The Tim Ferriss Show #281: Stewart Brand - The Polymath of Polymaths
Stewart Brand, President of The Long Now Foundation, is a visionary behind projects like Revive & Restore aimed at reviving extinct species. He shares fascinating insights on long-term thinking and environmental responsibility. The discussion spans his groundbreaking Whole Earth Catalog, the role of psychedelics in consciousness, and the revolutionary potential of genetic technologies like CRISPR in conservation. Brand emphasizes the importance of thoughtful collaboration and innovative solutions in tackling environmental challenges.
02:40:12
Seeking Source Material
- Tim Ferriss's shift towards intuition and feelings led him to explore poetry and autobiographical fiction.
- He seeks the "layer of least abstraction" to inform upstream thinking.
Managing Complex Systems
- Approach complex systems with iterative tweaking and observation, not fear of unintended consequences.
- Ecology, like medicine, progresses through experimentation and adaptation.
Bioabundance over Biodiversity
- Revive and Restore aims to use genetic rescue to restore bioabundance, not just biodiversity.
- Brand envisions a future with more megafauna like woolly mammoths, enriching ecosystems.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app 1 chevron_right 2 chevron_right 3 chevron_right 4 chevron_right 5 chevron_right 6 chevron_right 7 chevron_right 8 chevron_right 9 chevron_right 10 chevron_right 11 chevron_right 12 chevron_right 13 chevron_right 14 chevron_right
Intro
00:00 • 4min
Exploring the Mind of a Modern Polymath
04:16 • 3min
Reflections on Growth and Randomness
06:46 • 21min
Reflections on the Whole Earth Catalog and Psychedelic Journeys
27:42 • 19min
Influence of Tech and Thought in the 1960s
46:31 • 21min
Reviving the Woolly Mammoth: The Genetics of Conservation
01:07:30 • 13min
Rethinking Environmentalism
01:20:08 • 9min
Lessons in Failure and Innovation
01:29:18 • 13min
CrossFit, Culture, and Information Accessibility
01:42:46 • 9min
The Complexity of Clutter: Preserving the Past and Managing Organization
01:51:27 • 3min
Reflections on Education and Time
01:54:21 • 7min
The Fluidity of Games: Insights from Play
02:01:42 • 30min
Navigating Time, Experience, and Unintended Consequences
02:32:09 • 9min
Gratitude and Weekend Discoveries
02:41:07 • 2min
#3036
• Mentioned in 14 episodes
The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test
Tom Wolfe
The book is a firsthand account of the experiences of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, a group of psychedelic enthusiasts who traveled across the United States in a painted school bus called Furthur.
The narrative, written in the New Journalism style, later referred to as Gonzo Journalism, details their use of LSD and other psychedelic drugs, their 'Acid Tests' parties, and interactions with notable figures of the 1960s counterculture, including the Grateful Dead, Hells Angels, and Allen Ginsberg.
The book also explores Kesey's exile to Mexico, his arrests, and his impact on the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
#19946
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Bad Naturalist
One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop
Paula Whyman
Paula Whyman's "Bad Naturalist" chronicles her journey from a city-dwelling insect enthusiast to a dedicated ecological restorationist.
The book details her ambitious project to revive native plants and wildlife on her 200-acre Virginia mountaintop.
Whyman confronts invasive species and challenges the conventional view that nature preservation is solely the domain of national parks.
She emphasizes the crucial role of individual landowners in conservation efforts, highlighting the vast privately owned lands in need of stewardship.
The book offers a personal and inspiring account of ecological restoration, emphasizing the importance of small actions and the potential for hope in environmental conservation.
#1585
• Mentioned in 24 episodes
Homo ludens
Johan Huizinga
In 'Homo Ludens,' Johan Huizinga argues that play is a fundamental element of human culture, essential for the generation of culture.
He traces the contribution of play from ancient times through the Renaissance and into modern society, highlighting its role in law, science, philosophy, and the arts.
Huizinga defines play against a rich theoretical background, using cross-cultural examples to illustrate its universal significance and its civilizing functions.
#254
• Mentioned in 90 episodes
Finite and infinite games
James P. Carse
In this book, James P. Carse distinguishes between finite and infinite games.
