Astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker discusses the flaws in the current paradigm of how we simulate the universe, and proposes a new foundational approach to simulating the complexity of life in our universe. From Sara Imari Walker’s Long Now Talk: An Informational Theory of Life https://youtu.be/zhzxQraB2m0

“What is life?” In her Long Now Talk, astrobiologist and theoretical physicist Sara Imari Walker explores the many dimensions of that seemingly simple question. Starting from the simplest precursors, Walker assembled a grand cathedral of meaning, tracing an arc across existence that linked the fundamentals of organic chemistry, the possibility space of lego bricks, and

Derek Thompson discusses the benefits of outcome-oriented regulations, and the risks that come from relying on process-oriented regulations like CEPA and NEQA, which can ironically slow down efforts to build green infrastructure in the name of environmental protection. From Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson’s Long Now Talk: Abundance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9wga7S3nAw This Talk is part of Long

Derek Thompson explains how the failure of rural broadband expansion exemplifies the problems of contemporary process-oriented governance. From Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson’s Long Now Talk: Abundance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9wga7S3nAw This Talk is part of Long Now Talks. Launched by Stewart Brand in 02003, Long Now Talks has invited more than 400 leading thinkers to share their

Ezra Klein makes the case that we need to “rediscover speed as a progressive value” and make sure government delivers at faster paces. From Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson’s Long Now Talk: Abundance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9wga7S3nAw This Talk is part of Long Now Talks. Launched by Stewart Brand in 02003, Long Now Talks has invited more than

Ezra Klein discusses how we have “chosen slowness” in governance and broken the linkages of accountability and democracy in doing so. From Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson’s Long Now Talk: Abundance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9wga7S3nAw This Talk is part of Long Now Talks. Launched by Stewart Brand in 02003, Long Now Talks has invited more than 400 leading

As they look upon the United States of America in 02025, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson see a country wrought by a half-century of failed governance. They see states and cities theoretically committed to progressive futures instead bogged down in labyrinthine mires of process and deliberation — a society stuck in low gear. Yet they

Stephen Heintz discusses the Atlantic Charter — the fraught historical context of its drafting, and how its hopeful vision inspired the United Nations. From Stephen Heintz & Kim Stanley Robinson’s Long Now Talk: A Logic for the Future: Stephen Heintz & Kim Stanley Robinson | A Logic For The Future | Long Now Talks Stephen

Stephen Heintz discusses being in Berlin one month before the Wall fell — and the missed opportunities after the fall to build a better world of its rubble. From Stephen Heintz & Kim Stanley Robinson’s Long Now Talk: A Logic for the Future: Stephen Heintz & Kim Stanley Robinson | A Logic For The Future

Stephen Heintz and Kim Stanley Robinson say we live in an “Age of Turbulence.” Looking around our geopolitical situation, it’s easy to see what they mean. Faced with the ever-growing threat of climate change, the looming potential breakdown of the post-01945 international order, and the ambiguous prospects of rapid technological changes in fields like AI,