The Concept of Life and Culture

The speakers discuss the concept of life and how it is self-organizing and replicating with hereditary information. They also delve into the idea of culture, explaining its adaptive nature and the transmission of cultural information between species. The chapter concludes with a question on whether America is experiencing senescence and how it can be avoided.

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Episode notes

Humans have never lived in such abundance as we do today. Yet we are miserable, divided, and lonely. We have everything we need to flourish, so why are we wilting?

Today’s extraordinary guests, Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein, say it’s because the modern world is out of sync with our ancient brains and bodies! They explore this bold thesis in their book A Hunter Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century, which we will discuss extensively in this interview.

Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein are evolutionary biologists who have been invited to address the US Congress, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education and have spoken before audiences across the globe. They both earned PhDs in Biology from the University of Michigan, where their research on evolution and adaptation earned awards for its quality and innovation. They have been visiting fellows at Princeton University and, before that, were professors at the Evergreen State College for fifteen years.

Join us as we explore evolution, the challenges of modern life, frogs, the American red squirrel, the education system, religion, and much more!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)
Judging a book by its cover (01:17)
What’s so fascinating about frogs? (04:10)
Is modern life out of sync with human biology? (08:41)
What’s wrong with experiments on kids? (10:14)
Why are we wired for novelty? (14:13)
What are your obligations to humanity as a consumer? (34:24)
What's wrong with Universities? (42:48)
The Omega Principle (56:08)
Are there cultural telomeres? (1:02:58)
Audience questions (1:10:43)
What would Heather put in her ethical will? (1:28:13)
What Would Bret put in his ethical will? (1:33:05)
Outro (1:42:02)

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➡️ Check out Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein:

💻 Bret’s Website: https://www.bretweinstein.net/

📚 A Hunter Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: https://a.co/d/5Gbb6G3

💻 Heather’s Website: https://www.heatherheying.com/

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