Finite games are instrumental activities with clear rules, boundaries, and winners, such as sports, politics, and wars.
Infinite games, on the other hand, are authentic interactions that aim to continue the play, changing rules and boundaries as needed.
Carse explores how these concepts apply to various aspects of life, including culture, religion, sexuality, and self-discovery.
He argues that finite games offer wealth, status, and power, while infinite games provide something more subtle and grander, such as true freedom and endless possibility.
The book offers insights into how approaching life as either a finite or infinite game affects one's choices, satisfaction, and success.
#1324
• Mentioned in 28 episodes
Collapse
How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Jared DIAMOND
In 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed', Jared Diamond examines the collapse of past societies, such as the Anasazi, the Maya, and the Norse colonies on Greenland, due to factors like environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, loss of trading partners, and the society's response to these challenges.
Diamond argues that environmental concerns are crucial to a society's success and that the way a society responds to its environmental problems is often the decisive factor in its survival or collapse.
The book also draws parallels between historical collapses and current global issues, offering practical lessons and solutions to avoid similar catastrophes in the present and future.
#6252
• Mentioned in 7 episodes
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Milan Kundera
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is a novel that defies traditional genre classification, incorporating elements of fairy tale, literary criticism, political tract, musicology, and autobiography.
Published in 1979, it was Kundera's first major international success.
The book is set in postwar Czechoslovakia and explores the lives of several characters as they navigate the complexities of memory, history, and personal relationships under the shadow of totalitarianism.
It delves into themes such as the struggle of memory against forgetting, the nature of laughter, and the interplay between public and private lives.
Kundera's unique narrative style, which includes philosophical asides and surreal elements, challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions about history, love, and human identity.
#996
• Mentioned in 35 episodes
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Adventures of a Curious Character
Edward Hutchings
Richard Feynman
Ralph Leighton
This book is an edited collection of reminiscences by Richard Feynman, based on recorded audio conversations he had with his friend and drumming partner Ralph Leighton.
It covers a variety of instances in Feynman's life, including his work on the Manhattan Project, his critique of the science education system in Brazil, and his various hobbies such as safe-cracking, painting, and playing the bongo drums.
The book also includes his famous 'Cargo Cult Science' lecture, where he cautions against the superficial appearance of scientific investigation without a self-critical attitude.
Feynman's stories are lighthearted yet insightful, reflecting his high intelligence, curiosity, and humor.
#8667
• Mentioned in 5 episodes
Time Travel
James Blake
#1206
• Mentioned in 30 episodes
Machines of Loving Grace
Dario Amodei
#2763
• Mentioned in 15 episodes
The rise of Theodore Roosevelt
Edmund Morris
This book is the first in a trilogy by Edmund Morris and details the life of Theodore Roosevelt from his birth in 1858 through to 1901.
It includes his family history, his turbulent childhood illnesses, his education at Harvard, and his early involvement in politics.
The biography explores Roosevelt's passion for learning, his various roles such as New York State Assemblyman, Civil Service Commissioner, New York City Police Commissioner, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
It also covers his leadership of the Rough Riders in Cuba and his eventual rise to the Vice Presidency, setting the stage for his future as President of the United States.
#649
• Mentioned in 47 episodes
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
Ken kesey
Published in 1962, 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is a seminal novel by Ken Kesey that delves into the dehumanizing effects of institutionalization and the struggle for individuality.
The story, narrated by Chief Bromden, a half-Indian patient, takes place in an Oregon psychiatric hospital where the strict and oppressive regime of Nurse Mildred Ratched is challenged by the arrival of Randle P. McMurphy, a charismatic and rebellious patient.
The novel explores the boundaries between sanity and madness, conformity and rebellion, and questions the power dynamics within institutions.
It became a symbol of countercultural resistance and has had a significant impact on discussions surrounding mental health and societal treatment of the mentally ill.
#17353
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
Theodore Rex
1901-1909
Edmund Morris
Theodore Rex is the second volume of Edmund Morris's trilogy on the life of Theodore Roosevelt.
It chronicles Roosevelt's two terms as President, from his assumption of power after President McKinley's assassination to his departure from office in 1909.
