What YOU Can Do to Ensure a BETTER FUTURE | David Brin on Conversations with Tom

This episode is sponsored by BluBlox. Go to for 15% off your order or use discount code ImpactTheory at checkout.

To know where you are going, they say you should know where you’ve been. Science fiction has been well documented for its often accurate predictions and a loved being a social curiosity for many. In this episode, Tom is joined by physicist and bestselling science fiction author, David Brin. David exposes how science fiction can be more accurately described as “speculative history” than anything else. Their conversation explores society through history from the Periclean times all the way through modern U.S. politics and what a transparent society top-down, and bottom-up would imply and necessitate.

TASAT project mentioned to check out

SHOW NOTES:

History | Using history to write science fiction and being a good ancestor[1:42]

Science Fiction | Writing sci-fi and the historical connection making it speculative history [6:15]

Anticipation | How empathy allows anticipation & resilience to increase taking hard hits [9:51]

Hollywood Propaganda | David breaks down the notion of improve-ability [16:45]

Positive Sum Game | Winning more while helping others win versus zero-sum game [21:14]

Self Preventing Prophecy | The propaganda messages saying all humans are bad [27:08]

Criticism & Delusion | Being maximally creative using criticism to fix error & delusion [37:24]

Periclean Experiment | The Athenian society crushed to preserve pyramid society [41:38]

Death of Politics | Losing friction and negotiation of “adaptation to new times” [44:55]

Enlightenment | David on 5 accountability arenas and need for regulated competition [50:15]

Experts Under Attack | David explains how media is twisting lies to attack the experts [56:31]

Attacking Facts | Davids solution to end the attack on facts that are being ridiculed [1:04:29]

American Civil War | David reveals eight phases of civil war in America [1:12:36]

Transparent Society | David on potential lateral oppression & need for cultural values [1:16:44]

Learning | David reveals his thoughts and approach to learning & exploring curiosity [1:21:16]

QUOTES:

“science fiction should have been called speculative history. Because it speculates about what this story is going to show next” [8:25]

“criticism is the only known antidote to error.” [37:59]

“become maximally creative by reciprocally holding each other accountable.” [40:32]

“together, if we criticize each other, we can cancel each other's delusions, but work together on each other's good ideas. It's a positive-sum game” [41:21]

“...there are attempts to resurrect it [politics], but I'm afraid it's going to have to be resurrected over the smoldering carcass of one of our parties.” [47:13]

“individually we are flawed, but that we can, together, increase the amount of light in the world.” [50:37]

“So the right tends to say ‘yay, competition, boo regulation’. The left tends to say ‘yay regulation, boo competition’ [...] regulated competition is how we got the spectacular success of sports” [52:25]

“the worst thing that's happened to destroy us is also the easiest to solve.” [57:49]

“I tell them [students] that if they spend their time at a university, just studying what they're there

to study, they have betrayed their civilization, [...] let alone betrayed themselves.” [1:21:41]

“...but raging systematically against your limitations. I am not a limited being, oh, I am limited time, I'm limited in resources, I'm limited in brainpower, I'm limited in all those things, but I can be interested in more than one thing.”

“It's the attitude that makes you a member of this civilization. I am surrounded by wonders I deserve to know about them.” [1:33:25]

Follow David Brin: