This episode is inspired by the idea that the USA has the world’s most expensive yet least h care. At least this has been the type of conclusion drawn from many analyses that compare things like GDP, cost of health care, and individual health. The idea is that we have come a long way, but we don’t necessarily have a lot to show for it. Or, maybe it’s about making all of this so-called ‘progress’,…
While I don’t want to perpetuate the ‘capitalism sucks’ argument, I want to spend some time on degrowth. Pretty funny that the spell checkers keep correcting ‘degrowth’ to ‘regrowth’. See? This idea is manifested in everything. Because of capitalism, humans have become obsessed with growth. Mostly in the financial sense. The way our global economy is set up, growth is an essential requirement. Maybe THE MOST essential requirement. When we create money we create debt.…
I continue to be inspired by the interviews on The Great Simplification Podcast, by the host Nate Havens, and by his guests. It is rewarding to find support for ideas I thought were my own. So many thoughts have been swirling around in my head, and this podcast/blog/video channel is my attempt to integrate them. It is happening. Slowly, but surely. And the process has been expedited lately. The Acid Test idea; that nature and…
I recently came upon a podcast by a fella named Nate Hagens. The podcast, and Nate’s piece de resistance is called The Great Simplification and his ideas center around the future of humans on Earth. The idea behind The Great Simplification is that humans will soon run out of energy to power or current levels of consumption and have to drastically simplify our lives to compensate for that loss. Nate also talks about the concept…
I have been thinking a lot about the popular images of aggressive male competitors. Silverback gorillas. Wrestlemania or UFC fighters. These popular ideas feature ‘Alpha males’ bullying and pushing around ‘weaker’ males in order to get mates, habitat, or food. These toxic stereotypes probably spill over into popular culture and contribute to the issues we have among genders today. My question is, how common are these ‘alpha males’? How ‘fit’ were these gender differences across…
Much of this episode, and future episodes, are inspired by The Great Simplification and the concept of ‘Energy Blindness’. I am also reading Morgan Housels’ book, ‘The Psychology of Money’, https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Money-Timeless-lessons-happiness/dp/0857197681 I mention these guys, as well as an older KEW episode, in this Episode. Here I argue that nature provides enough. Probably the concept of enough doesn’t exist in nature because it almost always exists. Hoarding and gluttony don’t seem to be common practices…