The book details his energetic and reform-minded presidency, including his trust-busting initiatives, labor relations, conservation efforts, the construction of the Panama Canal, and his role in ending the Russo-Japanese War, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Morris portrays Roosevelt as a dynamic leader who balanced his impulsiveness with pragmatism and significantly reshaped the office of the presidency to meet the needs of the new century.
#5804
• Mentioned in 8 episodes
Whole Earth Catalog
Access to Tools
Stewart Brand
The Whole Earth Catalog was published between 1968 and 1972, and sporadically thereafter until 1998.
It was designed to provide 'access to tools' for newly dispersed counterculture communities, back-to-the-land households, and innovators in technology, design, and architecture.
The catalog featured product reviews, essays, and articles on various topics including sustainable design, experimental media, and community practices.
It played a significant role in the environmental movement and was influential in shaping the cyberculture of the time.
The catalog won the National Book Award in 1972 for its 'Last Whole Earth Catalog' edition.
#2997
• Mentioned in 14 episodes
How Buildings Learn
What Happens After They're Built
Stewart Brand
This book proposes that buildings adapt best when constantly refined and reshaped by their occupants.
It argues that architects can mature from being artists of space to becoming artists of time.
The book covers a wide range of architectural examples, from connected farmhouses in New England to I.M.
Pei’s Media Lab, and discusses the evolution of various architectural styles.
Brand emphasizes the importance of flexibility and adaptability in building design, criticizing modernist approaches that prioritize form over function and human needs.
He also highlights the different layers of a building (site, structure, skin, services, and space plan) and how each layer has a different lifespan and requires different maintenance strategies.
#859
• Mentioned in 39 episodes
Scale
The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies
Geoffrey West
Scale by Geoffrey West explores the hidden mathematical laws that govern growth, life, and evolution across organisms, cities, and companies.
Drawing on his background as a theoretical physicist, West reveals how everything from the lifespan of animals to the pace of innovation in cities follows universal scaling laws.
He demonstrates that despite their complexity, living systems and human organizations obey predictable patterns that can explain why cities thrive while companies tend to die.
Blending insights from biology, physics, and social science, the book provides a scientific framework for understanding sustainability, innovation, and the limits of growth.
It’s an ambitious, interdisciplinary look at the underlying principles that shape life and civilization itself.
#917
• Mentioned in 37 episodes
Doors of Perception
Aldous Huxley
In this book, Huxley recounts his first psychedelic experience with mescaline in May 1953.
He describes how the drug altered his perception of the world, making ordinary objects and experiences take on profound aesthetic and philosophical significance.
Huxley draws on various philosophical and spiritual traditions, including those of William Blake, Meister Eckhart, Plato, and Buddhism, to contextualize his insights.
The book challenges conventional views on perception and reality, suggesting that certain substances can reveal deeper aspects of existence that are normally filtered out by the human brain's 'reducing valve'
#284
• Mentioned in 83 episodes
Guns, germs, and steel
The Fates of Human Societies
Fabián Chueca
Jared DIAMOND
(MEI )DAI MENG DE (Diamond J. ) XIE YAN GUANG YI
In this book, Jared Diamond explains why Eurasian and North African civilizations have survived and conquered others.
He argues that differences in societal development arise primarily from geographical causes.
The book details how agricultural societies developed immunities to deadly diseases, advanced in technology, and formed centralized political structures, ultimately leading to the conquest of other societies.
Diamond also discusses the impact of germs, domesticated animals, and environmental factors on human history.
#492
• Mentioned in 57 episodes
The Rational Optimist
How Prosperity Evolves
Matt Ridley
In 'The Rational Optimist', Matt Ridley presents a bold and provocative interpretation of economic history, arguing that the innate human tendency to trade goods and services, along with specialization, is the source of modern human civilization.
The book covers the entire sweep of human history from the Stone Age to the Internet, highlighting how life is improving at an accelerating rate through increased food availability, income, and life span, while disease, child mortality, and violence are decreasing globally.
Ridley emphasizes the role of free trade, individual rights, and innovation in enhancing human prosperity and natural biodiversity despite potential setbacks.
