We'll Never Fully Own Nature

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The most energy efficient invention to my knowledge of mankind is the bicycle because it combines technology and materials with human effort. And so that's we use the remaining fossil and mineral seed corn in combination with technology to find and fix the problem that we face. So I don't see it really as a matter of solving problems or mastering nature of defining what nature should be according to our notions dictating what it should be. That's all kind of a heuristic way that's not working at some level.

This week, Nate invites colleague Tom Murphy, professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego and writer of ‘Do the Math’, to unpack his recent essay The Simple Story of Civilization. Tom condenses the vast timescale of human life on Earth to an average human lifespan to give us a sense of the anomalous period we’re living through. What is civilization and how quickly did it come about? Can technology redirect civilization from its current perilous course? Is optimism näive or is it necessary in order to make the hard decisions within us? A 30 minute overview with Nate and Professor Tom Murphy.

For Show Notes and More: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/22-the-simple-story-of-civilization

To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6yFrh1X6DI