How to Change the World: The History of Innovation

Why do some ideas and technologies proliferate, whilst others die painfully?Innovations aren't just bound merely the laws of Physics, but also the powerful laws of Nature and Biology.In the "Lessons of History", Will and Ariel Durant propose the 3 Laws of Biology. Extending on the work of Charles Darwin, they explain the rules that govern life on earth and how it applies to humanity. In this episode, Sam extends the concept whilst also explaining a brief history of life on Earth whilst he's at it.In it, you'll learn the fundamental rules of competition, selection and reproduction that govern the success of any organism, idea or technology.We'll exploreWhy did Julius Caesar care so much about fertility rates?Your secret past life as the most epic dinosaur, the SupersaurusWhat causes unbridled Capitalism or Communism to failIs equality even good thing? And if so what do we do about it...ABOUTHow to Change the World is an independent podcast on a mission to document the entire history of innovation. One world-changing event at a time. In the process we are building out frameworks and mental models to think more coherently about global change.Written, edited, recorded, and produced entirely by Sam Webster Harris.(He also makes the music...)Help from:Francisca Correia does the designs (available to hire)Jeremy Enns is our incredible podcast mentor (available to hire)ReferencesThe Lessons of History - Will and Ariel DurantAn epic overview of the lessons these authors learnt in the process of writing their series, covering every era of humanity.Sapiens: A Brief History of Humanity - Yuval Noah HarariThis episode only used the first paragraph... But some of the topics of the history of life are also in the first chapter.Home Deus: A History of Tomorrow - Yuval Noah HarariThe first chapter has a great section about Famine, Disease, and War.Chapters00:00 Is a hot dog a sandwich?00:28 The Beginning of the Universe01:10 The Story of Life on Earth01:34 Three Rules of Biology05:03 The First Law: Life is Competition09:54 The Second Law: Life is Selection11:59 Inequality in Nature and Society13:47 Balancing Freedom and Equality16:48 The Third Law: Life Must Breed18:34 Human Progress, Fire and Agriculture19:10 Agricultural Revolution and Civilization19:48 Fertility and Population Dynamics: Japan vs. Nigeria21:12 Ideas and Religions: Survival of the Fittest22:49 Horsemen of Apocalypse: Famine, Disease, and War28:13 Modern Challenges and Fertility Trends30:20 Conclusion and Future Episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do we really control fire?While you're patting yourself on the back for lighting that barbecue, fire has been pulling the strings for 2 million years, reshaping our anatomy, rewiring our brains, and dictating our social structures.It transformed us from ape-like creatures that had a neat standing trick into the cunning apex predator of the world. Along the way, it upended both ecosystems and gender roles but most importantly, made us human.The lesser-known of fire is that an individual human is completely dependent on it to survive. Furthermore, Society itself is built on fire and would collapse totally without itToday, as we face the dawn of AI, we're seeing the same pattern. Fire marked a huge leverage of energy that freed us up to think. AI promises to do our thinking for us, which frees us up for who knows what.aren't tools we use; they're partners that reshape us from the inside out.Three takeaways:Transformative technologies change what we are, not just what we doDependency often disguises itself as control and masteryThe biggest innovations create irreversible psychological and social shiftsReady to understand how fire forged the human mind?ABOUTHow to Change the World is an independent podcast on a mission.Written, edited, recorded, and produced entirely by Sam Webster Harris.(He also makes the music...)Help from:Francisca Correia does the designs (available to hire)Jeremy Enns is our incredible podcast mentor (available to hire)ReferencesCatching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human - Richard WranghamA great overview of fire and human anthropology (apes etc...). I can highly recommend listening/watching some of interviews Richard Wrangham on other podcasts (Lex Friedman, Modern Wisdom, Jordan Peterson)The Pyrocene: How We Created An Age Of Fire - Stephen PyneSome good ideas on the different eras of human fire use: Cooking food -> Cooking land -> Cooking the planet.Fire: The Spark That Ignited Human Evolution - Frances BurtonThe insights on the importance of light helped.Chapters00:00 Intro: The Role of Fire in Civilization04:32 First Fire - 500 million years ago07:56 Humans and fire - ~2 million years ago10:08 The Discovery of Fire12:21 Stadium of Grandmothers13:24 Fire's Influence on Human Biology15:55 Fire and Human Digestion18:15 Light and Campfires20:25 Mealtimes21:32 Human Birth Woes23:23 Why Only Humans Mastered Fire25:55 Fire, Social Structures & Gender Roles31:15 Adapting to the Information Age33:17 Fire's Role in Human Expansion - 70,000 years ago35:09 Terraforming with Fire38:27 The Industrial Revolution and Fossil Fuel42:00 The Race for Renewable Energy43:11 Today - Reflecting on our lessons44:28 AI: The Next Transformative Force48:04 Reflections on Fire and the Future49:06 Premium and Book resources Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to rank the impact of innovations on humanity and how much they really changed the world.Everything seems so important these days:A new iPhone update changes EVERYTHINGThis war will BREAK the economyIf you feed your toddler THIS, you don't deserve to be a parent...Learn to rationally understand what matters to humanity and what is just noise.It's easy to tell that the invention of Writing itself is more important than Velcro. But...Is Netflix more important than Baseball?Has TikTok changed the world as much as the Longbow?Was Steve Jobs more impactful than Henry VIII?History has opinions.So it's time to build a scale that lets us rationally measure global impact.Introducing the Innovation Richter Scale - a 1 to 10 rating system that lets you rank absolutely anything you can think of.NOTE - This episode expands on the Technological Richter Scale proposed by Nate Silver. (see references)ABOUTHow to Change the World is an independent podcast on a mission.It is written, edited, and recorded entirely by Sam Webster Harris. (He also makes the music)Designs were crafted by Francisca Correia.ReferencesNate Silver - One The Edge (2024)Nate's book is about risk analysis and the future of AI. The final chapter proposes a Technological Richter Scale, with a page on how to use it.Zvi Mowshowitz - AI and the Technological Richter Scale (2025)A good summary of Nate's ideas, on how the scale applies to AI. Also quotes Nate's page guide for each level and argues a few changes.Grant Lichtman - Innovation: Are We Overlooking "Magnitude" With "Frequency" (2013)A short blog that suggests it might be nice to use a logarithmic Richter scale or a Madonna curve to measure innovation.Chapters:00:00 Innovation Richeter Scale01:47 Why create a Scale?03:47 Earthquake Metaphor06:16 Invention, Innovation, Technology06:56 Ranking Magnitude not Morality08:08 The Innovation Richter Scale - Level 1 - 1008:11 Level 1 - Shower thoughts08:29 Level 2 - Actioned Idea (In private)08:49 Level 3 - Public ideas (Not popular)10:17 Level 4 - Popular and commercial ideas11:08 Level 5 - Defining Brand12:38 Level 6 - Innovation of the year15:59 Level 7 - Innovation of the Decade18:19 Level 8 - Innovation of the Century21:29 Level 9 - Innovation of the Era23:53 Level 10 - Species Epoch28:31 Part 2 - Using the scale29:45 Weapons & Tools of Death - Brands, Categories and Concepts33:58 Politics & Population Impact - Local, Continental and Global38:00 Questions without answers38:38 Sports & Religion - Emotional Impact and Purpose41:01 Peter Thiel and Chess41:47 Religion and Personal Beliefs in interpreting the scale43:33 Roundup conclusions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explore the slow pace of technological progress in human history, highlighted by the unchanged stone axe for centuries. Discover the barriers that stifled early innovation, from survival pressures to cultural resistance. Learn about the pivotal role of grandmothers in passing down knowledge and the unique marriage customs of isolated tribes. Delve into how geography and demography shaped innovation, contrasting development in Eurasia and the Americas. Finally, reflect on the importance of long-term thinking for future progress.

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it" - Alan WattsThis opening episode invites you on a journey, not just through time, but through perspective.From fire-starting hominids to spacefaring technologists, we are going to trace the ripples of human imagination that turned tools into empires, and sparks into systems.In this introduction episode:Set the tone for the podcastExplain what the show is and isn'tLearn how we are going to navigate this journeyAnswer who the hell is this 'Sam Harris' (the host)Explain our 7 principles for exploring history and innovationChange is rarely neat or obvious, but this podcast is here to help us understand it. You'll start to connect the dots that are all around you.History isn't just a study of the past, it is also our present. As we live through unprecedented innovation, it's a perfect time to study the forces of tectonic shifts and how to guide them.If you're curious, optimistic, and even a little lost. You're in the right place.ABOUTThis show is an independent podcast on a mission.It is written, recorded, re-recorded, rewritten and re-re-recorded entirely by Sam Webster Harris.Designs were crafted by Francisca Correia.CHAPTERS:00:00 Introduction: The Dawn of Human Influence02:22 A Journey Through Time05:10 The Plan for the Podcast07:08 What counts as an innovation08:31 Release Schedule09:40 Beyond a history podcast10:54 Why this point in history12:34 A map is not a blueprint14:24 Why is Sam doing this?17:19 Why should you listen?18:29 Psychology and Innovation19:01 Bias and Hindsight19:37 Illusion of obviousness20:32 Gratitude - Understanding - Curiosity20:34 The Myth of Stability21:42 7 Core Principles of the Show21:51 1 - Interdisciplinary Thinking22:34 2 - Systems Thinking23:21 3 - Understanding of knowledge25:01 4 - Context26:06 5 - No current affairs and politics27:14 6 - Side Quests28:23 7 - Optimism29:26 Mission and sign off Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the best way to tackle the question "How to change the world"? Learn about our plan to dissect the history and future of innovation.This show will dissect how the world really works and the impact of the biggest inventions that lead to a step change. We'll also tell the stories of the greatest innovators from history and understand their mental models, mindsets and habits.In this promo, Host Sam Webster Harris explains in 2 minutes what he'll be doing for the next 10 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.