#58928
Infinite in All Directions
Freeman Dyson
#10943
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
The Media Lab
inventing the future at MIT
Stewart Brand
This book provides an in-depth look at the MIT Media Lab's vision for the future of media and technology.
It explores the lab's innovative projects and their potential impact on society, highlighting concepts such as synthetic holograms and personal newspapers.
The book also delves into broader societal implications of emerging technologies.
#28733
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Whole earth discipline
an ecopragmatist manifesto
Stewart Brand
In 'Whole Earth Discipline', Stewart Brand challenges traditional environmental thinking by embracing urbanization, nuclear energy, genetic engineering, and geoengineering as necessary tools for addressing climate change and other global issues.
He argues that these technologies can help create a more sustainable future, despite initial resistance from many environmentalists.
The book emphasizes the need for a pragmatic approach to environmental challenges, combining scientific rigor with innovative solutions.
#30816
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The Clock of the Long Now
time and responsibility
Stewart Brand
The Clock of the Long Now by Stewart Brand explores the concept of long-term thinking and the construction of a mechanical clock designed to keep time for 10,000 years.
The book delves into the importance of considering the distant future and the legacy we leave behind, encouraging readers to adopt a long-term mindset to address global issues like climate change and resource depletion.
#80434
Learning to Breathe Fire
The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness
J.C. Herz
In 'Learning to Breathe Fire', J.C.
Herz explores the rise of CrossFit from its underground beginnings to its global popularity.
The book delves into the science behind high-intensity workouts and the cultural significance of CrossFit, highlighting its impact on modern fitness and society.
Herz vividly portrays the athletes, coaches, and culture that define this intense fitness movement.
#66161
Colonel Roosevelt
Edmund Morris
Edmund Morris's "Colonel Roosevelt" is the third volume of his acclaimed three-part biography of Theodore Roosevelt.
This installment covers Roosevelt's later years, including his time as a writer and conservationist.
Morris provides a detailed and insightful account of Roosevelt's personality, his political strategies, and his impact on American society.
The book is meticulously researched and beautifully written, offering a compelling portrait of one of America's most influential presidents.
Morris's biography is a must-read for anyone interested in American history and the life of Theodore Roosevelt.
Stewart Brand (@stewartbrand) is the president of The Long Now Foundation, established to foster long-term thinking and responsibility. He leads a project called Revive & Restore, which seeks to bring back extinct animal species such as the passenger pigeon and woolly mammoth.
Stewart is very well known for founding, editing, and publishing The Whole Earth Catalog (WEC), which changed my life when I was a little kid. It also received a national book award for its 1972 issue.
Stewart is the co-founder of The WELL and The Global Business Network, and author of Whole Earth Discipline, The Clock Of The Long Now, How Buildings Learn, and The Media Lab. He was trained in biology at Stanford and served as an infantry officer in the US Army.
I really hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!
This podcast is brought to you by Peloton, which has become a staple of my daily routine. I picked up this bike after seeing the success of my friend Kevin Rose, and I've been enjoying it more than I ever imagined. Peloton is an indoor cycling bike that brings live studio classes right to your home. No worrying about fitting classes into your busy schedule or making it to a studio with a crazy commute.
New classes are added every day, and this includes options led by elite NYC instructors in your own living room. You can even live stream studio classes taught by the world's best instructors, or find your favorite class on demand.
Peloton is offering listeners to this show a special offer. Visit onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM at checkout to receive $100 off accessories with your Peloton bike purchase. This is a great way to get in your workouts, or an incredible gift. Again, that's onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM.
This podcast is also brought to you by Four Sigmatic. I reached out to these Finnish entrepreneurs after a very talented acrobat introduced me to one of their products, which blew my mind (in the best way possible). It is mushroom coffee featuring chaga. It tastes like coffee, but there are only 40 milligrams of caffeine, so it has less than half of what you would find in a regular cup of coffee. I do not get any jitters, acid reflux, or any type of stomach burn. It put me on fire for an entire day, and I only had half of the packet.
People are always asking me what I use for cognitive enhancement right now — this is the answer. You can try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/tim and using the code Tim to get 20 percent off your first order. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you’ll be disappointed.
***
If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.