Luke Kemp’s Goliath’s Curse is a brilliant, unnerving, and strangely hopeful journey through the rise and fall of civilizations. Like Sapiens meets Mad Max, it exposes a central truth: the bigger and more unequal societies become, the more fragile they are. Drawing on thousands of years of history and cutting-edge data, Kemp argues that the real cause of collapse isn’tContinueContinue reading “Goliath’s Curse”
Tag Archives: Philosophy
Peter Thiel’s Apocalypse
Audio Version (please click for RSS) Overcast Link Faith, Fear, and the Future of Technology Yet another billionaire’s attempt to warp, manipulate and re-interpret the Bible for his own world view? Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor behind some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful technology firms (and JD Vance!), is urging audiences to see the futureContinueContinue reading “Peter Thiel’s Apocalypse”
The Risks of “Seemingly Conscious AI
Click for Audio Version (AI Generated 😬) This is an area that I’ve been thinking about for some time. What if an an AI model took control of a corporation, which in the US has certain rights mirroring personhood (see Citizen’s United Supreme Court decision?) Would the AI model then be able to legally actContinueContinue reading “The Risks of “Seemingly Conscious AI”
Mind Reading 1.0
Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in decoding the “inner voice”, the words people imagine saying, using brain-computer interfaces, offering new hope for patients with paralysis or severe speech impairments. The technology can now translate imagined speech into text, raising both exciting possibilities and important ethical questions about mental privacy. How the Technology Works Microelectrode arraysContinueContinue reading “Mind Reading 1.0”
The end of the anti‑liberal moment
After 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and Trump’s election, critics from both the right (e.g. Sohrab Ahmari’s post‑liberal movement) and the left (e.g. Samuel Moyn’s critiques of tyrannophobia) declared liberalism outdated and broken . Right-wing drift and retrenchment: Post-liberals like Ahmari originally advocated discarding liberal pluralism in favor of a socially conservative, Christian-ordered state. WithContinueContinue reading “The end of the anti‑liberal moment”
Summary: ‘Collapse Awareness is just the Beginning’
How to adapt and live well inside it “Collapse awareness is just the beginning” by Gabrielle Feather discusses the concept of “collapse awareness,” which refers to the recognition and acceptance of the ongoing process of societal and ecological collapse. The author argues that simply being aware of this collapse is not enough; it is merelyContinueContinue reading “Summary: ‘Collapse Awareness is just the Beginning’”
Hobbes vs Locke
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both wrote during times of political turmoil in England, but they arrived at starkly different conclusions about human nature, the role of government, and the social contract. 1. Human Nature Hobbes: Believed humans are naturally selfish, brutish, and driven by fear and desire for self-preservation. In the state of nature, lifeContinueContinue reading “Hobbes vs Locke”
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the Third Earl of Shaftesbury
A pivotal figure in early 18th-century moral philosophy, aesthetics, and political thought. Though less well-known today than contemporaries like Locke or Hobbes, Shaftesbury’s ideas had a profound impact on British Enlightenment thought, particularly in shaping moral sentimentalism and the emerging discourse on aesthetic judgment and virtue ethics. Key Works His major work is Characteristics ofContinueContinue reading “Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the Third Earl of Shaftesbury”
Left Brain, Right Brain, Who’s the Master?
Published my first Substack today 🤗 Link to Audio Version Welcome to Dr Bob’s Ruminations, where I explore the unseen patterns shaping our minds, our politics, and our future. Today we’re going to dive into something both philosophical and deeply practical: how the structure of our brains might explain the current crisis in American politicsContinueContinue reading “Left Brain, Right Brain, Who’s the Master?”
Dr Bob, Brain Mechanic 