single shred of life. By that time, the US also knew that the Nazis were no longer capable of making the bomb nor even pursuing their own project anymore. They still went ahead and took the risk.
for - progress trap - technology - nuclear - psychopathic behavior - Edward Teller calculation - decision to go ahead anyways!
killing large groups of people who often at the prime of their working age means suddenly you're losing often decades or centuries of working hours as well. In every single case, it's a wasteful use of energy. Conspicuous consumption or as a way of saying I am more important than you. I have higher status than you do.
for - status competition - conspicuous consumption - war - waste in general
boardrooms and parliaments, it's somewhere between 3 to 21%. Now, again, numbers are very disputed
for - stats - psychopathy - 3 to 21% in boardrooms and parliaments - more likely to find psychopath in boardroom and parliament than grocery store - SRG comment - stats- shadow side of leadership - high percentage of leaders have dark triad
the dark triad
for - definition - dark triad - Narcissism (grandiosity, entitlement, self-adoration), - Machiavellianism (manipulative, strategic self-interest, callousness), and - Psychopathy (impulsivity, lack of empathy/remorse, antisocial behavior). - SRG comment - dark triad - useful for Deep Humanity profile
And why does this happen? How do we have such a huge shift in human social relations? One of the big reasons is status competition
for - reason for - social shift - from egalitarianism - to power hierarchy - status competition - SRG comment - Goliath's Curse - status competition - Deep Humanity antidote
Some call it civilization, I prefer to call Goliath.
for - definition - Goliath - the anthropological shift from egalitarianism to power hierarchy over the holocene - to - book publisher's page - Goliath's Curse - Luke Kemp - from - youtube - The Anthropocene Paradigm Shift
optimal foraging theory
for - definition - optimal foraging theory - our ancestors minimized energy expended for gathering food and maximized leisure time
we also need know that when you start pushing systems you will get a resistance and right now we talk about a transformation backlash in the in in the research
for - definition - transformation backlash - resistance experienced when pushing against an existing system - progress trap - polycrisis - climate crisis - transformation backlash
we need to educate general practitioners, not just specialists, right? We need to to look at the anthroposine geoysiology and say, okay, we need some GPS for anthroposine geoysiology.
for - metaphor - medical - anthropocene - beyond experts, we need GPs for Anthropocene geophysiology - SRG comment - Is SRG GP for anthropocene?
I think we need to concentrate more on the feedbacks between all of those nodes than on the nodes themselves. And that's tough because I might be an expert on one of those nodes and you might be an expert on one of the other nodes. And and it's not that that's needed. It's the feedbacks between the nodes.
for - wicked problems - feedback between nodes is the priority - wicked problems - SRG comment - feedback between nodes - indicates progress traps COLLECCT ecosystem design
one of the things that I find really interesting that's not talked about very much is the impacts of nitrogen fixing and the production of artificial fertilizers which contributed to the number one issue which is human population growth
for - progress trap - nitrogen for fertilizers - anthropocene research - releases lots of methane - climate crisis - leverage point - replacing nitrogen fertilizers
deeply problematic which is based on this idea of technological substitution and which does not feed the facts of the material growth of everything despite all the innovations.
for - green growth - still continues MATERIAL growth
this idea of backstop technology was taken up by all sorts of neocclassical economies to talk about climate change and it start with this hypothesis there is a back stop technology which is a zero emitting uh technology which is available at a certain price and then of course all the models is about you know how can we make this technology appear quicklier.
for - climate crisis - green growth- illusion?
I'm currently curating an exhibition on planetary health and that's exactly this big challenge to get this planetary big abstract concept >> into parts that are digestible for the public and that are like that they can really feel it or can connect to it and I think that's also a very big challenge
for - museum - planetary health - communications - big challenge
there's still so many people outside who just don't know or it's so abstract to them this big dimension. I'm and in the I'm working in a museum
for - climate communications - difficulty of communicating anthropocene - SRG comment - climate crisis as hyperobject - apply Deep Humanity for impactful climate education
we don't have leverage to uh counter what um John Baptist was and talking about at the end the more and more and more
for - infinite economic growth - more more more - climate crisis - infinite growth of capitalism problem - antidote - targeted degrowth
energy forecasting from uh from the most expert institution like the uh international energy agency, well, they don't see any energy transition coming and it shouldn't be a surprise because energy transition is a radically strange notion,
for - climate crisis - energy transition - IEA - none coming - old energy forms still persist
At the beginning of the 20th century most of the people would use petrol petroleum lamps to produce light kerosene lamps and of course then came electrification and electricity made kerosene lamps obsolid. Nevertheless, during the 20th century, we are burning more and more oil to produce light. And today, just the the headlights of the automobiles burn more oil than the whole economy, the whole world economy did in the early 20th century
for - stats - fossil fuels - kerosene lamps at beginning of 20th century for lighting - today more oil to produce electricity for lighting SRG comment - climate crisis - science communication - TPF - contact - Fabian Will
Now compare that for instance with another kind of biologically built structure where we're getting comparable amounts of morphological change of morphos species or technos species uh uh you know which have developed just over a few decades
for - stats - speed - cultural (technological) evolution - cell phone - 35 years to touchscreen phones - comparison - speed of cultural vs biological evolution - progress trap
what we've done since then uh uh is to increase the number of crystalline inorganic compounds that is minerals in every but formal sense at the earth's surface um uh by orders of magnitude so now more than 300,000 most of those have been made since 1950
for - stats - minerals - since 1950, 300,000 new minerals - only 5,000 up til modernity - planetary boundary - novel entities
life comes in and not very much happens until life decides to excrete oxygen into the atmosphere when you get a whole raft of hydroxides and hydrox oxides and hydroxides coming in
for - geology - history - minerals - when life starts excreting oxygen - many new minerals - planetary boundary novel entities boundary
Why is accumulation linked to success and power? And will there be ways to escape that vicious circle?
