Utilizing the plow is paramount for survival and progress in human history; it is not optional but necessary for a tribe's prosperity. The plow fosters a significant increase in food production, enabling populations to flourish while others may face famine. Failure to adopt this technology leads to a dire consequence of being outperformed by others or succumbing to starvation. This necessity shapes human behavior, shifting the focus from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to agricultural practices, highlighting the obligation to adapt for survival.
On this episode we meet with founding member of The Consilience Project, Daniel Schmachtenberger.
In the second of a four-part series, Nate and Daniel explore the relationship between energy, information, technology, the Superorganism, and the maximum power principle.
How can we maximize returns on agency? Nate and Daniel explain the importance of hyper agents: those humans who have an outsized influence on what’s happening in the world.
About Daniel Schmachtenberger:
Daniel Schmachtenberger is a founding member of The Consilience Project, aimed at improving public sensemaking and dialogue.
The throughline of his interests has to do with ways of improving the health and development of individuals and society, with a virtuous relationship between the two as a goal.
Towards these ends, he’s had particular interest in the topics of catastrophic and existential risk, civilization and institutional decay and collapse as well as progress, collective action problems, social organization theories, and the relevant domains in philosophy and science.
For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/20-daniel-schmactenberger