Author & Professor Henry Farrell makes the case that higher-intensity disagreements from both sides results in higher-quality arguments for both sides. From the Long Now Talk, “The Complex Aftermath of Globalization” by Henry Farrell. Watch the full talk here: https://youtu.be/myqaV18RDfM Over the last two years, the US government has started thinking about the future of […]

Over the last two years, the US government has started thinking about the future of the world in a very different way. Across speeches and policy papers, a vision of world politics has emerged which breaks sharply both with the old logic of the Cold War and the newer politics of globalization. The globalization bet

Data Scientist & Writer Coco Krumme shares an excerpt from her book, showing how the supply chain’s circulatory system pulses to a rhythm coded by computer. From the Long Now Seminar, “The False Promise of Optimization” by Coco Krumme. Watch the full talk here: https://youtu.be/yWPUFPIRCfY Coco Krumme traces the fascinating history of optimization from its

Coco Krumme traces the fascinating history of optimization from its roots in America’s founding principles, to its dominance as the driving principle of our modern world. Optimized models underlie everything and are deeply embedded in the technologies and assumptions that have come to comprise not only our material reality, but what we make of it.

Big trees, old trees, and especially big old trees have always been objects of reverence. From Athena’s sacred olive on the Acropolis to the unmistakable ginkgo leaf prevalent in Japanese art and fashion during the Edo period, our profound admiration for slow plants spans time and place as well as cultures and religions. At the