for - greed - game A - linked to success - can we escape from game A? - SRG comment - accumulation perspective of capitalism - climate crisis - Deep Humanity interventions
reflect on the pluralities and the tensions related to time and space in the social relations to the earth system from the local to the planetary scale.
for - humanities - planetary boundaries - social system tensions - from local to planetary scales - terminology - local to planetary scale
the economy should be embedded into the nature.
for - ecological civilization - economy should be embed into nature
ECO comes from the Greek root Oikos - for managing the home
to - David Suzuki talk on interconnectedness - air example
they have a kind of society transformation not just one sector including actually value
for - ecological civilization - value transformation as well
leaders took up this idea and not from Chinese researchers from Chinese leaders political leaders that's also something unique because we we know the system is such that many Chinese leaders are scientists and engineers compared to other politic systems.
for - ecological civilization - chinese leaders advocated for it - because many are scientists and engineers
what is ecological civilization?
for - definition - ecological civilization - Eastern-based perspective of humans living in harmony with nature - Institutionalized in policy in 2012
main point of this paper again I still feel like it's still valid
for - paper - Earth System Science for Global Sustainability: Grand Challenges - 2009 - still valid today - Forecasting - Observing - Confining (Planetary Boundaries) - Responding (Governance) - Innovating (How we organize society)
ecological civilization from an earth system perspective
for - anthropocene - ecological civilization from an earth system perspective - Deliang Chen
for - book - Hierarchy in the Forest - The Evolution of Egaliterian Behavior - author - Christopher Boehm - from - youtube - The Anthropocene Paradigm Shift
Goliath’s Curse
for - book - Goliath's curse - author - Luke Kemp - SRG comment - a naughty social superorganism! - from - youtube - The Anthropocene Paradigm Shift - https://hyp.is/a1E9ZtQ4EfCEQs_6Hskbmw/www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ggpzwSI1qY
the recent ruling by the international court of justice last month that basically said two things. That nations absolutely have an obligation to address climate change
for - climate crisis - International Court of Justice ruling - climate change
for - from - James Hansen 2025 Finland talk - https://hyp.is/DjPP3tTVEfCcLT9Y2FXzLg/www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2abyXGvELI
for - climate crisis - youtube - James Hansen 2025 October 24 - Climate Reckoning
SRG comment - to - Climate Emergency Forum - analysis of Hansen's paper - https://hyp.is/8JdPEtTqEfCjYTMZfYavLA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVw6gIP7JUw
if that doesn't happen, we're in trouble with the climate problem because it's not going to be solved as long as uh the special interests are controlling our governments
for - climate crisis - opinion - James Hansen - won't be solve as long as - there is special interest - controlling government
we have to have a party that takes no money by definition. And the thing about young people is they communicate with social media. They don't need billions of dollars for a campaign. They can do it completely free of charge.
for - climate crisis - power of young people to affect politics - create party which takes no money - young people don't need - opinion - James Hansen
SRG comment - James Hansen - youth and politics -TPF - cISTP -TPF as a vehicle
young people have tremendous potential to affect the political system, but they have to know what needs to get done
for - climate crisis - politics - the power of young people - James Hansen
here's another case that happened again where Bernie Sanders who could never get elected, but young people at all the campuses on the country almost got him to get a nomination
for - example - power of young people - in voting - Bernie Sanders - cited by - James Hansen
young people were campaigning started to like Barack Obama and they managed to get him to get the nomination.
for - example - power of young people - in voting - Obama - cited by - James Hansen
you have to get the role of money out of government.
