Michael Garfield — Play the (Mind) Jazz (EP.246)

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Dec 12, 2024

Michael Garfield is a paleontologist, futurist, and strategic advisor known for blending art, science, and philosophy in his 'mind-jazz' performances. In this conversation, he explores the intriguing concept of 'humans on the loop,' unpacking how technology shapes our agency and identity. Garfield challenges conventional economic theories through the Red Queen hypothesis, stressing the importance of diversity in innovation. He also reflects on the unpredictable nature of personal expression and advocates for embracing complexity in decision-making and creativity.

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INSIGHT

Mind Jazz

Embrace "mind jazz", an exploratory approach to knowledge work that resembles improvisational jazz.
It emphasizes curiosity, playfulness, and adapting to new ideas like a conversation.

INSIGHT

Humans On The Loop

We exist within interconnected loops at different scales, influencing our agency.
"Humans on the loop" acknowledges our limited control and promotes multi-perspectival thinking.

INSIGHT

Red Queen Hypothesis

The Red Queen Hypothesis illustrates the constant need for adaptation in competitive environments.
Maintaining "weirdness" and avoiding over-optimization can be advantageous for long-term survival.

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Do Conversation

There is no such thing as small talk

Robert Poynton

In 'Do Conversation', Robert Poynton explores the 'everyday miracle' of conversation that leads to new ideas and deeper relationships. He offers simple ways to improve natural conversation skills, overcoming anxiety and making difficult conversations easier. The book highlights the importance of listening, holding space, and creating the conditions for more fruitful conversations, emphasizing that the best conversations are highly responsive and improvised exchanges.

Through the looking-glass, and what Alice found there

Lewis Carroll

In this novel, Alice enters a mirror and finds herself in a world that mirrors her own but with many peculiar differences. She navigates a realm where chess pieces come to life, and she must reach the eighth square to become a queen herself. Along her journey, Alice encounters characters like the Red Queen, the White Knight, and Humpty Dumpty, engaging in playful dialogues and nonsensical situations that challenge her understanding of logic and language. The story reflects themes of identity, growth, and the importance of curiosity and imagination.

Scale Theory

A Nondisciplinary Inquiry

Joshua DiCaglio

In 'Scale Theory', Joshua DiCaglio presents a nondisciplinary approach to understanding scale, which challenges traditional nonscalar interpretations. The book uses six thought experiments to clarify and redefine scale, discussing how it transforms objects, subjects, and relations. It integrates various disciplines from nanoscience to ecology and humanities, including philosophy and rhetoric. DiCaglio examines the transformative power of scale, its cognitive dimensions, and its implications on our worldview, also exploring the connection between scale and mysticism. The book addresses the complexities of scale in communication, rhetoric, and representation, drawing on both Western and non-Western concepts.

Reality Hunger

A Manifesto

David Shields

Reality Hunger: A Manifesto is a book that challenges conventional literary forms by advocating for a more fluid and experimental approach to writing. The book, composed of 618 fragments, many of which are quotations, is arranged alphabetically and thematically. Shields argues against the linear, realist, and plotted forms of literature, instead promoting the essay as a form that embodies a 'trying' of something new and unbound by traditional rules. The book also explores the interplay between memoir and reportage, facts and identity, and the blurring of lines between fiction and nonfiction in contemporary culture[1][4][5].

Pharmako-AI

K Allado-McDowell

Pharmako-AI is a book that delves into the realms of human-machine interaction, technological animism, and entheogenic futurism. It is the first book published in collaboration with the large language model GPT-3 and serves as a follow-up to the author's subsequent work, Air Age Blueprint. The book reflects on the entanglement of multiple systems and hybrid environments, inviting readers to consider the implications of advanced technologies on human society and creativity.

The nature of technology

What it Is and How it Evolves

W. Brian Arthur

In this book, W. Brian Arthur explains how new technologies emerge through a process akin to evolution, where existing technologies combine to form new ones. He introduces the concept of 'combinatorial evolution,' where technologies build upon previous ones, much like a coral reef. Arthur also discusses how technology and science co-evolve in a symbiotic relationship, with each driving the advancement of the other. The book addresses the structural impact of technology on the economy and highlights the intermingling of technology and biology in modern advancements.

One Summer

America, 1927

Bill Bryson

In 'One Summer: America, 1927', Bill Bryson chronicles the significant events of the summer of 1927 in the United States. The book covers a range of topics including Charles Lindbergh's nonstop transatlantic flight, the Great Mississippi Flood, Babe Ruth's record-breaking baseball season, the transition from the Ford Model T to the Model A, the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the advent of talking pictures with 'The Jazz Singer'. Bryson also explores the contrast between the Roaring Twenties and the looming Great Depression, providing a vivid and humorous narrative of daily life and popular culture during that pivotal summer.

The New Inquisition

Robert Anton Wilson

A critical examination of the limitations and biases within scientific discourse, challenging the accepted methods of knowledge acquisition and promoting a more open-minded approach.

Global Brain

The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century

Howard Bloom

In 'Global Brain,' Howard Bloom presents a bold and interdisciplinary view of evolution, arguing that the development of civilization and the internet has led to the creation of a global brain. This concept suggests that plants, animals, and humans have evolved together as components of a worldwide learning machine. Bloom's theory spans from the earliest bacterial ancestors to modern human societies, highlighting the interconnectedness and collective intelligence that have driven evolutionary progress. The book draws on twenty years of research and integrates insights from biology, neurology, sociology, and psychology to challenge readers' understanding of their place in the universe and the nature of reality itself[1][4][5].

Revenge of the Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell

In 'Revenge of the Tipping Point', Malcolm Gladwell returns to the subject of social epidemics and tipping points, this time focusing on the dark side of contagious phenomena. Through a series of riveting stories, Gladwell explores the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering. He delves into various topics, including the world’s most successful bank robbers, a forgotten television show from the 1970s, an experimental neighborhood in Northern California, and alternate histories of the COVID and opioid crises. The book examines how individuals can use power and influence to shape collective narratives and societal trends, highlighting the ethical implications of social engineering and the role of superspreaders in propagating ideas and behaviors.

Genius of the Beast

Howard Bloom

In this book, Howard Bloom presents a compelling argument that capitalism, despite its imperfections, is a system that allows the best and brightest to emerge. He advocates for reviving businesses by injecting them with emotion, desire, and passion. Bloom draws on his diverse experiences, from his work in popular culture to his insights into human and mass behavior, to illustrate how all life, from bacteria to human beings, is programmed to flourish under the free market system. The book is filled with personal anecdotes and historical examples, making it both captivating and thought-provoking.

The Beginning of Infinity

Explanations That Transform the World

David Deutsch

In this groundbreaking book, David Deutsch argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe and that improving them is the basic regulating principle of all successful human endeavor. The book takes readers on a journey through various fields of science, history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions. Deutsch explains how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, and discusses the conditions under which progress, which he argues is potentially boundless, can and cannot happen. He emphasizes the importance of good explanations, which he defines as those that are 'hard to vary' and have 'reach', and argues that these explanations are central to the Enlightenment way of thinking and to all scientific and philosophical progress.

The WEIRDest People in the World

Joseph Patrick Henrich

Korey Jackson

Joseph Henrich

In this book, Joseph Henrich explores how Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations developed their unique psychological profiles. He argues that changes in family structures, marriage, and religion, particularly influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, led to the emergence of WEIRD psychology. This psychology is characterized by individualism, self-obsession, control-orientation, nonconformity, and analytical thinking, which contrast with the more group-focused and shame-driven cultures of non-Western societies. Henrich uses research from anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explain how these psychological differences contributed to the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe[1][4][5].

The time falling bodies take to light

mythology, sexuality, and the origins of culture

William Irwin Thompson

My guest today is Michael Garfield, a paleontologist, futurist, writer, podcast host and strategic advisor whose “mind-jazz” performances — essays, music and fine art — bridge the worlds of art, science and philosophy.

This year, Michael received a $10k O’Shaughnessy Grant for his “Humans On the Loop” discussion series, which explores the nature of agency, power, responsibility and wisdom in the age of automation.

This whirlwind discussion is impossible to sum up in a couple of sentences (just look at the number of books & articles mentioned!) Ultimately, it is a conversation about a subject I think about every day: how we can live curious, collaborative and fulfilling lives in our deeply weird, complex, probabilistic world.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack.

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Show Notes:

What is “mind jazz”?
Humans “ON” the loop?
The Red Queen hypothesis and the power of weirdness
Probabilistic thinking & the perils of optimization
Context collapse, pernicious convenience & coordination at scale
How organisations learn
Michael as World Emperor
MORE!

Books, Articles & Podcasts Mentioned:

The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves; by W. Brian Arthur
Pharmako-AI; by K Allado-McDowell
The Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century; by Howard Bloom
The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom
One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There; by Lewis Carroll
The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch
Scale Theory: A Nondisciplinary Inquiry; by Joshua DiCaglio
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders and the Rise of Social Engineering; by Malcolm Gladwell
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous; by Joseph Henrich
Do Conversation: There's No Such Thing as Small Talk; by Robert Poynton
Reality Hunger: A Manifesto; by David Shields
The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture; by William Irwin Thompson
The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science; by Robert Anton Wilson
Designing Neural Media; by K Allado-McDowell
Pace Layering: How Complex Systems Learn and Keep Learning; by Steward Brand
Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots; by Bonnie Docherty
What happens with digital rights management in the real world?; by Cory Doctorow
The Evolution of Surveillance Part 1: Burgess Shale to Google Glass; by Michael Garfield
An Introduction to Extitutional Theory; by Jessy Kate Schingler
175 - C. Thi Nguyen on The Seductions of Clarity, Weaponized Games, and Agency as Art; Future Fossils with Michael Garfield
🎶⚔️👏🏼 205 - Greg Thomas & Stephanie Lepp on Jazz Leadership & Antagonistic Cooperation; Future Fossils with Michael Garfield
🌏🚜🫀212 - Manfred Laubichler & Geoffrey West on Life In The Anthropocene & Living Inside The Technosphere; Future Fossils with Michael Garfield