for - quote - young people - need to get money out of politics - James Hansen
in the United States, both political parties take money from the military-industrial complex, from the fossil fuel industry, from the pharmaceutical industry, from the gun industry.
for - two party system - false dichotomy - opinion - James Hansen
if we treat China like an enemy, then they become an enemy,
for - quote - Multilateralism - China - James Hansen - If we treat China like an enemy, then they become an enemy
Climate sensitivity is the most basic issue. Juel Charnie. The Charnie sensitivity refers to the case in which ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica are fixed. Charie's estimate had a huge uncertainty from 1.5 to 4.5 degrees
for - definition - Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) - The global average surface temperature increase when CO2 levels double from pre-industrial levels, allowing all climate feedbacks (like ice melt, water vapor, clouds) to fully manifest. - climate crisis - Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity - huge range - 1.5 to 4.5 deg Celsius - IPCC estimates 3 deg C
for - James Hansen - youtube - The truth about global warming
Transcript
2:47 We do not have to wait 10 years to conclude that we have reached 1.5 Degrees of warming. Satelllite data shows that earth is strongly out of energy balance.
3:09 An important factor is that IPCC's best estimate of climate sensitivity is a substantial underestimate. I will show that tomorrow in several independent ways.
3:28 Climate sensitivity is probably between 4 and 5 degrees Celcius for doubled CO2 rather than 3 degrees
4:28 What we witness now is scientific reticence on steroids, perhaps because IPCC was granted the position of supreme authority
4:43 But in science, supreme authority is not granted to anyone. Galileo proved that.
4:55 An example of expert herd mentality is the response to our global warming acceleration paper which Annie was coauthor on. The next day, these experts condemned our paper in the media.
5:26 Not one of them discussed the physics in our paper or explained what was wrong. Instead there were ad hominem remarks.
5:51 What could the media do They dropped the paper.
China is becoming the world's first electrostate while the US is doubling down on being a petrostate
for - comparison - energy - China will become the world's first electrostate - The US is doubling down as a leading petrostate
for - planetary tipping points - social tipping points - positive tipping points
SRG Comment - 2025 summary of current state of tipping points - good summary of current state of planetary and social and positive tipping points - crossed our first tipping point - positive one - renewable energy - but it's still too slow, carbon emissions are still too high - comparison - irony - China will become world's first electrostate while the US doubles down as a leading petrostate
They manufacture over 80% of solar panels, about 75% of EV batteries and 60% of wind turbines globally.
for - stats - China electrostate - ecocivilization renewable energy manufacturing - 80% of all solar panels - 75% of all EV batteries - 60% of all wind turbines
globally, fossil fuel subsidies are almost nine times higher for oil and gas than for renewables
for - stats - comparison - 2025 - energy subsidies - fossil fuel subsidies is 9x more than renewables
despite all of this news experts say this change needs to happen much faster because we don't know exactly when we will cross these climate tipping points
for - renewable energy adoption - fast but not fast enough
Solar adoption in Africa skyrocketed between June 2024 and 2025.
for - stats - solar adoption between June 2024 and 2025 rose 60%
solar has shown a learning rate of about 20%,
for - stats - learning rate - solar power has 20% learning rate
solar power has followed a pattern known as Wright's Law
for - definition - Wright's Law - technology becomes cheaper as we build more of it - solar power - following Wright's law
renewable energy has almost certainly passed a positive tipping point
for - positive tipping point - renewable energy - has passed
the AMOC also affects another important climate system, the position of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone, which is responsible for the monsoon season in India and West Africa
for - climate crisis - planetary tipping point - slowing AMOC - Inter-tropical Convergence zone responsible for monsoons - shifts it south
for - David Suzuki talk - ecology and economy
because we've been transformed into a city dweller it's very easy for us to forget our biological roots
for - quote - forgotten our biological roots - David Suzuki - Because we've been transformed into a city dweller it's very easy for us to forget our biological roots
we think we're so clever that what dominates our lives today is economics
for - quote - illusion of economics - David Suzuki - We live in a human created environment where - it's easy to adopt the illusion that we're different from the rest of life on Earth - we're so smart we create our own habitat - Who needs nature? and - I think this is where we get to where we think we're so clever that what dominates our lives today is economics
in a hundred years we've been transformed from a village agrarian species into a big city dweller
for - stats - urbanization - 1900 to 2000 - agrarian village to human-created urban environment - Tokyo - 1.5 million to 26 million people in 100 years
in 1900 there were only one and a half billion people on the planet
for - stats - population - 1900 - 1.5 billion people on the planet
for - David Suzuki - talk - argon gas - connects all life through time - David Suzuki - interconnectedness- example - air - SRG comment - David - Suzuki - air example of interconnectedness - individual/collective gestalt